TheWashCycle

Permit issued for the Anacostia Riverwalk Kenilworth section

Last week

The D.C. Department of Transportation will lay down 3 miles of asphalt, four prefabricated truss pedestrian bridges, 130 feet of retaining wall and 1,100 linear feet of heavy-duty boardwalk as part of the Anacostia Riverwalk Kenilworth Trail project. The 3.9-mile trail will originate beneath the Benning Road Bridge and extend north along the east bank of the Anacostia River. It will end a Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Prince George's County.

Thursday Morning Commute - 1990 is going to be awesome

Good afternoon

• DC to crack down on Pennsylvania Avenue U-turns across the cycle-track (which are illegal). 
• Why one VA State legislator opposes the 3 foot passing law. "But Senator and former state trooper Charles Carrico said narrow, two-lane country roads are also a problem. He said the bill would cause drivers who pass slower cyclists to inadvertently break the law by crossing the double-yellow line." Heaven forbid that they should inadvertenly break the law, when they could be legally endangering a cyclist instead. "The lane of travel on a two-lane highway is 11 feet, 6 inches. A normal vehicle is about 8 feet," Carrico says. "If you have a bicycle that's a foot wide and you got 3 feet, if you have a double-sided line, you have to cross the double-sided line to pass the bicycle, which, within the code, is illegal." OK. Well, another option would be not passing the cyclist and instead waiting for a time when it is both safe and legal.  But why tempt drivers with breaking the law? What he never talks about is safety. 
• Another piece on the Maryland mandatory helmet law. 
• WABA and Black Women Bike DC Formally Join Forces
• Politico has a story about how LaHood will be missed in bike community (but it's behind the paywall): http://politico.pro/WNZOkd. Meanwhile in a parting shot on LaHood, the Heritage Foundation criticizes the $10M TIGER grant DC received to connect the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail to the PG County Anacostia Trails. "TIGER grant projects do not necessarily provide cost-effective mobility or reduce traffic congestion. Some fiscal year 2012 grants went toward developing 4 miles of bicycle and walking paths in Washington, D.C." Of course, they mention neither the cost nor the expected effectiveness of the trail, but take their word for it - it's not cost effective. [While we're at it, the CA to Las Vegas train they hold up as a boondoggle has received no federal funding - but is seeking an FRA loan]
• Below are snips of the AA County Trail Map that's in the Draft AA County 2013 Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan. It shows close ups on the South Shore/WB&A Trails and the Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail. Extending the CBRT from Chesapeake Beach is one goal of the town's mayor. 
• Someone actually wants to hear your commuting stories.
• In 1990, cities will have no cars (as predicted in 1968). "The 1-mile diameter of this supercity of the future would have bicycle paths, golf courses, parks, streams and lakes—and no automobiles. Barring autos from the center of cities is expected to be a growing trend by the 1980s. A major reason: to cut down on air pollution caused by exhaust fumes. A California official recently called for a ban on all gas-burning autos in the State by 1980."

Anne Arundel County - Proposed South Shore, WB&A and Broadneck Trails

Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail in AA County

Thursday Morning Commute - incessant desire

Good morning

• Numbers are out for CaBi usage in November. While the numbers are down ~25% in both miles and trips from October, that's pretty normal. But the year-to-year numbers are up 48% and 53% respectively. Oddly in 2011, the busiest month was June but in 2012 it was September.
• WABA wants cyclists to turn out for MoveDC and the update to Maryland's Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. "Both plans present significant opportunities to alter how people get around, and in subsequent posts we’ll provide more detailed information on each. What matters most right now is that both processes are being designed to maximally integrate public input into the planning of our transportation future. While WABA will be actively involved as an organization, it’s also critical that people—like you!—who value biking as a way of getting around and want to see it encouraged in the future participate."
• WABA is also looking for bike ambassadors.
• Who's blocking the L Street bike lane today?
• More new bike parking.
• Traffic fatalities in DC were lower than they've been since at least the 1920's and there were no bicycle fatalities. In fact, there was only one - Diane Whitman in Maryland - were two in the whole DC area. (There was also a fatality involving a pedestrian hit by a cyclist on a bike trail). That's the lowest number of DC area bike fatalities since 2006 (and my numbers are probably incomplete that year).
• Construction-related changes to the CCT crossing of Bethesda Avenue have made the crossing less safe argues one letter writer. 
• The flier for the Little Paint Branch Trail extension.
• To the long list of projects that Maryland has identified but can't afford, add the Gov. Thomas Johnson Memorial Bridge, which would include a walking and bike path on both sides. Don't expect gas taxes to go up in Maryland to pay for it any time soon either. “Everybody’s taxes just increased,” said [House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert, St. Mary’s)], adding that a gas tax would implement effects, including higher prices, across the board. He said there is an “incessant desire” to raise taxes to create more revenue. “It’s unbelievable,” he said as he pushed the microphone away at the podium and walked back to his seat...[Del. Mark Fisher (R-Calvert)] said in a testimony made to the Ways and Means Committee, they were told “Maryland has enough money to take care of its roads,” without increasing the gas tax....Fisher said, during his concluding remarks, that there are ways to raise money for transportation, such as privatizing some roads, toll roads and rest centers, selling welcome centers and naming rights to roads, “instead of going into pockets of citizens.”  WC: Doesn't money for tolls come out of the pockets of citizens? Look, I think toll roads can be useful, but let't not pretend that it isn't just a different tax. 
• Meanwhile, in Virginia, some people are focusing on the drop in gas tax and ignoring the increase in sales tax, but not bike store owners (aka Small Business owners, aka Job Creators).
• Sapphire.
• New West Virginia rail trail built on a short spur would cross the Potomac at Hancock and connect to the Western Maryland Rail Trail and the C&O Canal.

