Rock Creek Park Comment Period

The comment period for the Rock Creek Park General Management Plan (GMP) runs through February 28 of this year. I've poked through the report and I have trouble determining why the Park Service chose Alternative A over Alternative D. The difference between the two is that Alt D would eliminate automobile traffic along three segments of Beach Drive from 9:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. each weekday. By the admission of its own report, it's the environmentally preferred solution. For Alternative A they give a very non-specific argument that it will

most effectively balance the recreational, environmental and traffic consideration for the short- and long-term future of the park.

So, the WABA preferred alternative gives too much consideration to recreation and the environment over traffic. One would think that a park would err on the side of recreation and the environment.

That is until you read these choice words from local elected officials:

Further restricting the permissible uses of Beach Drive during the week strikes me as unfair to those citizens wishing to enjoy the park whose mobility requires a car. The new proposal would eliminate use of Beach Drive during the one segment of time when individuals with disabilities, and others who require a car for mobility, can enjoy the park without having to compete with rush-hour traffic. (U.S. Representative Chris Van Hollen)

I write to express my concern about Alternative D in the absence of information that significant numbers of residents would benefit. The Park Service has conducted no survey or offered any information regarding how many people might use the park during the proposed closure, and who they might be.(U.S. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton)

These residents already contend with cut-through traffic on the weekends, due to the closure of Beach Drive. (Senator Barbara A. Mikulski)

Van Hollen, Norton and Senator Paul Sarbanes also promised (amid some nice self-aggrandizing) that they could provide money for a complete and improved  trail (ostensibly to get cyclists off the road).

Western Maryland Rail Trail Extention

In October, Gov. Robert Ehrlich announced that Maryland would spend $5 million on a 4.5 mile extension of the Western Maryland Rail Trail. The new section will run from Pearre Station to Little Orleans, MD with access through a 4400 foot tunnel. The Western Maryland Railway ran all the way to Cumberland and the trail may eventually go that far - then it could connect with the Allegheny Highlands Trail. The AHTM is part of the Great Allegheny Passage, a combination of rail trails running from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. Connecting with the C&O canal tow path, they create a continuous trail from DC to Pittsburgh. I've ridden both the AHTM and the WMRT and they're both great. The latter is paved. On the former I saw a bear.  

9th annual Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Symposium

One Less Car is hosting the 9th annual Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Symposium in the Miller Office Building in Annapolis on Wednesday, February 8 2008.

Learn about the recently passed federal transportation bill SAFETU-LU and how it will affect transportation funding for Maryland, Safe Routes to School, bike-ped friendly roads, trails being planned and built, and legislation that will affect you as a bicyclist and pedestrian. Network with others who are working to make Maryland a better place for bicycling and walking. 

The day will also feature lobby visits with state legislators. Just let us know which district you live in and we will make an appointment for you to meet with your representatives.

You can sign up for it at their website.

Bicycle Transit System

I don't have a "crazy idea" category, so this one - which I got from Live from the Third Rail - will just have to be categoryless. The idea, from a company called Bicycle Transportation Systems, is to remove air resistance for cyclists and replace it with perpetual tailwinds using tunnels and fans powered by 150hp electric motors. They call it Transglide 2000.

They promise that the system

increases urban mobility while lowering every aspect of transportation costs. People and freight will be transported at speeds faster than light rail, buses, or motor vehicles at a fraction of current cost levels. This new strategy for mass transportation will make it possible to match the carrying capacities of rail systems at an affordable cost level. By lowering capital and operating costs this transit system will generate large profits and will not require continuous subsidies.

Here's a good review of the technological aspects. As much as I'd enjoy riding in something like this - or on a grade-separated, bicycle-only system for that matter - I think we have a better chance of driving hover cars than something like this.  We can't even get lights put up. We'll have to settle for tunnels like this and  this.

Trail Safe 1-2-3

Trail Safe 1-2-3 is the name of a pathway safety program started in Reston after a woman was assaulted on the W&OD trail.  It's been in effect for three years and has gone relatively unused. Hmm, let's see if we can figure out why.  Well for starters a search on "Trail Safe" Reston on Google turns up basically nothing on it - except that it the name of the program was changed to Park Safe and then Park Watch. OK so bad branding.

So let's see what the program doesn't do:

“Some lighting can aid, but it's not going to give you a guarantee of safety,” said Jones. She added that putting call boxes on the pathways poses the same problem depending on their location.

Reston Association President Jennifer Blackwell has opposed putting up lighting around the pathways.

So no lights and no callboxes.

