[jsperson]

Paul, thanks for the update! This morning they were working in the Bike Lane itself. They had barrels set up so I just took the northbound lane (riding with a double trailer). It was a better than normal experience. Cars were quite polite in passing. It’s pretty rough through there, but the kids love the roller coaster ride.

I’m certainly looking forward to new pavement!

[jsperson]

That is a great reply! Thank you very much for making the contact and sharing.

[jsperson]

bobco85 suggested that I take photos of the various obstacles on S. Eads. Normally I’m hauling my kids in a trailer so stopping isn’t an option. Tonight I detoured on my way home to gather some evidence. I also sent these and others to Bike Arlington via email. This type of thing has been going on since at least July 2015.

Anyway, thanks for looking

Pothole that’s been there for months. This forces me into the car lane due to the width of the trailer.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12592[/ATTACH]

Excavator taking up the whole bike lane. Note even a single bike is forced to block the lane. There is a lot of north bound traffic here in the morning due to congestion on Route One.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12593[/ATTACH]

Roller taking up the bike lane with a metal plate on the outside. Note that it’s rough enough that cars are avoiding driving over the plate. After the plate, the surface is not safely rideable for several hundred feet.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12594[/ATTACH]

[jsperson]

I sure wish that we could ride on the parkway – either with the cars or even better in a dedicated lane. For years while it either was legal or I and my mates were ignorant of the law. We never had an incident. Several of us have hit the deck on that darn downhill bridge since we were booted to the path for our safety.

It’s terribly ironic that we can ride Route 1 – I’ve done it and it sucked, but we can’t ride on a PARKway. I think that the NPS would rather be part of DOT than Interior.

[jsperson]

I concur with every one listed above. Those listed below are blocked in whole or part at least 50% of the time I ride through. They include:
S EADS from 23rd to Glebe (both directions, but the worst is north bound) – I generally come through here five days a week pulling a double wide trailer. Any blocking of the lane pushes me into traffic.
Crystal Drive – I’ve given up even using that worthless lane. I just take the lane and salmon through traffic if it’s jammed.
South Bound Courthouse Road – RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE COURTHOUSE is the unofficial kiss and ride lot/loading zone for the courthouse.

[jsperson]

@Rootchopper 143868 wrote:

They tend to be pretty good about fixing things promptly on the MVT south of DC

…and hole repaired – no picture as I was late picking up the kiddos, but as I rode by last night I noticed the hole was now filled with dirt.

Way to go NPS! Now if we could just ride on the GW Parkway south of Alexandria I’ll take back every bad word I’ve ever said about you!

[jsperson]

Email sent to NPS referencing this thread. I’m not holding my breath, but consider this mission complete.

[jsperson]

@KLizotte 143456 wrote:

Have you tried cutting over on to 26th St then Fern? Much quieter residential street. You will still have to put up with S Eads for a ways though.

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually stay on a bit longer and use 25th. I’ve got about 90 pounds behind me between the kids and the trailer. That little rise in 26th is harder than it looks with my load. Unfortunately I still hit the worst parts – construction w/ cars and tour buses w/ cars. This morning a driver mistimed the road narrowing and gave their ABS system a test to avoid rear ending us.

[Author]

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