CCT Trouble and Scenic Byway

Just south of where Newark Street NW would intersect with the Capital Crescent Trail if it went through, there's an area where the road bed under the trail is slowly washing away.(Map) A few years ago a small support was added to protect the trail, but if you ride by you'll see that the erosion is starting to occur around the support. We may be only one big storm (think Isabelle) away from the trail washing out. A complete collapse of the hillside is not out of the question and if that happened it might be years for the trail to be restored.

There's some question as to who is responsible for protecting the trail - with the Park Service and the District both trying to determine what to do and who should do it. One possible source of funding would be the designation of Canal Street (below the CCT) as a Scenic Byway. The Scenic Byway plan is filled with bicycle goodies (It's also a little hard to read since the text on some images is too small), Including:

• Between Foxhall Road and the Georgetown Reservoir, support the conversion of the trolley right-of way to a multi-use trail ed: This is the old Cabin John Trolley right-of-way that runs all the way to - you guessed it - Cabin John.
• Connect the Capital Crescent Trail crossing of Canal Road to the rail trestle (tow path to trestle on the east, Arizona Avenue to trestle on the west). ed: this is confusing since the crossing IS the rail trestle, but I think the part in parenthesis is what they're talking about.
• Connect Battery Kemble Park//Palisades Park Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail. Add directional signage. If feasible, convert the culvert to a secondary bike trail.
• Enhance the connection of Glover Archbold Park to the Capital Crescent Trail using the existing pedestrian underpass (Foundry Branch Tunnel). If feasible, relocate the existing sewer and restore the culvert to its historic configuration.
• Improve vehicular, pedestrian, and bicycle access to Fletcher’s Boat House area.
• Install a pedestrian bridge over Canal Road to connect Battery Kemble Park/Palisades Park Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail in the vicinity of the access road to the Fletchers Boat House access road.

Like the Four Mile Run plan - it has good ideas, but we'll see if it gets the money. And we'll see if the CCT gets fixed before it collapses. The review period ended on Feb 17th, but here's one letter.

One last thing. For some time the Park Service has been trying to add lights and a call box to the Arizona Avenue Trestle on the CCT, it seems that that might be occurring "sooner rather than later." Wish I had specifics.

Met Branch Trail Update

The Met Branch Trail continues to plod along at its nearly glacial pace. It appears that construction on the  Pepco Substation north of the New York Avenue Metro Station has begun. If you recall, this construction is necessary for the trail to be extended north to R Street. Eric Gilliland of WABA reported that the city still has some land acquisition issues to work out, but hope to break ground in March.

In Maryland the news is not so good. Because of a lengthy redesign of the Maryland options, the report may not make it to the County Council until fall of this year, causing greater delays in the project. In addition the first explanation for why the bridge and tunnel option (option 1) is so expensive was given.

DPWT staff now estimates that Option 1 would cost up to $21M, while the lowest cost Option 5 would cost up to $9.5M. These estimates are about 4 times as high as the cost of comparable trail projects built recently in the area. A principal cost driver is the need to use a small amount of CSX/WMATA r.o.w. to build the trail alongside Selim Road and to build the trail tunnel under Burlington Avenue. A DPWT survey for this project shows that the CSX/WMATA r.o.w. boundary is several feet closer to Selim Road than had been assumed in the earlier M-NCPPC study - a small difference with big consequences for cost. While the amount of r.o.w. needed is very small, use of any CSX/WMATA r.o.w. at all forces the project to comply with expensive safety and separation requirements there for facilities built near operating railroads.

So that does not bode well for building a quality trail in the Georgia Avenue/Burlington Avenue area - unless the county can come up with $21 million, which is unlikely.

On the good news side is this report about the Silver Spring Transit Center receiving additional federal money. It doesn't specifically mention money for bicycles, but since budget problems were causing the county to trim bicycle facilities, including connections with the Met Branch and Green Trails, it can only help

Four Mile Run Restoration

Arlington and Alexandria have been working on a plan to restore Four Mile Run south of Shirlington. The waterway was rebuilt in the 70's and 80's to become a giant drainage ditch. This was done by the Army Corps of Engineers, so it's definitely function over form. [The Corps is also responsible for managing the Anacostia in Southern PG County - and it's they who insist on mowing the riverside, meaning the NE branch trail is out in the open, instead of under a nice tree canopy]. Anyway the whole thing is now kinda ugly, environmentally questionable and definitely underutilized.

So that brings us to the Four Mile Run Restoration Master Plan. It's a really good plan and like the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, if half of its ideas become reality it will be a fantastic improvement. This is also part of Alexandria's Green Crescent. Besides the pleasure of biking through a park instead of a storm sewer, the advantages for cyclists are the following:

For bicyclists, a commuter trail on the north side of the stream maintains a fast and efficient commuting route. For a more leisurely experience, the trail on the southern side of the stream will offer an unhurried route.

