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The bits of trail that were a problem before are all smooth now. It is really nice to be able to stay in the bike lanes from crossing to crossing (or ped lanes) now.

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So, I had to go well down the second page of the General discussion topic to find a topic that was not spam. How do we flag those and remove them now? There is no way to report them it seems. And this is by no means the only topic with spam (and they are not always new threads).

 

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So there is no way to complain about possible spambots? Flour for pizza dough – is that really a forum topic? Or suggesting we go to a clothing blog to discuss biking?

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The Washington Blvd trail from S. Courthouse to 9th st S has been cleared (except for the bridge, but that is mostly passable)! The trails through Lyon Park have several clear spots, but a lot of slush that will probably go away soon.

It was great taking 4MRT and W&OD, but not Army-Navy drive to get there.

As per someone I chatted with at a light on the W&OD, MVT was all slush last night.

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Actually, the Ballston connector is clear, except for two small patches as the trail merges with the one around the pond. I was pleasantly surprised when I decided to return that way.

The bike lanes on Fairfax Drive are mostly bad – one or two good blocks and the rest bad. It will take several warm days of no refreezing to clear them.

The protected and unprotected bike lanes on N. Quincy between Wilson and 15th street N are horrible. Near the library one can bike in the protection area (not the protected lane, but the striped area that is supposed to protect the bike lane).

The protected bike lanes in Clarendon on Clarendon are full of snow. Taking the lane is the only way to go. The bike lanes on Wilson in Clarendon were mixed.

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Today, Sunday 1/21/24, I walked parts of the Custis, W&OD, and trails through Bon Air in Arlington.

Custis was clear as far as I could tell from W&OD to at least Harrison (I presume the rest is too).

W&OD was nicely cleared from what I could see from the Custis and at least Columbia Pike (parts of 4MRT were cleared, but not all).

Bon Air trail from the circle with Custis to N Lexington was clear (not the alternate Custis from above N Lexington nor the foot bridge over I-66).

Bluemont trail looked clear from what I could see from W&OD.

I am assuming the Ballston connector is not since that was a mess before the recent snow.

Note: The water fountains that were installed at the circle for Custis (as it goes under I66 near Bon Air) and near Columbia Pike which claim to be the type that won’t freeze were not working. The bottle filler at Columbia Pike (in between the two water fountains) was working.

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Agreed that we need to get the country to clear the Washington Blvd trail. There are always people biking, scootering, and walking it (and the guy on his skateboard being towed by his husky. That dog is soooo happy!)

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4MRT and W&OD were beautiful! Clear of snow and ice (except for some frozen melt, but that is unavoidable). Even the bridges.

Bike lanes on Army-Navy drive between Joyce and the Country Club entrance were clear from Joyce and mostly clear towards Joyce.

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Thank you, Henry! I should be able to get home without too many refrozen slush areas then.

I should have also mentioned that the bike lanes on Fairfax drive in Ballston are mostly messy, so lane is the way to go. The protected bike lanes on Quincy between Fairfax Drive and Wilson were clear.

 

I presume that the MVT from Roosevelt island to the airport is not very clear. Usually the trail around the cemetery along Rt 110 is cleared and I haven’t noticed a real pattern in clearance from the cemetery to the Pentagon and Pentagon City (either side of the Pentagon). So if anyone has any information on these, that would be helpful for me (and others, I presume!) too.

 

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Anyone know what 4MRT and W&OD are like? (looking for alternative routes home)

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Trail report: As of 7am 1/17/24, Custis was plowed and relatively clear, at least between Harrison St and past the Ballston Connector.

Ballston Connector was NOT clear, Lost of refrozen foot, paw, and bike prints. Not easy to get over.

Trails in Lyon Park (behind houses and apartments) were not plowed or treated and often thick ice. Hard to get over (I avoided two sections with roads, but I wasn’t sure how to avoid the one behind the apartments near Rt 50).

Trail coming off Rt50 to go to Washington Blvd not clear. Clear under Washinton Blvd. Otherwise, rutty mess to the S. Courthouse exit off Washington Blvd.

First bit of the Washington Blvd trail was beautifully cleared and salted (over salted) until under 2nd street. Then NOTHING was done. Complete mess of footprints, paw prints, tire tracks, refrozen solid ice sheets. All snow on the bridge. Up by the tennis courts it was thinner and easier to go over, but still not clear. [This is an Arlington Trail, why isn’t it on their clearance route?]

9th and Rolfe streets between towers park and Columbia Pike was okay, but patches of frozen slush/beaten down snow.

Sidewalk on Columbia Pike from Rolfe to Orme was clear (except for construction debris). Orme, Southgate and Joyce streets were generally clear. It looked like the bike/ped detour along Southgate was cleared of snow.

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I have similar comments to others. I usually use this on a computer and it isn’t friendly there either. The page of recent posts was so nice before. Now one needs to search if there is anything new. I haven’t tried posting pictures, so cannot comment on that. I miss the number of posts from a person as well as the fun names.

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And it is no better this afternoon or in Clarendon. Buses everywhere, little regard for cars or bicycles. They were much better during last year’s (I think it was in 2023, could have been 2022) track closures and bus needs. These buses are from different companies, so perhaps that is the problem.

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Metro has waaaay too many charter buses clogging the streets and bike lanes near Ballston. (Rosslyn and Courthouse stations are closed today through Monday, for some reason the buses are in Ballston). They have been lined up all along Fairfax Drive in both directions in the bike lanes and sometimes in the whole car lane (so cannot go around them “safely” in a partially filled lane either – have to take the whole car lane and block impatient commuters). At about 8 am there was one waiting on Quincy south of Fairfax Dr near the fire hydrant blocking lanes. And another that was on Fairfax Drive and blocking Quincy. At that time of day, it was very dangerous for cyclists, and even cars. I commented on it to a Metro worker and she said “and what do you want me to do about it?” I suggested letting the drivers know they should make more space for people, but I doubt that happened.

This should be all done Monday evening.

Metro needs to give training to any of these temporary drivers. They are clearly all from charter bus companies that have no clue how to act around populated areas.

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I was out of town for a couple of weeks in October and upon return noticed that the Rosslyn Monolith (i.e., counter) was all wrapped in plastic. I couldn’t find anything about that here, so what is happening? A new system? It was always fun to see how many people went by before me each day, so I hope it is back soon.

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