August 2009 Arlington BAC Meeting Notes

I don't attend these, so this is from the minutes, and is probably incomplete and possibly wrong.

Chris Hamilton, Chief of Arlington County Commuter Services, said that a new Bike Arlington promotions manager had been hired and would start work September 21st.  He discussed BikeShare Arlington and asked for BAC help in impressing upon elected officials the need to treat it as a priority. He said the program needs about two million dollars and that initial installation sites would probably be in the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor.  He also reviewed a staff workshop on building Arlington bike culture held in July.

David Goodman, with Arlington County Staff, said one item that should be discussed at the Alexandria Bike-Pedestrian Committee meeting is the proposed Shirlington Circle HOT lane improvements.  The current proposal has no planned improvements for bike-pedestrian facilities.  Arlington has sued VDOT over the poor planning of this project.  The lawsuit addresses environmental, safety, and ADA issues. Alexandria is also considering a lawsuit. The project is presently dormant due to lack of funding.  The project is a complete rebuild of Shirlington Circle, and will affect the Alexandria end of the I-395 overpass, which is still being used. VDOT is attempting to bypass an upgrade of the overpass by saying it will not be affected, which will allow them to avoid bringing it up to ADA standards.

Death of an Arlington Cyclist.  The committee sent a message to Wayne Wentz, Arlington's chief traffic engineer, asking that the time allowed on signals at pedestrian crossings be extended. Mr. Wentz responded that the County doesn't have the means to inspect all signals, but it could be done on a case-by-case basis, starting at bike route crossings of major arterials. That would not included Cleveland Street, site of the recent bike casualty.  He has a new signal engineer coming on board and may be able to look at some intersections.  The BAC will nominate intersections for review.

The Lyon Village Switchback Arlington will be submitting a stand-alone project to the state to improve the switchback.  The county will evaluate different products and determine which one works best.

Arlington did not did not submit an application for the Virginia Recreational Trail program by the July 31st deadline.  The window was open for only 30 days and it wouldn't have been much money.  The County is seeking to allocate funds to study access from Army-Navy Drive to Pentagon City and Crystal City. 

Other Facilities:

Phase I of the Washington Boulevard Trail from Arlington Boulevard to Columbia Pike is under construction. Phase II is in re-design, but funding has not yet been identified.

The Route 110 trail project from Memorial Drive to the Pentagon has "a lot of coordination issues. It straddles National Park Service land and VDOT land." 

The Ballston bike parking station project is not dead.  The pit (pictured) will be raised and filled in, and WMATA will put in new U racks.  It may not be dead, but it's a sickly version of its original design of sheltered, double-decker bike racks with parking for 150 bikes.

Bike accommodations in the Route 244/Route 27 interchange replacement project are "pretty much designed."

Photo by shel_g_mobile

Comments

[Scott F]

I didn't know the Columbia Pike and Washington Blvd (244 and 27) interchange was being replaced. Glad to hear bike accommodations are being considered. That spot can be kind of scary (then again, so can most of Columbia Pike).

Is the Lyon Village Switchback that steep part of the Custis Trail with the really tight curves?

Disappointing that the Ballston bike pit's replacement will have a lower capacity and no shelters. That area needs quality parking, and more of it.

[Washcycle]

I've ridden through that underpass dozens of times and it is scary. Underpasses always make me nervous because of the short sight lines.

Yes, the Lyon Village Switchback is that one just north of Lee Highway.

[Froggie]

Columbia Pike/Washington Blvd is not being replaced per se. I have some of the design specs from VDOT, and a more appropriate term is "reconfigured".