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I have been out of town a few days so I am not sure when this went missing. This morning as I rode in on the Custis (eastbound), I noticed that the mirror at I-66 Glebe Exit overpass intersection was gone (where eastbound riders head up hill on an overpass and need to make a blind right turn, west bound riders make a blind left, and there is an entrance trail from Glebe that looks more like the trail. I would attach a Google picture, but the camera vans apparently do not travel on the trails (A good thing too!).

When did this disappear? Has anyone told the county yet? If not, I will.

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@dasgeh 162882 wrote:

This is painted incorrectly as well. It’s not the buffer than continues, it’s the bike lane. And why not green, like in Rosslyn?

Or in neighboring Pentagon City.

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So when are they fixing the Rosslyn counter? I am pretty sure I would have been a low number today.

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…was so much less crowded than usual. It was lovely.

Seeing all the cars on the GWP crawling south of Roosevelt Island was kind of fun too. Just south of the island, there was an accident that was being cleared up when I went by ~7:20. I couldn’t tell if anyone were injured (that would be less fun) or not, just cops talking to lots of people, a tow truck and a car driving on the MVT looking for a less steep way back up to the GWP (found one not too far down). Not sure why that spot attracts so many accidents. There was a pedestrian further south on the trail attempting to warn the drivers that they would need to slow down soon. That didn’t work. Peds and bikes crossing at the crosswalk had an easy time since the cars were already not moving.

I know, many are taking today off or telecommuting, but even the joggers were mostly missing. And if they are all off work, why weren’t they on the trail in the numbers they were in yesterday! I went on a ride yesterday leaving about the same time (within 5 min) of today and yesterday Custis and MVT were PACKED with peds and bikes. That was crazy busy.

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I thought the desire paths next to the trail were because runners (and some walkers, including me) didn’t want to be on either concrete or asphalt. Neither are great for the body. Although after lots of sun and no rain, I am not sure the ground around here is much softer.

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@KLizotte 161892 wrote:

Condo choice #2: external stairway but the risers are half the size of normal stairs so the ascent is rather gentle. Internally I’d have to negotiate two floors of stairs but they are wide, brick/hard floor, and each “floor” is broken up by a landing. I think they were designed that way to facilitate moving furniture in/out since there isn’t an elevator. It would definitely be easier going up and down despite the increase in stairs (I think).
QUOTE]

For six years I pushed my bike up two flights of stairs with the panniers on at my office (the elevator was stupidly slow). It was an early 2000s Trek hybrid (not light) and bumping it up and down the stairs wasn’t all that difficult (what was worse was when people tried to “help” by lifting the back of the bike by the light! Eventually that snapped off). Trying to actually carry it that distance would have been rough. The stairwells were a decent width and there was a landing in between each floor, although carpeted, but with industrial carpet. Sounds like your inside stairs will be at least that easy.

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@nosrednaj 161847 wrote:

Here are the access points:

Access points to the shared use path parallel to I-66 shall be provided at approximately half mile increments. These locations may be co-located with other access needs to reduce the breaks in the sound barriers. The Developer shall coordinate with adjacent and nearby communities and local jurisdictions regarding the locations and design of each access point. Possible access points are in the vicinity of the locations listed below:
1. Braddock Rd at NW Quadrant of Route 28 Interchange. Underpass for connection to future trail to Route 28 north.
2. Audrey Dr (Cabells Mill Development, Centreville)
3. Connect to the standard turn at the end of Veronica Rd (Cabells Mill Development, Centreville)
4. West side of Stringfellow Rd connection to Park & Ride Lot and street crossing to east side of street trail
5. Fair Lakes Shopping Center (behind Target)
6. East Market Shopping Center (behind Whole Food Market)
7. Existing trail from Waples Mill Rd (NE Quadrant of US 50 Interchange)
8. Arrowhead Dr/Rosehaven St (SW quadrant of Route 123 Interchange)
9. Bushman Dr (just east of tennis courts property)
10. CedarLanenorthsideconnectiontoI-66paralleltrail
11. ConnectiontowestbendofYeonasDrive(westofSouthsidePark)

Other key information:

New bicycle and pedestrian path facilities and modifications to existing bicycle and pedestrian path facilities shall be designed in accordance with the standards and specifications set forth in Attachment 1.5. All new bicycle and pedestrian path facilities intersecting I-66, the associated Interstate ramps, or other roadway facilities as depicted on the RFP Conceptual Plans shall be grade separated (over or under) unless otherwise approved by the Department.

The Developer shall design a shared use path parallel to I-66 and that is consistent with the RFP Conceptual Plans. Where proposed noise barriers are to be located near homes, the path shall be on the I-66 side of the noise barrier. In addition a roadway barrier with fencing shall separate I-66 from the new pedestrian/bicycle facility.
Sound barrier design should periodically provide pedestrian and bicycle access to the shared use path along the north side of I-66. These access locations should provide adequate sight distance for bicyclists entering from the adjacent neighborhoods. These locations can be co-located with other access needs.