The trails on both the Arlington and Alexandria sides link with existing trails to create a continuous trail network. On the eastern end of the corridor, the trails link with the Mount Vernon Trail, a trail that runs along the Potomac River. On the western end, the trails link to the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.

In addition, a proposed bicycle facility provides a venue for bicycle rentals and a place at which bicyclists stop to eat, rest, shower and buy supplies. The specific uses for this bridge will evolve over time as the Potomac Yard development nears completion. In addition, new pedestrian/ bicyclist bridges are proposed at other key locations: the extension of Commonwealth; at the site of the new community plaza and recreational facility on Mount Vernon Avenue that links to Arlington ’s Four Mile Run Park; west of the existing Mount Vernon Avenue bridge to provide safe and convenient pedestrian and bicycle access for Alexandrians wishing to shop at the stores along South Glebe Road; and at the place where lower Long Branch meets Four Mile Run in. In addition, with the creation of a new bridge and intersection proposed for traffic traveling on South and West Glebe Roads, the existing bridge would be converted to, or possibly replaced by, a pedestrian and bicycle-only bridge.

So additional trails, additional crossing and a bike station. It all sounds too good to be true.

 

New Parking on the mall

The National Park Service is going to expand bike parking facilities on the Mall by 100 racks. There are already a few bike racks there; however, they're varied in design and state of repair - for example the racks at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which are old and falling apart. 

After consulting with Eric Gilliland of WABA on rack design,  NPS decided to use the inverted U (or hoop) racks on the mall (with posts as a secondary option) at as many as 20 different locations. NPS will pay for the racks and DDOT is going to install them. This is good news. There's a derth of good parking down there.

The Park Service has already added bike racks at 15th St & Constitution Ave around the Washington Monument and more are planned for the Lincoln Memorial area when construction is finished there.  Some of these will also be replaced in the near future. Other locations for bike racks include Constitution & Independence Avenues and the replacement of some racks in front of the Air and Space Museum.

If you have a locaton you'd like to recomend you may contact Alexa Viets National Capital Parks - Central, Transportation Analyst at (202) 485-9877 with specific questions or locations.

I would love to see NPS add a bike station at the Smithsonian Metro stop. Then you wouldn't have to lock up to a streetsign or expose your bike to the elements (see photo). Commuters could use it. Tourists would definately use it. It may even be capable to get plumbing in - which will not be true of the Bike Station at Union Station.

Fixing the Interim CCT

 

First let me say this, it's time to do away with the "interim" Capital Crescent Trail. Either add it to the Capital Crescent Trail or call it the Georgetown Branch. And then be done with it - it's too confusing. But that's just my opinion.

The portion of the interim CCT east of the Rock Creek Trestle is in bad condition. It was never really in good condition, but erosion has made it worse. And people notice.

A recent DPWT inspection supports the recommendation made by the 2001 CCT/MBT Facility Plan - that this segment of the trail should be paved with asphalt to control erosion. The Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail, WABA, MoBIKE and other trail advocates are calling on the County Executive and Council to fund this work in the next Operating Budget.

The problem, and proposed solution, is described in a slideshow, in PDF format.

I know that the idea is to leave this the "interim" section until the Purple Line is built, but honestly, that seems a long way off (if not forever). By the time the Purple Line is built, this section will probably need to be rebuilt anyway.  I say pave it from the trestle to Stewart or Kansas Avenue.

W&OD/FMRT under 395 - Update

OK, so technically the trail that will go under I-395 is going to be the Four Mile Run Trail, but since the two are parallel and end in Shirlington about a block from one another, it's the same difference. (Pictured: The pedestrian bridge over I-395 from Shirlington to Martha Custis Drive)

Here's the status as I heard it. Arlington County Transportation officials are done with the "County/State agreement." They have the environmental assessment (EIS) done and the right-of-way secure. Now they need a permit from VDOT, annother agreement with the state about funding and a final design.

The project, which they plan to do in conjunction with a sewar line improvement to save money, is estimated to cost about $2 million - but they won't know until they have a final design. They only have $1million specifically available, but they can get more money from something called "Federal Secondary Funds."

Secondary Road Funds Each year Arlington County is allocated money (including some federal funds) to maintain and build secondary roads in the County. Arlington County and Henrico Counties are the only two counties in the State to receive these funds directly from the state. Since VDOT maintains secondary roads in other counties, these funds stay with VDOT in these counties. Arlington County has assembled an escrow account of federal secondary funds at VDOT which can be used for highway building and reconstruction.

Anyway this all means that they hope to have a bid package done by May or June. Then they could begin construction by the end of summer. Construction would take 8-10 months. So the whole thing could be done (if all goes well) by June of 2007. Wow.