So what does it do:

individuals can register with the Reston police, describing where they typically run on the pathways. The information is kept confidential and used only in emergency situations.

“This feature is used to give people an awareness of where they are running,” said Jones, acknowledging that not many people have signed up yet because they think their information may not be kept confidential.

What the %$#%? What kind of "awareness" are people being given exactly? And you're saying that people are afraid the government might not keep their information confidential? That's a shocker.

As near as I can tell all Trail Safe 1-2-3 does is tell the police where to look for your dead body when you haven't shown up to work in 1-2-3 days. How about this for Trail safety, have a bicycle cop ride the trail several times a day at unpredictable times - oh yeah and the lights and call boxes. Those seem good too.

Metro Buses

Someone recently pointed out that Metro buses were the scariest vehicles out there, and I concur. They're big enough to take up an entire lane and because they're picking up and dropping off, they're always over in a cyclists lane on the right hand side. Add to that less than ideal driving (the closest I ever came to being hit was by a metro bus whose driver was on a cell phone) and an inexplicable hatred (that grows more mutual everyday) that often leaves me feeling a bit like Mr. Mann in Duel and you have a recipe for disaster.

Now as a bus rider, I find the drivers to be normally pleasant and courteous, it's just when I'm out on the road with them that they seem to view me through the cross-hairs.

Still, I recently saw this and I knew it could be worse:

A man claims a TriMet bus driver nearly hit him and then let off a passenger who assaulted him, only to then let the attacker back on the bus and drive away.

I'd like to think that even a Metro bus driver wouldn't do that. The other good line from the article is this:

On the day of the incident, Albright - a cycling and mass transit advocate who commutes to work by bicycle in all types of weather - claims he was riding in traffic lanes because ice and gravel made the sidewalks and bike lanes unsafe.

That sounds familiar.

 

Biking Across America

AP reporter Calvin Woodward recently biked across the United States on the TransAmerica Trail. Starting here in DC, he biked down to catch the trail in Charlottesville and from there rode it all the way to Pueblo, CO and then to the Pacific on the Western Express Trail. Both trails are part of the Adventure Cycling Association's route system.

Crossing the country at 12 mph to 15 mph, loaded down, takes about three months. It's hard. This is an enormous country. Who knew? One astonishing thing about this trip is that it can be done at all in this day and age. In this land of congested suburbs, clogged highways and city clatter, it's possible to go from Washington, D.C., to the Pacific on roads less traveled.

It's a good little travel story. Another DC resident, author and journalist David Lamb, rode his bike across country and wrote a book about it that's received mixed reviews.

Besides the routes on the ACA's page two other cross country trails/routes pass through the DC area. The American Discovery Trail - which differs from the TransAmerica because it tries to use only trails, crosses the Bay Bridge, connects to the Anacostia Trails, and then hooks up with the C&O via Rock Creek Park. The East Coast Greenway, the "urban Appalachian Trail", crosses Arlington Memorial Bridge and the mall before escaping DC on the Met Branch Trail.

Smart Bikes

WABA's latest issue of Ride On (pdf) mentioned the Clear Channel bus shelter deal and how the contract also

proposed automated facilities at which people could rent bicycles for short trips.

In my first post, I called it Flex Bike, but it's actually called Smart Bike and it's pretty darn cool. (though I don't like the name smart bike. All bikes are smart, these are flexible, but whatever they got to do to make it work). The website needs to be a little more fleshed out, but it sounds promising:

A smarter solution to city transport. In today's urban environment, developing integrated transport strategies and reducing the number of cars on the street are critical issues worldwide. Addressing the problems of traffic congestion and pollution, Adshel has devised an innovative bicycle borrowing scheme suitable for use in cities across the globe.

Use your credit card to undock the bike and off you go. The 5 speed bikes have locks - so that you can take them anywhere - and luggage holders.

And the bus shelters will be nice too. Great designs are possible and they'll come with nextbus technology, bus maps, distinctive bus stop names and all kinds of amenities.

I know a lot of people think Clear Channel is the Devil, but when they're not busy destroying radio, it appears they're making positive transportation changes.

Bikes and Metro

With the forced resignation of Richard White and the installation of Dan Tangherlini, area cyclists have a real advocate (and fellow bike commuter) serving as the head of Metro (even if it is only temporarily).

"We've focused the last 25 years on optimizing the automobile commute," Tangherlini said. "As we run out of space for them, we realize we have to enhance the other alternatives. . . . The streets aren't getting any wider." With money tight, roads jammed and pollution at unhealthy levels, Washington area governments are promoting bicycling more than at any time since the 1970s. And not just for leisurely weekend rides on scenic paths.

