[jonathankrall]

Update: I didn’t hear back from MNCPPC or VDOT, but did see that the bridge itself was being plowed yesterday afternoon. The bridge has been plowed and the trail on the Maryland side, including the overpass and the ramp down to the beginning of the bridge, has been plowed and salted. This morning, the bridge had a thin layer of snow and ice on it was rideable with studded snow tires.

[jonathankrall]

I asked recently and was told by Alexandria TE&S folk that the trail dragging because Dominion has to move some underground utility lines. It should be connected down to Braddock by the end of 2014.

As for the luxury condos, the sad fact is that housing in a walkable neighborhood near Metro is so desirable and in limited enough supply that developers can build such housing for rich people only and sell it all. I read somewhere that about half of US citizens would like to live where they can walk to shops and restaurants, but only about 20 percent actually do. As a result, walkable=luxury=can afford to keep a car around even if it isn’t used much.

Of course it remains to be seen how walkable Potomac Yard will be. It may turn out to be so mono-culturally boring that the residents would rather scratch their eyes out (or have their servants do it for them) than walk around and look at the neighborhood. OTOH, the new trail and “linear park” does have some nice playground equipment and families have been coming out to use it.

[jonathankrall]

… so no more Wilson Bridge Trail closures this week.

[jonathankrall]

@Raymo853 90253 wrote:

Regardless of the other points, can anyone conform if it really is open after 3:00 PM? Was thinking of commuting the long way home this week via Oxen Hill and the Wilson Bridge.

I rode home yesterday, crossing the WW Bridge at about 6 pm.

[jonathankrall]

@Steve O 90230 wrote:

I don’t ride that way, but I’m wondering if they put up notifications for the last few weeks in advance like they do with upcoming road closures.
So I’m certainly in no position to determine whether or not the closure is necessary for the work that they are doing, but I do feel it is appropriate to criticize the lack of notification if, in fact, they failed to do any.

Closures to the WWB Trail are usually preceded by notices set up about 1 week in advance, but not this time. Via twitter, @MDSHA confirmed that the work may go through to Friday 7/18, but did not confirm the hours of closure each day.

[jonathankrall]

@mstone 90196 wrote:

It’s possible it’s a conspiracy theory, it’s also possible that they need to hang off the side of the bridge, and that’s where the trail happens to be.

“conspiracy theory”?!? This insult is not appreciated. I used to bike across the 14th St Bridge all the time and they could inspect that without closing the trail.

[jonathankrall]

@StopMeansStop 90110 wrote:

Not to side with Milloy, but why is it that cyclists seem to have an image problem in the first place?

Because people like to believe that normal = safe = good and we live in a built environment that barely accommodates bicycles at all. Worse yet, humans have evolved to equate obedience to social norms with survival and bicycles are basically funny-looking cars that break social rules right, left and sideways.

The social rule for speeding, for example, is that the speed limit is a lower limit. Drive below the speed limit on the beltway and you will receive honking and rude gestures. Cyclists riding legally in the road elicit road rage simply for “slowing down” the cars. Legally, a vehicle proceeding on the road at its usual and customary speed is not “impeding traffic.” A very nice article in Law and Order magazine clarified that about two years ago. Casting about for a rationalization for this road rage, many seize on scofflaw behavior, which is universal, and pretend that cyclists are unusual scofflaws. The fact is that no credible study supports this stereotype.

[jonathankrall]

Addressing the original question, the route between VA and DC via the Wilson Bridge continues to be degraded in that area as a result of the efforts of the the MD state highway administration and the MGM construction. My main beef is that, a while back, MD SHA redesigned the intersection of Oxon Hill Rd and Bald Eagle Rd to forbid left hand turns onto Bald Eagle. Thus, if I want to ride in the road, which I regard as safer even there, I have no legal, bike-friendly options. I do an illegal left-hand turn. As part of the redesign, Bald Eagle RD/Oxon Hill Farm Rd was opened to through traffic from Indian Head Highway, adding automobile traffic to the route.

The most recent change is that the small, unnamed road connecting Harborview Ave to National Ave has been closed by MGM construction. Previously, it was possible to ride from the trail -> that connecting road -> National Ave -> Oxon Hill Rd. This route had the advantage of avoiding the traffic light at Harborview and Oxon Hill, a light that seems not to detect bicycles. For people who ride on the west-side sidewalk instead of on Oxon Hill Rd, the National Ave route has the advantage of a rideable sidewalk. Sidewalk riders who proceed north from Harborview encounter a gap in the sidewalk. Some avoid the gap by salmoning in the bike lane.