Bicycle Crashes in DC

 

The District of Columbia keeps all kinds of statistics on crashes - who was involved, where they happened, etc...but the statistics have numerous well-known flaws, especially where it pertains to cyclists.

Not all traffic accidents are reported, and even fewer involving bicycles are. Most accidents reported involve an injury of some sort, but the smaller accidents often don't get into the system.

The forms police officers use are not designed to gather important information about bicycle accidents - like was the rider wearing a helmet. In DC, officers still use a single paper form for all accidents and so to add even one line increases the complexity. In some other cities, officers fill out a digital form. Responses to earlier questions determine the later questions to be asked. (So if the police officer answered "Yes" that one party was a cyclist, then it will ask all of the bicycle questions. Otherwise it will skip them)

Also police officers often fill in the closest intersection to determine where the accident occurred, even if it was on a bike trail. Or if the accident was midblock (like where a parking garage exit is). So that throws all of the geodata out of whack.

Still, there are some good data in the reports they create. Here's one map from the report using 2000-2002 data. Here are the intersections with 5 or more crashes from 2000-2002:

Looking at the map 14th Street seems to be the location of more crashes than any other street.

Parallel Parking on Norfolk Avenue

 The Montgomery County Council voted to retain parallel parking on both sides of Norfolk Avenue in downtown Bethesda.

The council decided to go with a recommendation by the county Department of Public Works and Transportation to improve biker and pedestrian safety on the road by keeping parallel parking and adding a bike lane. That proposal was also supported by the Montgomery County Department of Park and Planning.

A number of cyclists opposed the parallel parking plan because they said putting a bike lane next to parallel parking creates a hazardous situation for bikers who could get hit or have to swerve into traffic when drivers open their car doors.

I earlier wrote about how MoBike was protesting these bike lanes as unsafe, and that post was followed by great comments from others. (I suggest you check them out if you haven't before).

Now Norfolk Avenue might not seem that important based on it's location and length, but it's supposed to serve as a connection between the North Bethesda Trail (Pictured: North Bethesda Trail Bridge over I-270)  and the Capital Crescent. They envision a lot of bike traffic on that road so getting it right is important.

I'm a little torn on the issue. Completing the connection was on my Wish List, and I do feel safer in a bike lane. I think from my reading - especially a good analysis of the debate here - what I've decided is that someone needs to do a real study on the comparative safety of a road with bike lanes and without.

CCT Parking and Accolades

The Capital Crescent Trail, the busiest rail trail in the United States according to the Project for Public Spaces, got the Minkoff Company kicked off of CCT land because they failed to follow through on the 1998 agreement that allowed them to park there.

The agreement allowed the Minkoff Company to park its commercial vehicles on county land located next to its property at 5223 River Road along the Capital Crescent Trail. Minkoff’s use of the property, which predates the trail, was contingent upon funding and building a plaza for trail users including public parking spaces, a water fountain, benches and improved landscaping.

After years of delays and recent complaints from trail advocates, Duncan’s Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Scott W. Reilly said the county is cutting ties with Minkoff and will seek other means of building the trail plaza.

Mr. Minkoff had delayed the project because he planned to redevelop the land and he wanted assurances from the county that redeveloping his office buildings would not affect their agreement. The CCCT are quite proud of themselves.

In other news the CCT recently got a new accolade as the Rails to Trails Conservancy "Trail of the Month."  There are a lot of good tidbits in the article including this:

the trail has its own rush hour that coincides closely with that of local roads and at its most crowded the trail can verge on unpleasant.

In this month's RTC magazine there's an article on Peter Harnik, former head of the RTC and Arlington, VA local yokel. He's photographed on the Met Branch Trail next to the New York Avenue station, which is odd, since the Met Branch isn't a rail-to-trail and that section he's on isn't open. They also quote him with this:

Washington, D.C., and some other cities don’t yet have their trail advocates aligned with public officials. “Everything you do in a city is more complicated.” Harnik says 

I'll agree about the complicated part, but DC doesn't have a lot of abandoned railroad to work with. There's the Shepard Industrial Spur (which the city can't get their hands on), the old Glen Echo trolley line (which would need a lot of work),  a spur to St. Elizabeths, a bridge over NY Avenue and the obliterated right of way of the Chesapeake Beach Railway. On which rail-to-trail projects are local trail advocates suppose to align with public officials?

People who "Get it."

Stephen Colbert, host of "The Colbert Report" (the t's are silent, "cause it's French, B$%#%"), loves to talk about people who "get it," i.e. anyone who agrees with him. Here are some people who "get it."

• Dan Tangherlini "gets it."  The new head of metro, and former head of DDOT is an active supporter of Bike to Work day. He even biked last year when the cold rain left many people at home.