Mr. Tangherlini was instrumental in hiring a bicycle coordinator for DC, he pushed for the DC bike plan and for bikes on buses.

With a push starting to hire a bicycle and pedestrian safety coordinator for Metro, the change couldn't have come at a better time.

The major policy change I'd like to see Metro make is to remove the rush hour restriction on bikes. Yes, bikes take up space, but aren't many stops short on parking? Allowing bikes might help with that. Luggage also takes up space, but there's no rush hour restriction on taking luggage on Metro. Even a more reasonable rule of "no bikes on a crowded train" would allow those with a reverse commute to use metro during rush hour.

Addendum More here.

Is it cheaper to bike?

Recently I stated that it was cheaper to bike to work (or anywhere) than drive. I based my statement on a GAO estimate that the operating cost of a bicycle was $0.05 a mile and the AAA estimate that the operating cost of a car was $0.26 a mile.  Some people disagreed with the GAO estimate (and I can no longer find where I got it from) so I wanted to figure out, is it cheaper to bike than drive?

First some ground rules. I am making all of the following assumptions:

1. I'm not considering the cost of ownership for either the car or the bike. No insurance. No car payments. No registration. No taxes. I think it's pretty clear that if riding a bike allows you to get rid of a car, it is financially advantageous.
2. I'm assuming you can park for free and you pay no tolls. If you have to pay for parking, I think biking again easily wins.
3. The mileage is the same whether you bike or drive. (Though for me biking is about a mile shorter because I go farther out of my way to catch highways).
4. I'm not counting health benefits for biking, nor am I counting social cost (environmental damage for example) or differences in safety. I'm also not considering time.
5. I'm not counting extra food you might eat when biking. Americans have weight to spare.
6. I'm assuming you don't use your bike for recreation of exercise.

Cost of operating a car.
This is pretty simple to find. I used AAA's 2005 numbers since they're automobile advocates and are unlikely to overstate the costs. They claim that a car depreciates at $0.2586 per mile. The cost of maintenance, tires, gas and oil ranges from $0.121/per mile to $0.152/per mile. I'll use the lower number. Add the two together and the cost is $0.3796/per mile.

Now let's assume you bike 14 miles each way like this guy. That's 28 miles a day for 240 working days. A total mileage of 6720 miles. That will cost you $2550.91.

Cost of operating a bike
This was a little more difficult to find. Some tried to say that biking was free. Or gave a number without an explanation. Just to play devil's advocate I'm going to pretend you need to throw out everything and buy it all new the next year. What will that cost?

Commuter Bike - $550 to $599 lets call it $600
Rack - $30
Light - $94
Tail light - $12
Trunk - $34
Bell - $9
Extra set of tires - $70
12 tubes (one a month) - $60
Multi-tool, pump etc.. - $24
A mid year tune up - $45
An extra set of brake pads - $8
1 bottle of chain grease - $14
Socks - $8
Helmet - $95
Shorts -$65
Pants - $100
Jersey - $40
Winter Jersey - $109
Gloves - $36
Winter Gloves - $28
Shoes - $95
Booties - $50

Now with anything else, you could spend more for these items. But you could also spend less and certainly this is all you need. Add it all up plus taxes and you get $1711.50 leaving you just under $840 to buy extras of anything, pay for extra maintenance and or even splurge somewhere in there. And, I know most of these things will be able to go 7000 miles without wearing out.  So I feel confident that biking is at least 1/3 cheaper than driving.

XCT

Before the holidays this weird editorial about the Cross County Trail ran in the Examiner. It really doesn't read as an editorial at all. The only opinion expressed is this line at the end

Just remember that hiking trails are recreational amenities - not major commuter routes-

That line just seems thrown in, without any justification or defense. It's like the article was cut off (especially since it ends with a dash instead of a period). I'm not sure if the author was saying that just hiking trails weren't for commuting, which may be true, or all recreational trails, which is clearly wrong.

On a related note, I tried to bike the trail recently. I parked at the lot just past Difficult Run along Georgetown Pike so as to bike the northern section. The trail north of the lot really requires a mountain bike in several sections. And even when the trail gets friendlier, it's still pretty steep. The section under Georgetown Pike was basically unbikable for me. We also weren't able to go south of the lot because the ground was too wet and muddy. On a dry day maybe. That's not to say it isn't nice. In fact it's beautiful out there, just not skinny tire friendly. I hope to check out some other sections some other time.

