[Overtone]

A bunch of design pictures are online.
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/26702/federal-review-pushes-the-kennedy-centers-new-buildings-to-dry-land/

I looked closely and I don’t see any obvious accommodation for connecting through kennedy center land from the RCP bridge to the Roosevelt bridge.
If I was a Kennedy Center board member, I would probably try to discourage cut-through bicycle traffic. Doesn’t mix well with the (depending on the night) black-tie or hip artistic vibe they will be cultivating in the garden amongst the new pavilions.

Because of the changes already, they have to redo some of the impact work, so I imagine there’s a way for the bicycle community to advocate for better support than what is shown.

J

[Overtone]

@reji 93227 wrote:

I commute through that area daily and here’s an alternate route for you. http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/514193442

The route isn’t perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot better than the Nutley/I66 mess. Minimal sidewalk riding with just a small stretch on Pickett Road. And all of this is tandem-friendly except for mile 3.5 where you have a big dip to navigate when you turn left out of the parking lot to get to Pickett. If you’re taking a tandem, you may want to explore the GCCCT on the east side of the building to go around it.

Thanks, that’s much better!

[Overtone]

Yesterday my wife and I decided to head out to Fairfax city center from our home in Alexandria. We followed the google bicycling directions: W&OD to Vienna then down along Nutley over I-66 then picked up the CC trail to Lee Highway. Over all it was fine but the section of Nutley over I-66 was deeply unpleasant and felt unsafe. Heavy gravel and big level changes (almost stair steps) on the sidewalk, high speed traffic on the road. This was marked as a bike path but it sure didn’t feel like it. We were on the west side of Nutley (heading south, going with traffic). I’m wondering, is it better on the east side? Or should we have gone into the metro station and walked our (tandem) across the pedestrian overpass?

(For the ride home, we did a quick search on the forums and found a recommendation to cross I-66 on Cedar Lane. That worked much better since there’s no freeway interchange there.)

Thanks,
John

[Overtone]

I heard but didn’t see it myself that the one in central Del Ray (near the farmer’s market) also appeared. Yay!

[Overtone]

I’m anxiously awaiting my chance to CaBi. I live in the Del Ray section of alexandria. We’ve been promised a CaBi dock for a year now. Guess it got caught up in the bankruptcy. I notice Arlington has installed new ones in that time, so clearly ArlCo is flush. Maybe Arlington could loan Alexandria half of the one at the boundary between potomac yard and crystal city that seems way larger than is needed for the local usage???

[Overtone]

Well drat. My commute goes right by there. I rode yesterday in the rain, then took the bus today which turns out to have great weather AND fresh food available on the way home if I had cycled. That’ll larn me! Will be cool to stop by the market in coming weeks.

John

[Overtone]

Thanks for the quick fix.

Nice new design for the web page, by the way.

John

@Colin B 88577 wrote:

Hi everyone,

That was our bad. The link is now in the resources menu. Thanks for catching the error!

[Overtone]

I asked Gabriel yesterday what’s the current status, here’s his reply.

Hi John,

Thanks for the interest … trust me, you are not the only one waiting for the expansion of CaBi! Right now, the best estimate we can give is this winter, but that is always changing. I would try us back in about two weeks … also make sure to check our website and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/LocalMotionAlexandriaVA page for updates.

THANKS

Gabriel D. Ortiz
Transportation Demand Management Coordinator
City of Alexandria
Transportation Planning Division
421 King Street, room 300
Alexandria, VA 22314
http://www.alexandriava.gov/LocalMotion
703-746-4083

[Overtone]

Tim- Do you have info from the bike/ped counter on the 4MR trail: what was the increase in the number of bikes there compared to an ordinary fine-weather day in May?

-John

[Overtone]

Followup- I had a great 30mile ride on Saturday. I used the Sligo Parkway for part of the way where it had a wide shoulder, but once it narrowed, I switched over to the pathway. As noted above, it’s open to cars on Saturday.

Couple of notes about the trip. Given where I was coming from in northern Silver Spring, I decided to explore the uppermost part of the Northwest Branch trail then zip over the hump straight west to the northern end of the Sligo Creek trail. That didn’t work so well! Presumably all of you know that portion of the NB is a hiking trail full of rocks and deep sand. Perhaps passable to a serious mountain biker but I ended up carrying my bike for almost a mile till I could get off the trail. It was beautiful up there and I’m glad to have seen all the flowers. Next time I’ll have to figure out how to tell in advance the difference between a “trail” and a “trail”.

Also, I felt somewhat unsafe from the end of Sligo Creek trail where it joined the (paved) northwest branch, past West Hyattsville metro station and to 38th street where I turned off the trail. Even on a sunny Saturday afternoon there was basically no one around, MS13 spray painted on the trees, big housing projects nearby. Having just seen the thread on the mugging on the Custis… Am I just being a paranoid suburbanite? Would it be preferable to be in a group through there?

Later on, getting across the mall to the 14th street bridge entrance was No Fun due to the big crowds. Luckily that was a short distance and I could enjoy the MVT the rest of the way home into Alexandria.

Thanks to DaveK for pointing out the route.

John

[Overtone]

@DaveK 48425 wrote:

It’s a relatively easy connection – You can see on this track how to get from Sligo Creek Trail to the Met Branch Trail and to Union Station. I did it reverse from what you will but the track is the same. From Union Station, just hop on down to the Mall and you’re good to go.

http://app.strava.com/activities/38136764

Thanks very much! Just what I was looking for.

John

[Overtone]

@Mark Blacknell 46862 wrote:

If anyone is looking to ALSO have a 10 miler on April 7, I’ve got an entry up for grabs. Just doesn’t work for me, this year. It’s a great race, and I’ll be back. Just not this year.

Since we’re on the topic: I’ve got an entry for the Parkway Classic April 21 that I can’t use. Anyone want it?

John

[Overtone]

Yesterday’s Pearls Before Swine is amusing. It introduces the Pyramid of Humanity…

http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2013/01/13

J

[Overtone]

Thanks everyone for the insightful discussion.

I admit I’ve been tempted to sneak out there in the night and put up a “no parking here to corner” signpost that knocks out the last two parking spots. Alternately a mirror on the grassy median giving left visibility.

John

[Overtone]

Thanks for the pointer Tim. Wasn’t obvious from the title of the earlier thread, and (perhaps I should be ashamed to admit…) I don’t read ALL forum threads/posts

john

[Author]

Posts