• Dr. Gridlock is starting to "get it."

Bicyclists have a right to use the roadway, and the bike paths are sometimes in terrible shape.

Drivers need to be cautious about bicyclists at night, especially on known biking roads, and bicyclists would be wise to wear reflective gear.

        True, except that I would add that it's the law that they wear bicycles have lights at night.

• I'm not sure if South Dakota "gets it", but I can't wait to go

South Dakota lawmakers decided Wednesday that it's better to have drunks on horses and bicycles instead of behind the wheel of an auto or truck. The state Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill 6-1 that will exempt horses and bikes from drunken driving laws, meaning intoxicated people who either pedal or saddle up to get home after a night at the bar cannot be arrested for drunken driving.

• Chicago "gets it." (see photo) "A system of signs posted along Chicago's lakefront would inform drivers and bicyclists of the human, financial, and environmental benefits of riding a bike to work versus driving a car." Of course we've discussed the bike vs. drive cost before an $38.80 seems cheap, but still it's nice.

Cyclists avoid the strike

During the transit strike of Dec 20-22, 2005 the city of New York's Department of Transportation kept track of the numbers of people entering the city grouped by means. Here were their findings as related to cyclist.

The number of pedestrians entering Manhattan skyrocketed during the walkout; bicycles and ferries were not used as much as officials had expected.

On average, 11,717 bicycles crossed the East River bridges each day of the strike. From 6 to 10 a.m., the number of bicyclists on the bridges was 4,892, a 44 percent drop from 8,762 riders in 1980.

The city has far more bicycle lanes and paths than it did in 1980, but Ms. Weinshall said bicycling was a less-attractive option because of the cold weather. The 1980 strike began on April 1 and lasted 11 days.

It makes sense to me that in the middle of winter in NYC (where the wind is notoriously strong) people would rather walk than bike, so this report is sort of useless. They're not comparing apples to apples. Do they not have statistics on the number of cyclists who normally cross the East River bridges in December? That's the comparison I'd like to see.

This is all interesting since bicycles play a roll in the cities evacuation plans. And getting people in is similar to getting people out.

Connecting Towns with Bike Ways

The town of Kensington wants to connect its east and west sides with a pedestrian underpass under Connecticut Avenue.

‘‘One of the problems that we have in Kensington is that it’s very difficult to get from one side to another, whether you’re on foot or a bike or a car or whatever,” said Town Councilman Al Carr said. ‘‘It might be possible to connect the two sides of traffic [with] a pedestrian pathway and a bike way"

Lots of places are finding that their car-friendly designed cities are difficult to get around in by foot.

The bridge they plan to use for this is the Connecticut Avenue bridge over the Metropolitan Branch of the old B&O railroad (now CSX) - the same line the Met Branch Trail runs alongside. It's a good idea, but why stop there. With all of the low hanging fruit as regards to rails to trails opportunities already plucked (think CCT and W&OD), now's the time to look at "rails with trails."

Just north of this point, the rail line crosses Rock Creek Park and Beach Drive (and the Rock Creek Trail). Just south of it, it meets up with the Kensington Parkway. A small railside trail from one to the other would provide a shortcut for bike commuters using Rock Creek, a direct way to get to the Kensington MARC station, and a nice detour for weekend cyclists looking for a bite to eat.

Pneumatic bicycles

Here's another idea to put cyclists in tubes filled with air and push them around. Do people really think this idea, or any of the others like it, are going to be funded? We can't even get funding to build a bridge over Viers Mill Road.

The Rock Creek Trail bridge over Veirs Mill Road will be delayed 3 years, and likely
killed.

At least the picture is cool. I'm starting to think ideas like this work against the interests of cyclists, since they make us seem crazy. As if the bike shorts weren't enough.

Oh yeah, well my bike is a genius

As I've mention before, both here and here, DC is supposed to get Smart Bikes as part of their bus shelter deal with Clear Channel. One of the tougher parts of designing the bikes was to make them so distinctive that no one would steal them, but not so ugly that no one would ride them. I think the bikes (pictured here) are pretty cool looking. If DC does get them it will be the first city in the US to do so, which brings up the question "will they work here?"

Right now they work in about 17 cities in Europe and Asia, in DC, Bike the Sites seems to be having some success as they go into their 10th season, and a report by a couple of experts in Virginia seems to conclude that it can here work in the US.

In addition to looking good, they're pretty cheap.

Many have an annual membership charge of under $20 and no usage charges as long as the bikes are returned within a specified time.The Clear Channel Adshel system follows this model.

Clear Channel makes most of its money off ads, on both the bicycles and the docking stations and that's what keeps prices down. Since good bike facilities is key to success, one would hope that bicycle rentals will give Clear Channel incentive to help with facilities.