[Tim Kelley]

I checked with our Bike/Ped planners and the Transportation Engineering & Operations team, and this is what I’ve heard back:

“This is entirely a Dominion Power project. The County is not involved with the construction process.

The phase of the project involving Marshall Drive will be Phase 3 or 4 of a multi-phase project, and all of Phase 1 will probably not even begin construction until the spring (since it will require steel plates and VDOT does not allow steel plates in the winter).

We do not yet have MOT (Maintenance of Traffic) plans since they are submitting for permits in phases. We don’t anticipate the phase impacting Marshall Drive going to construction in the next few months and no plans have been submitted yet for it. I will get in touch with the contact at Dominion and make sure they are aware of our concerns, but at this point we are well before the point at which decisions need to be made. We will have opportunities to review the MOT before it is approved, and our Director and Bureau Chief are aware of the project and the issues involved.”

[Tim Kelley]

Yeah, 1300 ft seems a bit on the low side….can you verify this with some GPS unit readings?

[Tim Kelley]

Pete–I’d like to take a rain check on that hill ride!

Between a newborn at home, and tapering for Ironman Florida (you think these hills are tough–try doing a double metric century of 3 mile loops around Hains Point) I need to take it for the next two weeks!

How about mid-November? Maybe see if any other forum readers would like to join us?

[Tim Kelley]

Hey Pete, what are your top 3 toughest hills in Arlington?

41st street for sure–but what else?

[Tim Kelley]

I’ll check around and see if I can find anything out for you. Is the pile still there now? Do you think you can give me an exact location/address?

[Tim Kelley]

Yes! We will be having at least one of these events (and maybe two!) and will be about a week after the day lights savings time change and we’d love volunteers. Drop me an email: tim.kelley@bikearlington.com and I’ll let you know more when we have exact details figured out!

[Tim Kelley]

Some photos and a short write up here:

http://www.commuterpageblog.com/2010/10/yay-for-bike-riders-day.html

[Tim Kelley]

I submitted your comment to our planners/engineers and have already heard back:

“There is a marked loading zone there near the Metro elevator and many trucks do correctly use it. They also don’t park as close in as they could and stick out into the bike lane. That, along with the cars and trucks parking illegally, is for parking enforcement to deal with. We’ve already signed much of that area as somewhere vehicles are not allowed to be.

FYI – 2100/2200/2300 Clarendon does have a separate loading dock which is located under the building from the Veitch St entrance.”

and

“The area right in front of our building is going to be rebuilt in the near term. The right turn slip lane is going away, and the “pork chop” island is being enlarged and reworked. That should help with some of the problems…But trucks parked in the bike lane is a police enforcement issue…I’ll bring this to Design Team next week to see if there is something else that can be done.”

Sounds like taking it up with the ACPD might be the best recourse.

[Tim Kelley]

A few pictures from the event are here.

[Tim Kelley]

The bikes are designed to be heavy duty and live outdoors year round. Systems in other cities like London and Paris also have similar challenges with winter weather, but Montreal’s system is packed up and taken offline during the winter. The operations team will be checking the bikes regularly to make sure they are running smoothly.

Only time will tell how well they hold up, but hopefully they won’t fade like the SmartbikeDC bikes did!

[Tim Kelley]

Thanks for the advice guys. Pete–I’ll email you.

[Tim Kelley]

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Heather Hurlock on a number of projects in the past year and she is very good. I think you two will come up with some great stuff!

[Tim Kelley]

I was copied on an email from ACPD recaping lastr week’s Bike/Ped Awareness week. Here’s the outcome:

“Last week, the 1D React Team worked the 2nd Annual Virginia Bicycle Awareness Week. In support of that campaign a press release was put out & signboards were placed throughout the county. Aux Officer Heather Hurlock is still planning on working with Revolution Cycles, Big Wheel & Conti’s bike shops to continue the message. During the campaign approximately 500 verbal warnings were given out, along with an educational pamphlet explaining the County Code. The vast majority of warnings were for Traffic signs & signals. There were 5 written warnings for various offenses and NO real citations were issued. It is the belief of the Officers that most bicyclists are unaware that the traffic laws apply to them. Hopefully this campaign was a step in the right direction.”

[Tim Kelley]

Car Free Day is tomorrow!

Remember, that even if you already bike every day, you can still sign the pledge to be entered to win great prizes like an iPad or a bike.

http://www.carfreemetrodc.com/

[Tim Kelley]

That third picture looks really familiar. I think I’ve done that same descent a few times…

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