What Bike Shops Can Learn from Big Box Retailers

I've never had any problems with any of the DC bike shops. From REI to Capitol Hill Bikes, from Revolution to Bicycle Pro Shop - they've all treated me pretty well. But when I read this on Urban Space it got me thinking of things they could do to make things better. There's usually someone there to ask you if you need help as soon as you walk in, but the shops are never very welcoming (REI excluded - since they're something of a big box retailer already). They're cramped and poorly organized and there's not much there to inform the shopper. Perhaps I'm spoiled by Amazon, but I now when I shop, I want reviews and comparisons. Do I want winter biking boots or booties? I don't know, what are the advantages?

The award winning Trek Bicycle Store cleared floor space, created better sight-lines, broke the shop into smaller components and was sited for

creating inspiration and education for everyone from the first-time customer all the way to the avid racer.

The shops are broken up by customer segment and lifestyle and include a lounge, service shop and spacious dressing room. I know that when I'm having my bike worked on, I'd love to be able to sit down, have something to read (Bicycling magazine?) and even buy a drink.  Most importantly these new Trek stores try to sell the lifestyle of cycling.

Alternative Fuels

Unfortunately, this ad never ran. Now that's winter biking.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

The district is "confounded" by the increase in pedestrian deaths in 2005. 16 deaths as opposed to the average of 12. Personally I think one is dealing with too small a sample size to determine that something is "wrong" - though even 12 deaths seem high. Several possible causes for the accidents are given. Some blame a failure to enforce the laws against cell phone users, jaywalkers, red-light runners and the sort. Some point to a need for better education efforts - namely through the Street Smart initiative. And still others mention better traffic engineering. The things that surprised me most from all of this reporting is that they didn't break out pedestrian accidents from cyclists and that they seemed to not keep any metrics. Who was involved in the accidents (bike/pedestrian, bike/car, two cars that collided and one hit a pedestrian etc...)? Who was deemed at fault in the accidents? What were the contributing factors (speeding, cell phone, failure to signal etc...)? It seems that with proper recording this wouldn't be so confounding.

There was a great article in Wired about sign-less intersections that leads me to think these problems are mostly the result of engineering flaws. If you have to spend millions of dollars to teach adults how to cross the street - maybe there's something wrong with your intersection. Sure, no amount of design is going to protect you from a drunk driver, and it seems that every time I've had a close call on my bike, the driver was on a cell phone - but I think better design can go a long way. Even if that better design is for your bike.

Trees and Trains on the W&OD Trail

The fight with Dominion Power over power lines and trees continues. On the one hand DP has instituted a "right tree in the right place" program

whereby trees that could threaten the lines in the future were removed and replaced with trees that would not grow tall enough to be a threat...six hundred such trees were replaced, and an additional 1,000 trees were planted

This sounds like a good common sense approach.

But the fight over new power lines is where things really get messy. Del. Joe May has led the fight to force DP to install underground lines which until recently has included the Save the Trail Alliance and the Save Scenic Loudoun Legal Defense Fund. But the two groups have recently begun to fight one another.

The Save Scenic Loudoun Legal Defense Fund, comprised of homeowners living along a proposed alternate route west of Leesburg, has always insisted that the W&OD Trail must be considered because the SCC  [State Corporation Commission] must require the power company to consider  any route on which it owns an existing easement. The SCC agreed, and several months ago ruled that Dominion must re-include the trail as a possible route. Recent finger-pointing includes accusations by Save the Trail representatives that the Save Scenic Loudoun Legal Defense Fund will claim in its testimony before the SCC that trail users are happy to use the trail without trees, thereby refuting the organization’s claims that the loss of 26,000 trees will be irreparable. That accusation is absurd, according to SSLDF representative Bob McKew, who called the suggestion “absolutely false.”

The original position of the May-led coalition was that the lines should be buried under Route 7, but recent inspections of that road have forced them to change their preferred route to run underneath Harmony Church Road and Route 704.

In only slightly related news, you can now buy a video about the W&OD railroad upon whose right-of-way the trail is built. Profits go to the Friends of W&OD.

CWL #12 - A Real Bicycle Beltway

This is the twelfth and final project on my 12-item Christmas wish list for DC biking projects.

#12 A Real Bicycle Beltway 

Cost: Are you kidding?
Status: Not even on the radar
Probability: Unlikely

When people in the area talk about the Bicycle Beltway, they're talking about the loop made by the Capital Crescent, Metropolitan Branch and the National Mall. (Except in Rockville, where they mean the Rockville Millennium Trail). But that 22 mile Beltway is significantly smaller than the 64 mile Capital Beltway. It doesn't even cross into Virginia.

