Good morning
- Check out the sweet, new 39-dock CaBi station at Maryland and Independence Ave SW
- According to the Alexandria Transportation Commission (meeting Feb 1) material, one of the three old rail bridges over the Four Mile Run Trail is to be demolished and a new connection made to the trail. There will also be a multi-use trail as part of Potomac Yard Park which runs along the railroad tracks.
- Work on the Capital Crescent Trail adjacent property Lot 31 has been delayed into February.
- The Burke-Springfield-Kingstowne-Lorton Open House for the Farifax County Bicycle Transportation Plan was a success.
The multi-trail along the future Potomac Yard Park was completed last year. It runs from the Four Mile Run bridge (Potomac Ave.) along Potomac Ave. down to the Monroe Ave. bridge. At about the halfway point, the trail switches from the west side of Potomac Ave. to the east side of the road.
It's a nice alternative to the Mt. Vernon Trail when riding between Old Town Alexandria and Crystal City. It's far better lit than MVT, and it doesn't have the dangerous blind curves that the MVT has in northern Alexandria.
It's a little tricky to move from Slaters Lane back over to the MVT in Old Town, but it's manageable.
The Potomac Ave. trail could be a little wider, but experienced cyclists can also ride on Potomac Ave., especially at off-peak times.
Posted by: Michael H. | January 28, 2012 at 02:07 PM
Why is it blocking part of the sidewalk?
Posted by: Jack | January 29, 2012 at 03:13 PM
I wondered about that too, but then I looked at that sidewalk on Google Maps. It doesn't actually connect to anything. It's on a traffic median. No pedestrian would ever use that sidewalk to go anywhere. It ends in between two traffic lanes.
Posted by: Michael H. | January 29, 2012 at 04:58 PM
Doesn't really matter that it's between two traffic lanes, it is still a legal sidewalk, and the bike sharing platform and bikes shouldn't encroach on it.
It wouldn't be legal for a bike rack to encroach like that.
Posted by: Richard Layman | January 30, 2012 at 02:20 PM
What if its not a sidewalk, but a bike-share access path?
Posted by: JJJJJ | January 30, 2012 at 09:36 PM
Jaywalking is illegal. So are many other things, important and not so important. I think this sidewalk placement is not that important. I doubt anyone ever used that sidewalk before unless they were drunk.
I'm not sure why this is a big deal. No one would mind if the median was unpaved and they put a bike station there. Are people actually going to protest this bike station? If so, why? That doesn't make any sense at all. There's a new bike station in a very important location (next to the Air and Space Museum) and no pedestrians are inconvenienced at all. Aren't there better battles to fight, situations where cycling or walking is actually impeded or discouraged?
Posted by: Michael H. | January 30, 2012 at 10:31 PM
The sidewalk probably should never have been built anyway. No harm, no foul. That's my view. Protesting this station would be shooting oneself in the foot.
Posted by: Michael H. | January 30, 2012 at 10:33 PM
Yeah the north portion of the rail already exists. Arlington is seeking money to design a connection between that trail and the Four Mile Run trail (there's a super-steep demand trail there already).
Am I reading the Potomac Yard plan correctly that eventually that trail will continue all the way down to the Braddock Road metro?
Posted by: Chris Slatt | February 01, 2012 at 09:51 AM