Where did you find these connections and quotes? I am not seeing clear connections, i.e., green trails, except around the interchanges, but I have not looked at all the maps yet. I can find nothing about access points at half mile increments from the drawings. That would make a big difference safety-wise, although still not as good as other trails in the area.

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@VA2DC 161718 wrote:

More likely though will be drivers heading south on Glebe and turning right on Fairfax. I could see someone trying to use the bike path as a service lane.

Actually, this is less likely. There is a corner curb and the bike lane is not full width at the corner. Meaning, if on Fairfax heading west, there is an opening of about 3ft for west bound cyclists to enter. There is an opening of about 3 ft heading south into the crosswalk to cross Fairfax for those cyclists that were heading east off the connector trail. It looks clear to me that it is not a car lane, however, I need to stop thinking that people actually look at such things and think it through.

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Speaking of bollards…

So the new bike lane on Fairfax between Glebe and Wakefield (i.e., next to the new building) appears to have a shiny, new, metal bollard at the Wakefield entrance to the lane. And I mean shiny. It looks stainless steel or chrome as I go by it in the evening. I do not understand its purpose. Who is going to turn into there? How frequently is someone from Wakefield going to try to make a left from the stop line? Who is going to turn left from Fairfax onto Wakefield and turn immediately right before the sidewalk? I only see possible pain with this one.

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@bobco85 161683 wrote:

This is the one I’m talking about, on the west side of that bridge:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14990[/ATTACH]

I hope that flexpost has been removed. It is not a good place for a flexpost to be installed.

That one was removed a while* ago.

*While can be anywhere from 3 months to a year because at some point it is no longer a new thing.

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@Steve O 161456 wrote:

Yesterday was the actual 200th birthday of the bicycle. I am copying this below from The Washcycle for your enjoyment:

Given the fast pace of changes lately, it is kind of refreshing to see that cycling hasn’t changed in 200yr.

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@Subby 161321 wrote:

This thread is a good example of why you should just always ride on the street.

And many of the threads in http://bikearlingtonforum.com/forumdisplay.php?48-Crashes-Close-Calls-and-Incidents are good examples of why not.

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@KWL 161283 wrote:

While the patch work seems to be pretty smooth, I was disappointed we didn’t get a full repave after all that detour time.

I would guess that is because they are planning on re-doing the whole corner later this year. See http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?11661-Upcoming-Custis-Detours-in-Rosslyn&p=156273#post156273

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@bentbike33 161270 wrote:

Have you tried putting your headlight on, even during the day (at least for this part of the ride)? If the sun is behind you it might help you to be seen.

Of course it won’t help you to be seen by drivers enjoying streaming content on their mobile devices.

I have not tried a headlight, at least not regularly (sometimes I just have it on). At the moment, the setting sun is seen through a break in the tree canopy that is quite temporary. The bigger issue is more that the turn is close to blind for the driver – they are on an I=66 overpass with its high walls, then there are trees and the road.

My view is approximately: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8800422,-77.1284156,3a,60y,77.14h,77.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbLOHPxw0ygbTLTx6ekEifw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Their view is approximately: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.879914,-77.1281802,3a,75y,77.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s3p9SQH1TxJza2dN05qlpBw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Note that I stop on the stopline and crawl forward to the final crosswalk line (where I was this week). They could see me if they were paying attention to the side road, but they are usually looking up the road to make sure they at turning before some other vehicle or start turning before they even get to the intersection. My having a light is unlikely to do much unless I aimed it at the northbound traffic.

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Beautiful morning. Cool, but not cold. Not significantly humid (compared to yesterday). Sun shining. No aggressive geese.

And LOTS of people. Wow. Cyclists, joggers, and walkers all over the place. In all directions. It was both lovely to see and annoying to have to nearly stop repeatedly to wait to pass folks (not that some other cyclists had a different interpretation than I did, but no egregiously bad passes) (yes, at times the little selfishness inside calls out). I was surprised at all the cyclists in the “other” direction in several places. Almost as many were traveling west on Custis as were traveling east. A lot of folks heading north on the MVT after 14th Street Bridge – and not all going to Memorial bridge. And I was at my normal travel time this morning, so the huge surge since yesterday or last week was noticeable.

So, “build it and they will come” seems to have worked for all these trails – Custis, MVT, and LBJ Grove. And they have come. In droves at morning commute (and weekends too). Definitely a good thing to see, but maybe it means we need wider or additional trails (like something safe to ride all along Washington Blvd – that would be such a great commute)

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