No a real Bicycle Beltway would cross on the new Wilson Bridge's Pedestrian lane, pass by Andrews AFB, through New Carrollton, Greenbelt, and Kensington before crossing the American Legion Bridge on its way to Falls Church, Springfield and then back to the Wilson Bridge.

It's not as though I feel that a new trail should be built in around the entire Beltway - though Atlanta is doing this -, but when new interchanges are built or widening is done, a bicycle component should always be included. The $676 million Springfield interchange has room for a rail line and Backlick Stream, but there isn't a single place for a cyclist to get through (along Backlick Stream would have made sense). If area planners want to fix transportation problems, they need to make room for cyclists.

Winter Biking

Last year my rule was not to bike on days when the high was below 45 degrees, but due to some recent purchases I'm going to drop that temperature down a bit. Apparently I'm not alone

Washington, D.C.,-area cycling organizations say that greater numbers of commuters take up cycling to work each year, and many continue, regardless of the cold.

My favorite new product - the Bell Metro Bike helmet with winter gear. The winter gear is the key. No more stuffing the vents with newspaper and raw panda meat, no more wearing a stocking cap underneath and pulling it down to cover the ears. The winter gear fills the vent holes and attaches nice ear muffs. You can also get a rain shield, but I don't have that. I also think a good pair of booties are key.

‘‘Drivers should give cyclists plenty of space — as much as they would give to an actual car,” said Elizabeth Preston, director of communications for the League of American Bicyclists in Washington, D.C. ‘‘Cold weather and snow and ice only means they should give even more space than normal.”

CWL #11 - Improve Rock Creek Trail

This is the eleventh project on my 12-item Christmas wish list for DC biking projects.

#11 Rebuilding the Rock Creek Trail 

Cost: Depends on what is done
Status: Some projects could start this spring
Probability: That everything that needs to be done will be done - low. That something will be done - high.
 

Rock Creek Park is one of the nicest parts of DC to bike in...except for the traffic and bumpy trail. There are few areas in DC where biking and transportation policies are more contentious. It would be nice if the Park Service actually ran the area like a... well, park and gave preference to cyclists on the roads outside of rush hour times. But that probably isn't going to happen. Hopefully they can take some effective steps toward improving the safety of bike commuters using Beach Drive. But one thing they can do is redesign and rebuild the Rock Creek Trail.

For starters they need to bring it up to AASHTO standards where possible and repair all of the areas that are buckled or washed out. They need to build a dedicated or cantilevered trail bridge at the south end of Zoo Tunnel. They need to rebuild the trail bridges to eliminate the sharp turns that force cyclists to stop. They need to separate the trail from the road where possible and put in boundaries where not. Where the right of way allows it they should have several trails - one for experienced cyclist, one for novices (like Montgomery County's dual bike plan) and an area for runners.  If a trail is made that works, only the most experienced of cyclists will find the road advantageous, and then everyone wins. 

CWL #10 - Connecting the 14th Street Bridge

This is the tenth project on my 12-item Christmas wish list for DC biking projects.

#10 Connecting the 14th St. Bridge to the Pentagon and Crystal City 

Cost: $15-20 million for the 'humpback bridge" reconstruction allowing for a connection to the Pentagon, less for the Crystal City bridge (part of the $100 million North Tract project)
Status: Humpback bridge project is in the presolicitation phase, North Tract is in final design phase
Probability: Both are pretty high, but in either project the bike portion could get eliminated

The 14th Street Bridge, or more correctly the George Mason Bridge, has a well designed pedestrian lane on the upstream side. It's safely separated from both the roadway and the water, has a wall that  prevents debris from gathering on it and is wide enough for passing. On the Virginia side it connects directly to the Mt. Vernon Trail. It's an example of what other pedestrian lanes should be like.

Except that if you actually want to go into Virginia you have to either ride south to the Crystal City Connector Tunnel, North to the Arlington Memorial Bridge or cross at the dangerous pedestrian crossing to the Lady Bird Johnson Park.

Being able to cross the GW Parkway on either side of I-395 would be an improvement for those heading to or from the Pentagon, Crystal City or the Columbia Pike. Luckily plans are under way to provide both crossings.

There are plans in the works to rebuild the so-called humpback bridge just north of 395 on the GW parkway. The new bridge (at right) will include a wider path for the Mt. Vernon trail and trail underpasses on both sides of the Boundary Channel. In addition the bridge will include a 3rd acceleration lane to allow for better merging from 395 South.

On the other side of 395, the North Tract Project is in it's final design phase and includes a bridge over the GW Parkway, a trail along Roaches Run and other bike pathways. There are numerous pictures of the three concepts here and even animations that are best described as cool.