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - But the Springfield Interchange is an orphan

Good afternoon

• Bike Party tonight. 
• Success has a thousand fathers. In CaBi's case, GGW tries to name them all. 
• Drivers might soon be paying less for transportation, but complaints about freeloading cyclists are expected to remain flat. "Under the plan, Virginia’s 17.5 cents-per-gallon gas tax — one of the lowest in the United States — would be eliminated, and the sales tax would be raised by 0.8 percent, with more sales tax revenue going towards transportation." This is truly an idiotic idea. I'll put it out there again. Charge a VMT to pay for roads and to mitigate their environmental impact; a congestion tax to pay for transit, biking and walking; and a tax on gasoline to pay for gasoline-related pollution. Americans for Tax Reform and I are united in our opposition. That is a rarity. Contrast this with Massachusetts. "Revenue from the parking tax would provide a steady stream of funding that could then be invested in the public transportation system as well as bicycle and pedestrian pathway improvements."
• M-NCPPC staff will be presenting the preliminary plans for the Little Paint Branch Trail Extension at a public meeting on Thursday, January 24^th, 2013 at 7:00 PM at the Beltsville Community Center. Somewhere there is a flyer on this, but I can't find it. Here is some older information though. 

Sunday Video - Repaved Anacostia Tributary Trails

Repaved Anacostia Tributary Trails from Greenbelt Bike Videos on Vimeo.

2011: A Look Back

[More bankruptcy posts]

The new year, a great time for looking back at what happened and measuring it up.

Here's the look ahead from last year. Not everything expected actually happened (the MacArthur Avenue Bikeway is still unstarted) and much of it was late (like CaBi expansion in May and completion of the Silver Spring Transit Center) but still there was some significant progress made. 

Here is my list of the 10 biggest Washington area bicycle stories of 2011

Capital Bikeshare - From the Winter Warrior contests to the Living Social user boom; from dockblocking to expansion, from NPS not allowing it on the Mall to welcoming it on the Mall, the wild success of Capital Bikeshare and the public interest in it has made it the story of 2011. Sometimes it felt like I was writing a CaBi blog.

Crashes - It was a weird year for crashes and some of them got a lot of publicity, especially along the Mount Vernon Trail. The intersection of the MVT, the Custis Trail and Lynn had several public crashes, as did the connector trail to Memorial Bridge and its intersection at the GW Parkway. There were only 4 local bike traffic fatalities - one involved a cyclist hitting a pedestrian - down from 8 in 2010. But there were 3 other fatalities - one cyclist was hit by a falling tree branch on a trail, one fell off her bike on a trail and hit her head, and one had a heart attack during a triathlon.

Pedicab crackdown - This year the Park Police started to crack down on pedicab operators for violations that brought them into conflct with the now-defunct tourmobile and violations of unclear or non-existent rules. It rose to the level that Del. Norton involved and DDOT moved forward with new regulations for them.

Anacostia Trails - Several sections of the Anacostia trail system in both DC and Maryland opened or advanced this year. This includes a section from the DC boundary to Blandensburg Waterfront Park, a section on the east bank from the 11th Street bridge to the CSX Railroad tracks, a bridge connecting Diamond Teague Park to Yards Park and the widened sidewalk along Maine Avenue. In addition, the Navy Yard Promenade opened to the public (no biking allowed) and work is well along on the 11th Street Bridge and the FRB Bridges (aka Osprey and Wetlands) despite a delay caused by nesting birds.

Trail Planning - DDOT and/or NPS made progress on 4 major trail projects. The year started with the release of the final EA for the Klingle Trail. In the fall, the FHWA released the FONSI for Phase II of the Met Branch Trail, moving that project along. And at the very end of the year, NPS and DDOT released the EA for the NE section of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and NPS the EA for the rebuild of the Rock Creek Park Trail. 

Attack on Transportation Funding - This is really a national story, but it - as well as plans to roll back Safe Routes to Schools, Recreational Trails, CMAQ and other programs that fund biking - could mean dramatic changes for the DC area and funding availability for bicycle projects. In addition the mandatory sidepath rule "reared its ugly head" again. Conservatives and Republicans tried to belittle the programming by choosing silly-sounding projects - and misrepresenting what they do, as well as including programs that were denied TE funding. Of course, the new House bill makes ending TE Funding seem like nothing.

