[zsionakides]

@mstone 199873 wrote:

Or, if people can’t figure out any place to ride than the W&OD, they should just not ride and take a walk instead. The parks are closing specifically because people aren’t dispersing, and instead are all flocking to the same places and overcrowding them. The response shouldn’t be to park as close as possible and bull-headedly try to go there anyway, it should be to take a hint and go/do something else.

The problem with some parks closing is it’s exacerbating the problem elsewhere. The better solution is to open up more spaces for people to go and be able to spread out. MVT is too crowded, shut down the GWPW to traffic so everyone can spread out. Too many people in the tidal basin, shut down Ohio Dr and Independence Ave to traffic.

[zsionakides]

@bentbike33 199869 wrote:

I think the point is that even new or less confident riders can in most cases find decent places to ride without flocking to the W&OD, Custis, 4MRT, or MVT, etc., especially in the current light traffic. This 9-mile ride kept me entirely within 2 miles of my house, involved crossing Rte. 7 only at light-controlled intersections, and didn’t even hit all the neighborhood streets.

Just because a on-road route exists doesn’t mean it will be used by all but a small minority. It’s a barriers to entry issue, so people are going to go with what they know or can easily find. Drawing up a neighborhood route that is safe and within someone’s skill level is a lot of work if they’ve never given thought to it. Driving down to the W&OD and going for a ride or walk takes little mental effort. This is why parks and recreational facilities should be kept open as much as safely possible – to spread people out. Even better would be to add more facilities, such as closing off all the NPS roads to vehicular traffic. Those would be easy for people to understand and absorb capacity during this period.

[zsionakides]

@matteblack 199863 wrote:

Why not? It only took me five minutes to create and I don’t even know the area. Is the general public not capable of finding routes near their homes? Is the general public not capable of using a map?

A 30+ turn cue sheet through windy roads with no way-finding is going to be bit much for all but the most dedicated. The rest will simply continue to overwhelm the W&OD and MVT where they can simply walk or ride without having to digest a complex turn by turn map. Maybe if there was a group ride in that area the route would work, but group rides aren’t permitted now for good reason.

[zsionakides]

@matteblack 199859 wrote:

An easy eight miles from Skyline Towers

Next?

This is fine for a confident rider, though I doubt the general public would ride this route, let alone even discover a route like this. The general public is either going with what they know (e.g. W&OD) or what’s findable in their neighborhood.

[zsionakides]

@matteblack 199853 wrote:

I guess you missed what I included in my original post:

My son and his friends are below average cyclists; they were able to get from Fair Lakes to Old Town using side paths, sidewalks and neighborhood roads. If they can do it, your average cyclist should have no problem finding routes to ride while avoiding “high speed roads” (whatever that means).

Please provide examples of “communities that simply plug into the state highways” and I’m sure I can go to google maps and find a route for them to take.

I don’t consider sidewalks a safe way to ride, particularly if you consider needs to socially distance.

High speed road – for me any multi-lane with speed limits of 35+. Typically cars are going faster than this and accidents with bikes or pedestrians are often deadly.

Simple example is Skyline in Baileys Crossroads. Thousands live there and it’s surrounded by 4-6 lane roads.

[zsionakides]

@matteblack 199845 wrote:

I rode all over NoVA in the hunt for parks during FS2020. While I found that McLean was the worst in terms of on-road riding (or sidepaths), I didn’t have any issues with riding on the roads in any of the areas mentioned above (not including Prince William or Stafford as they’re off my radar). I’d have even fewer issues now that there’s been such a decrease in traffic!

Yes, I do realize I’m probably an outlier and not the most accurate representation of your target demographic (folks who don’t ride daily — or even monthly — on a usual basis), but it’s not that difficult to string together neighborhoods in NoVA in order to avoid riding on main roads (where many of them have side paths anyway so that riding on the road isn’t even required). Sure, it might take a while to get where they’re going, but it can definitely be done with some foresight and planning.

As an aside, my son and a few of his friends, who aren’t cyclists by any stretch of the imagination, rode from Fair Lakes to Alexandria and back the other day. They had *no* problems getting there or back. (The problems happened the next day when they paid for their youthful exuberance lol.)

I’m looking at how to accommodate average cyclists who aren’t going to be comfortable dealing with most of Fairfax County’s high speed roads. While some neighborhoods can be biked from, there are a lot of apartment complexes and townhome communities that simply plug into the state highways, which I wouldn’t recommend for anyone.

PWC is much worse than Fairfax. I used to work in the county and couldn’t fathom riding much of anywhere there. That’s why you see people driving to all the parks. Shutting down parking lots simply shifts them to parking in nearby neighborhoods.

[zsionakides]

@mstone 199827 wrote:

Which swaths? IME it’s the very rare area which has no neighborhood walking or biking at all. It’s a pandemic, yeah, people might have to make some adjustments and settle for something less than they want or go in a boring loop instead of doing something epic.

