Tour of Hope wraps up in DC

 

Lance Armstrong was in the area over the weekend with the Tour of Hope. Apparently, he's a pretty good cyclist.

Collapsible Bikes

 

There was a Green Festival at the Washington Convention Center the weekend of September 30th. One of the things it featured was collapsible bikes.  They may not be as pretty as a Bianchi, but they can get you around Metro's inane rush hour restrictions.

Changes Afoot for CCT Intersection

Changes are being planned for the empty parking lot that borders the north end of the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT). The eloquently named Lot 31 will eventually become what the area so desperately needs, another condo. But it will also include

a possible bike shop to accompany plans for a ‘‘bicycle depot,” a rest area where bikers on the adjacent Capital Crescent Trail would congregate

Bikers do love to congregate.

In conjunction with this construction, the county plans to redesign the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenue (see insert) - the intersection cyclists pass through to get from the CCT to the "future" CCT. Proposed improvements include the removal of the southbound free right turn lane from Woodmont Avenue to Bethesda Avenue. It will be replaced with an expanded pedestrian gathering place in front the Barnes and Noble. Wider crosswalks will be provided to handle the increased volume of pedestrians and cyclists.

Of course bikers will still cut across the road without using the crosswalks.

 

How not to work with the community.

 

The Coalition for the Capitol Crescent Trail (CCCT) worked out a deal with Minkoff Construction Company, that would give Minkoff the right to park on CCT land in return for landscaping improvements and a rest plaza. Seems like a good private-public partnership, no?

But on August 29, after seven years of negotiations, Minkoff backed out of the agreement without having spent a dime on improvements and continues to park company vehicles, for free, on the publicly owned CCT right-of-way. As a result the CCCT, the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Friendship Heights, and the Montgomery County Planning Board have all come out against the agreement. Statements have been issued. Tersely worded letters have been written.

Minkoff said the delays stemmed from the project’s plans exceeding the original budget. He originally agreed to spend $165,000 to redesign the 30,000-square-foot space, which included the paving of 11 parking spaces exclusively for Minkoff Construction, 25 spaces for the use of both Minkoff and the public, and five spaces exclusively for the public. The project would also include amenities for the trail users like benches and a water fountain, along with improved landscaping. ‘‘That was the project, $165,000,” Minkoff said. ‘‘Unfortunately...the project escalated to some $400,000.

Ultimate responsibility for handling the situation lies with County Executive, and candidate for Governor, Douglas Duncan.

Riverdale-Hyattsville Trail Proposed

A University of Maryland professor of Architecture, Planning, and Historical Preservation briefed the Hyattsville city council on a proposal that would include a trail running from Riverdale to the Northwest Branch Trail in Hyattsville. The trail would be placed on narrow band of land between Route 1 and the train tracks. It's highly unlikely this will ever be acted on and it seemed like more of a thought exercise, but it's not a bad idea. Though at first glance it seems redundant, since it runs parallel to the Northeast Branch Trail, the proposed trail would run through a more urban, developed area and would serve a greater role as a commuter route.

The idea of developing land along a railroad into a linear park is the same idea behind the Metropolitan Branch Trail and linear parks have been very successful elsewhere.

Addition: The narrow band of land mentioned above is actually the remaining rail bed for the DC to Laurel trolley line. The same rail bed makes up part of the Paint Branch Trail and the College Park Trolley Trail.

Is CSX playing hardball?

On February 15th Mayor Williams signed the Terrorism Prevention in Hazardous Materials Transportation Emergency Act of 2005 which, among other things, prevents CSX Transportation from moving explosives and flammable and poisonous gases, such as chlorine and propane, within a 2.2-mile radius of the Capitol. 

Since then CSX has changed direction on three deals with the city, each one having a negative effect on the city's bike trail expansion plans.

1) CSX had originally agreed to allow the Anacostia Riverwalk to pass over the tracks near Barney Circle at grade. They then quickly changed their mind - citing safety of course - forcing the city to build an expensive overpass.

2) The city planned to buy the abandoned Blue Plains rail line (aka Shepard Industrial Spur) from CSX for its Light Rail starter line. This would have included a parallel bike trail. But the plan fell apart when the city claimed CSX was asking for too much money and may not have owned the entire right of way anyway. So that pushed the light rail onto city streets and the bike trail off the map.

3) Last year a portion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail was opened for one day when the New York Avenue metro station was opened. Since then it's been closed because negotiations with CSX for land it owns it Eckington has dragged on.

If CSX isn't playing hardball with the city over the hazardous materials ban, they sure don't seem inclined to play nice.

Correction: It seems the negotiations for the land needed to build the Metropolitan Branch Trail are with WMATA and Pepco, not CSX

DDOT has completed the conceptual design on the Union Station Bicycle Transit Center (aka the Bike Station). The design is pretty cool and hopefully it can get past the Fine Arts Commission. The station will provide parking, rentals, repairs and retail sales as well as changing rooms, but the location makes showers impossible. It'll be located on the west "carriage court" where the bike racks are now. This area is often used as a staging area for Union Station construction, but hopefully this project can restore the area to the plaza it was before the removal of the north side train room in the 1970's.  If this station is a success as it has been elsewhere, it should lead to more parking facilities throughout the area.

DCist talked about this back when the meeting was being planned. And a report on the meeting can be found on Urban Places.