I’d like to think that someone at MD SHA is at least laughing his or her ass off as they throw up all these barriers to cycling (then someone would be getting something out of it), but I sincerely think that they have no idea that they are doing so. I did write to MD parks and planning about some of the issues (mainly the expansion joints on the Wilson Bridge), but was told to write to MD SHA. I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

[jonathankrall]

@Edgar P. 89855 wrote:

I was thinking the same thing. MGM knows business and they will try to accommodate as many potential travel methods as possible toward their new casino.

If they have the same mentality as the folk who run National Harbor, they will instead regard anyone who does not arrive in a car as a problem to be managed rather than as a customer to be welcomed. For example, NH has closed and reinforced gaps in the fence between NH and the nearby neighborhood created by people wanting to walk to NH, has designed all roads to resemble freeways right up until they reach the NH shops, has added bike parking that is difficult to use (a snake rack installed on a jumble of loose rocks), and has paved the walking/biking path between NH and the Wilson Bridge Trail with seashells that have a reputation for cutting up bike tires.

I ride from Alexandria to DC via the Wilson Bridge 2-5 times per week and the best thing I can think to say is this: at least they didn’t hire snipers!

[jonathankrall]

@Steve 86970 wrote:

AAA is supposed to represent the desires of its members.

I disagree. AAA is supposed to show up at the table with at least some degree of expertise and some willingness to educate their members away from self-harming stupidity.

For example, I joined AARP when I became eligible entirely because they strongly support Complete Streets policies. Skimming through the piles of lit they send me (I wish they would dial it back a little), they back this up with articles promoting active lifestyles and reduced auto-dependency. All this is despite the fact that the over-50 crowd is very weak in its support for bicycling. For example, a June 2013 WaPo telephone poll in the DC area showed that every demographic that they allowed the data to be broken into (they had a fun on-line tool for this) showed well over 50 percent support for bike lanes except for the oldest residents. When broken down by age, the oldest bracket showed only 50 percent support for bike lanes.

My point is that, if the AARP reflected the views of its members instead of bringing their own expertise to the table, I’d drop them faster than I dropped the AAA.

[jonathankrall]

I’ll be on stage at the Alexandria Old Town pit stop, reading raffle numbers and, if any show up, introducing politicians. At about 8:30 I’ll ride to work across the Wilson Bridge to SW DC via Oxon Hill Farms Park Trail. Hopefully I won’t get attacked by one of those annoying geese. I’ll be dressed for rain.

[jonathankrall]

If you do get a convoy together, please let me know and I can announce it from the stage at the Market Square pit stop. It would be great to have an Alexandrian convoy this year.

[jonathankrall]

@elbows 83285 wrote:

If anyone is interested, there is a meeting on this project tonight.

Four Mile Run Restoration Project – Joint Task Force Meeting TONIGHT! Wednesday, April 23rd. 7 PM. The Conservancy at Four Mile Run Park, 4109 Mt. Vernon Ave, Alexandria, VA. Curious what is going on with the Four Mile Run Restoration Project? There is a lot happening with the project lately! Find out the current status of the project, plans for construction, an update on the bridge removal over Four Mile Run, and learn more about the public art project on the Water Pollution Control Plant Fence. The Joint Task Force meeting will be following by the Arlandria Action Plan Advisory Group Meeting, if you would like to learn more about projects in Arlandria. http://www.novaregion.org/index.aspx?NID=214

I didn’t notice this thread until today, so it didn’t occur to me to take careful notes at the meeting. Based on my shaky memory…

– Detour should be gone by end of June, hopefully sooner.
– Switchback ramp down to trail is slated to be replaced by something better (or at least designed to last), to provide access from Potomac Ave to the trail. This should happen soon, but I don’t recall what “soon” means. The basic idea is to do this while everything else in that area is being worked over, so by the end of 2015 at the latest. Arlington is building it, so maybe the Arlington BAC has info on the design.
– The entire 4 Mile Run restoration needs to be finished by the end of 2015 (I didn’t record the exact deadline–they said “18 months”), or the money goes away. The project will cause occasional trail disruptions on the Arlington side (moving equipment back and forth across the trail) but no trail closures.
– On the Alexandria side there will be a months-long trail closure and detour, but I didn’t notice the time line. The closed area will be near Mt Vernon Ave and the detour will connect the existing trail over to Bruce Street.

[jonathankrall]

I’ll be there by 6 or 6:30

Jonathan

[jonathankrall]

Alexandria BPAC is doing an informal Christmas Lights ride in the Del Ray neighborhood in Alexandria. It should be 4 miles or so with optional food and drink at a neighborhood eatery afterwards. Saturday 12/17, 5:30 pm (finish by 7 pm at the latest). http://sites.google.com/site/alexandriabpac/

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