In Fairfax County much of Annandale, Springfield, and Mclean are largely un-bikeable and have limited areas to pleasantly walk outside their immediate neighborhood, unless you enjoy walking/biking on a 4ft sidewalk next to a high speed road. Prince William and Stafford County are almost entirely un-bikable and un-walkable. Reston, Herndon, Vienna, and parts of Loudoun County are manageable, but nowhere near as accessible as much of Arlington and Alexandria (City of)

[zsionakides]

@mstone 199822 wrote:

In most of NOVA there are stream valley trails and neighborhood trails all over the place which are basically empty. Yeah, they’re not as exciting as the regional parks, but they’re a better option these days than driving across the region. And for those whose neighborhoods back up to Lake Fairfax or somesuch, they just luck out. Except that they’re still stuck with all the knuckleheads who can’t take a hint and are parking up and down the road because they can’t possibly go somewhere other than a regional park. (I saw this Sunday on 123, a good half mile of parking on the shoulder to access Burke Lake. )

The problem is that large swaths of NOVA are not easily accessible to parks except by going on a major highway (e.g. 29, 123, 50, etc.). They have no choice but to drive to parks to go walking, biking, hiking, etc. Advising them to ride on those roads either involves riding on a sidewalk or a poorly maintained sidepath. I’d rather they just keep the parks open and break up any group gatherings.

[zsionakides]

@n18 199817 wrote:

Some parks have basketball courts, even soccer fields, so closing parking lots discourages large gathering. All parks indoor facilities have been previously closed one week+ ago. I know there are areas where that doesn’t make any sense.

Also, from VA stay-at-home executive order(PDF), there is an exception to “Engaging in outdoor activity, including exercise, provided individuals comply with social distancing requirements”, so it’s allowed. The purpose of closing parking lots is discouragement, not prohibition.

Sunday/Monday the W&OD in Vienna was busy with walkers and cyclists, almost to the same level in this time of the year.

The problem with closing some of the parks is it crowds the ones that stay open – e.g. everyone that can no longer hike on the Bull Run trail because they can’t use the parking lot are crowding other trails. It’s much better to discourage the dangerous behaviors such as soccer and basketball matches or large picnics, vice closing the parks wholesale. In places that are highly desirable such as the Tidal Basin, shutting down parking lots makes sense to limit the crowds, but most all NOVA Parks aren’t anywhere near that busy.

[zsionakides]

@ginacico 199802 wrote:

Guidance from NOVA Parks (i.e., the W&OD trail):

As per Governor Ralph Northam’s Stay at Home Order, issued today and effective immediately, do not drive to our parks. If you live close enough to walk or ride a bike you may access the trails, but there is no parking. Also please note, Governor Ralph Northam stated all Virginia residents only make essential trips which including seeking medical attention, work, care for family or household members, obtain goods and services like groceries, and prescriptions.

If you are seeking recreation and physical activity look for a park that is within walking or biking distance of your home. Please note: no picnicking, sports, boating or fishing are allowed at this time at NOVA Parks. You may walk on the trails only if you can get to them by foot or on bicycle.

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This direction is a bit odd as the governors order doesn’t ban going to parks, and fishing is explicitly called out as being allowed at beaches.

Considering some of the NOVA parks are hard to reach safely by bike (e.g. Pohick Bay and Bull Run), this is a de facto closure of those parks, which is unfortunate since they are large and easy to spread out in, vice say the W&OD when it’s crowded.

[zsionakides]

Why can’t they just ban parking and buses all along Ohio drive and tow anyone that parks there, at the golf course who isn’t golfing or at the tennis courts who isn’t playing tennis. That should thin out the crowds enough to have reasonable social distancing.

[zsionakides]

@Hancockbs 199561 wrote:

Perhaps there is a definition issue. To me, 1 bike length back is still drafting, 2 bike lengths, not so much, but I do know some folks who consider following for any significant length of time at any visible distance to be “drafting.” As mentioned by someone else, riding any closer than 1 bike length to someone you don’t know and understand their habits is begging for a sudden slowdown or stop resulting in a problem.

This. I had a women run into me from behind a couple years back on the MVT next to the airport, as she was following me close and I had to slow down quickly for a person walking slowly when there was on-coming traffic. She didn’t hit me too bad and one of the on-coming cyclists went down too as she spilled into the other lane. Fortunately everyone was ok and nobody’s bike was damaged, but that could easily have been worse.

[zsionakides]

I got an email and it looks like the Lee Hwy detour is opening back up to where the path is alongside the bridge again. I saw the new path last weekend and it was merely fenced off. This is a big relief to re-open what was probably the worst of the detours on the W&OD.

[zsionakides]

@lordofthemark 199416 wrote:

A bike I am considering and have put a deposit on, has arrived at the bike shop. I want to test ride it. I know that when checking seat height it’s usual for me to sit on the boulevard pedal backwards while the shop employee holds the handlebars.

I don’t want to spread infection either way. I want to “flatten the curve”. OTOH I want to support an LBS, as well as get N+1. Suggestions on how to balance (so to speak) these goals are appreciated.

Put it on a trainer. Most bike shops have one.

[zsionakides]

@mstone 199167 wrote:

“The primary cause of the crash appears to be Behler failing to remain in a single lane, police said.” I have no words.

In the police department’s defense, they probably don’t have much to go on at this point, but do need to write a report that is factually accurate at the point in time and not speculative reasoning that’s construed as bias in the investigation. Upon further investigation, hopefully they will be able to get enough evidence together to appropriately determine cause and provide the prosecutors office with necessary evidence to criminally charge the driver.

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