Metro committment

Humpback Bridge

ICC trail

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - 4 More Years (for LaHood?)

Good afternoon

• The new head of the Georgetown BID wants to make Georgetown easier to get to, which means congestion parking and "more bike racks, cabbie stations, and Circulator service. I think of transportation the same way DDOT does: considering all options, including cars, buses, bikeshare, pedestrians—it’s all a single system." Wouldn't it be great if they took out the on-street parking on M, widened the sidewalk, added bike lanes and paid some of the underground garages to stay open for the same cost of on-street parking?
• Richard Layman makes an excellent point about reducing parking minimums and that is that it should be coupled with more bike parking. 
• BAC on reducing speed camera fines "the BAC supports the expansion of automated enforcement and a fine structure that contributes to the existing trend of reducing traffic related injuries and fatalities. We believe that the goals of this legislation are to strengthen the automated enforcement program and improve safety, and those are goals that we support wholeheartedly. We ask for two key elements to ensure these goals are met: 1) the legislation should link an increase to the number of cameras in D.C. to the proposed fine reduction to ensure that the legislation as a whole is safety-enhancing, and 2) there should be a robust study of safety outcomes after the changes are made to ensure that the positive safety trend we have been experiencing continues."
• It looks as though attendence at the Tweed ride was high. And some rode CaBi.
• "Moving the churches to the suburbs would complete the design in making Washington, DC, a godless city and would designate it as a prime target for those who would want to see it as a city of bicycles like some Asian city. I hope they get their wish and that bicycles can be used as emergency vehicles to put out fires, transport the injured, and move heavy equipment."
• The NE Branch Trail has been repaved near the College Park Airport (see photo below)
• Montgomery County is looking for a bicycle coordinator. 
• Court case for motorist who allegedly struck cyclist intentionally was scheduled for Monday. No word yet on what happened. 
• "Only bicycles seemed to be rolling."
• San Francisco gets green lanes. 

NE Branch paving near Decatur Street

Photo by proteusvelo

NW Branch Trail repaving started this week

Photo by Jeff L.

Jeff reports that this started a few days ago "between Route 1 and 38^th Street.  With this section paved, our levee reconstruction woes would seem to be over. The NE Branch trail has been fully paved, painted and reopened for a week or two now."

Officials unveil design of "final" Anacostia Riverwalk Trail segment

On Monday, Officials from Maryland, DC and the federal government had a ceremeny at River Terrace Park to unveil the final design of the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Segment of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ART). Work on the 4 mile section will be advertised this year with work to begin in the spring and complete in 2014. 

The new trail segment will create a desperately needed connection between DC and western Prince George's County - John Porcari called it a "golden spike moment". This is the key connection between the Maryland and DC segments of the 60 mile Anacostia Trail system that stretches to Wheaton, Greenbelt and College Park. Because of the river; three railroad lines; and highways 50, 201 and 295, the area is currently impossible to navigate safely on foot or bicycle - requiring major detours.  

This $15 million trail project is jointly funded by: a $10 million U.S. Department of Transportation 2012 TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, $3.5 million from the District of Columbia and $1.5 million from Maryland’s Cycle Maryland Bikeways Program.

This segment represents half of the unfinished mileage of the planned 20 mile system, and brings the system much closer to "completion". The planned system still has a gap in that on the west side of the river there is no way to get from Benning Road in DC to Colmar Manor in Maryland without crossing the river or using bike-unfriendly Bladensburg Road, but one can hope that the completion of these segments will place pressure on the Arboretum to allow for such a trail.

The trail would pass through Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, hugging the river and bringing users close to the water. It would include a very long boardwalk under the New York Avenue and Amtrak bridges along the DC-Maryland boundary.

This also creates a major missing piece in a "Bicycle Beltway" that would almost entirely encircle DC. When the Capital Crescent Trail, Met Branch Trail, Prince George's County Connector and South Capitol Street Trails are completed one can ride a complete off-road loop using those trails, the Wilson and Key Bridges and the Mt. Vernon Trail. 

And of course, it's a local amenity for Ward 7 residents. 

Ironically, the National Park Service ownership along the Anacostia effectively "walls off" the river for communities like Mayfair Mansions and Kenilworth-Parkside. The new trail will provide new access routes into the park lands from the communities that surround them. Residents who have suffered living along a polluted Anacostia should certainly be among the first to reap the rewards of a clean river.

To fully capture the value of this investment, a few more connections across DC-295 are needed, as well as "Section 8" - the bridge across the Anacostia at M Street NE. 

According to City Paper this is being pitched as 30 minute reduction in travel time - and I could buy that if someone were going from Mayfair to Bladensburg by bike, though most users will probably save less time. Still, I might use it to commute, even though it means crossing the Anacostia three times each way.

WTOP starts out with an incredible statement

Bicyclists one day will be able to ride from Georgetown to College Park.

Yes. One day. But not now. Can't be done. 

More coverage here and 

There's a movie about the ceremony below the jump