[MLB]

Have you looked at Seminary Valley in the west end of Alexandria? Quiet neighborhood centered on Taney Ave between Pelham and Latham. Plenty of 3-4 BR houses built in the 50’s & 60’s that sell in the 400’s to 500’s. Easy access to the Holmes Run Trail which will bring you all the way down to the Eisenhower Ave trail and on to Carlyle/Old Town, plus decent access to W&OD/4MR via sharrows & bike lanes on Taney, Howard (hill), Braddock & Walter Reed.

[MLB]

@bobco85 124193 wrote:

I agree the detour is well-marked. I think they did a really good job on the detour with great signage. Even though it’s not that great of a distance, the detour is well-laid out.

Pics of the detour:

map (trail closure in red, detour in blue) – note: Dear Google Maps, it will not take 15 minutes to bike this, fyi
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9645&stc=1[/IMG]

That has to be one of the most well-marked that most detours I’ve ever seen, especially for a bike path.

An couple of alternate detours exist

1) Coming northbound on the Holmes Run Trail, continue along to the end of Holmes Run Parkway past all the detour signs, and cut through the back parking lot for the 4600 Duke condos, and then cross Duke Street at the traffic light that’s in front of the condo building and Harris Teeter. Then take a left on the sidewalk to rejoin the bike trail just beyond the Exxon station. The marked detour does have the advantage of no stops, but this route has no additional climbs.

2) Coming northbound, follow the detour as marked, but turn right instead of left at the bottom of the ramp at Duke Street. Take an immediate right into the Beatley Library parking lot and follow the driveway around to Pickett Street, and turn right. Straight ahead will be a bridge that takes you back over Holmes Run to the bike trail about 1/2 mile north of Duke Street. This will save you a little bit of time/distance if you are continuing up the Holmes Run Trail beyond the Latham Street sidepath.

[MLB]

@scoot 119529 wrote:

It should be noted that Cameron Street is one-way the opposite direction. I wouldn’t ride in the road going the wrong way, as a general principle, but especially not at this location. Drivers won’t see you until the last second given that curve around the Wyndham, plus they can be aggressive about lane changing ahead of the Commonwealth intersection. The sidewalk between Commonwealth and the start of the MUP is an option, but it’s very narrow and hemmed in by a concrete wall, complicating pedestrian encounters.

You might consider Harvard Street, or maybe the alley (unnamed?) that runs under the Cardinal Bank building and along the Wyndham.

Exactly right – I forgot to mention needing to take the sidewalk along Cameron when heading north/east. 😮
It’s really tight right next to the metro station but it’s not bad the rest of the way. Just take it slow and be ready to use the grass verge as needed. BTW I recommend avoiding the sidewalk on the Wyndham side- not only is it brick but there’s plenty other hazards like light poles, trees, loading bays and a garage exit.

[MLB]

@komorebi 119302 wrote:

FYI, an alternative to the Slaters Lane/Powhatan St. route is to continue on the Potomac Avenue MUP all the way to the end, at Braddock Road. Cross the westbound lanes of Braddock on the crosswalk, turn left to join Braddock’s eastbound lanes, then turn right onto West Street. If you follow West Street all the way south, it’ll take you to Jamieson Ave.

I haven’t done this during the afternoon rush hour, but I sometimes go this way in the evenings and I usually find the traffic on Braddock and West to be pretty light.

The route I typically take from Braddock Rd to Carlyle district is the unnamed MUP that goes along the east side of the train tracks from Braddock Metro to the King Street Metro via Cameron Street. At the end of the MUP, take Cameron through the 4-way stop at Commonwealth/Daingerfield, then cross King Street with the pedestrian signal and take the Metro station bus lane up to the pedestrian tunnel under Duke Street. The tunnel puts you out on the Dulaney St. sidewalk. (Note: it’s right turn only at the Diagonal & Duke intersection) It’s the most direct route, but often requires a dismount when going through the tunnel as it can be crowded with pedestrians, so taking West Street down to Jamieson may be a quicker or easier route depending on traffic. I’ll have to give it a try some time.

https://goo.gl/maps/gz1F6
(note: Google won’t route bike riders through the bus lanes so I used pedestrian directions)

For the inbound commute in the morning, you can cross Duke northbound on Dulaney/Diagonal, so skip the tunnel. Take Diagonal up to a left at Daingerfield, then a right onto Cameron at the 4-way stop and then back to the MUP.

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