TheWashCycle

DC Facilities Update - 11th Street Bridges, MGPT, ART and Alabama Avenue

Earlier this week I went on a ride with the Facilities Committee of the DC BAC.

We started out riding across the 11th Street Bridges and then looked at the preliminary design plans for the new bridge. The design/builders Skanska/Facchina have some ideas about the Active Transportation Lane (ATL).

• For starters instead of having a 14 foot ATL on one side of the "local bridge" and a 6 foot ATL on the other as mentioned in the FEIS, they'd like to build a 16'9" ATL on one side only. You will note that 14+6 does not equal 16.75. This is also down from the "cyclist preferred" alternative that had two 14' ATLs, one on each bridge. Furthermore, the first foot of the 16'9" ATL will be taken up by poles for the streetcar catenary. Then there will be two feet of "shy space" leaving about 13'9" or about 8 feet for a bidirectional bike lane and less than 6 for a pedestrian area. DDOT would like to paint it to separate users which would differ from every other bridge in the area.  DDOT wants more space for the ATL. They'd like at least 20 feet, which would get them to 10 foot bike area a 7 foot pedestrian area.
• DDOT would like to see a wall put in between the roadway and the ATL to keep debris from piling up and to create a greater sense of safety (More like the Wilson Bridge than Memorial).
• The new bridges will be closer together than the existing bridges and will have a narrower footprint. They're looking at leaving the existing piers in place and extending catwalks along the southern ones with observation areas on the ends. These would connect to the ATL. On the north side they'd build peregrine nests.
• The ATL will connect to Good Hope Road on the river side of the Anacostia Freeway as it does now. There was originally to be a car lane connection to Good Hope in this same location off the new bridge, but the designers might take that out.
• Continuing east on the new bridge, where it becomes MLK, the ATL will give way to a 6 foot sidewalk to Good Hope Road on the old town side of the Anacostia Freeway. Users will cross one or two signalized intersections (depending on if the road connection mentioned above is kept).

We then rode along Alabama Avenue which will be signed as a bike route soon. The bike route will run the length of Alabama from MLK to Southern and will then follow Southern, 54th and 55th to Eastern. I'm not sure how much bike traffic that route will get, but some bike lanes are possible in places.

We came back on the Marvin Gaye Park Trail. A lot of work has been done since I last rode it in March (when this photo was taken). Some trail and bridges have been completed. Some landscaping and lighting has been installed (though we saw kids throwing rocks at the lights so I wonder how long they'll last). There are still a few places where the trail is closed while work is being done, but it appears close to completion.

Finally I came back on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail on my way home. The boardwalk under East Capitol Street is finished, but the Jersey barrier at the entrance from Independence is still blocking the way.

Minnesota Avenue "Great Street" Presentation

DDOT held its 30% Streetscape Design meeting for the Minnesota Avenue, NE Great Streets Improvements last Thursday.

The new Minnesota Avenue NE will be better than the current one. More trees, stormwater planters, pedestrian parks, public art and wider sidewalks in most places.

For cyclists

• The parking lot between the Avenue and the railroad tracks from Gault to Hunt will be removed and replaced with trees. This will create space to replace the sidewalk from the terminus of the Marvin Gaye Park Trail to the Metro Station (the "Greenway" section) with an 11' MUP.
• There will be "space for bike racks" from Ames to Grant (the so-called Main Street and Mixed Use sections), which I assume is different than actual bike racks.
• They'd like to add SmartBike to "downtown Ward 7"
• Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue (NHBA) will be a signed bike route

Now the bad news.

Minnesota Avenue is supposed to have a bike path along the side of it from East Capitol to NHBA according to the bike plan, but when they looked at fitting everything in that they needed, "bicycles were the one thing that wouldn't fit." There also won't be bike lanes. They investigated alternative routes and they're going to direct bike traffic to parallel routes. The problem is that there really aren't any parallel routes that go the length of Minnesota. To the west, there will one day be the ART, though not now; and to the east you have to go to 42nd Street on the other side of Fort Mahan Park. They claimed to have an alternate route mapped, but didn't bring it with them.

NHBA is supposed to have bike lanes, not be a signed bike route.

In the Main Street section (from Clay to Grant), they're actually widening the road from 2 lanes in each direction to 2 lanes in each direction and metered parking. They admitted the area doesn't need metered parking, but they wanted to "prepare for the future when Minnesota has more shoppers." How about preparing for the future when Minnesota has more cyclists?

When asked about the possibility of building an underpass under Minnesota for the Marvin Gaye trail, it was immediately dismissed because it would be an "environmental nightmare." But they never considered it.

The meeting itself was a pleasant surprise. DDOT handed out bike maps and seemed very well prepared. The community members who were there asked questions about walking, biking and transit. One woman even asked about space for "senior bikes" a.k.a. tricycles. People were largely not interested in more parking. One guy, who called himself and anachronism did complain about too many sidewalks ("We're not in a walking city like NYC", "think about us drivers") and said the parking meters were going to drive him to Maryland. He did ask about light pollution from the Washington Globe streetlights - I got the impression that DDOT would like to use lights that don't send light up, but the Federal Fine Arts Commission won't let them.

The Project is to go to Design/Build in 2012. The meeting documents are not up yet, but I scanned in the handout below.

 

Minnesota Avenue NE Design Update and Review Meeting

DDOT is holding a design update and review meeting for the reconstruction of Minnesota Avenue NE. The design documents are 30% complete and include comments from previous public meetings. In addition to the update, DDOT will provide an update on other projects such as Benning Road (Anacostia to 42nd Street), Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue and the Eastern Avenue Bridge.

The meeting is tomorrow, June 4th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at

Marshall Heights Community Development Organization
3939 Benning Road NE
WDC 20019

According to the 2005 DC Bicycle Master Plan, Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road are supposed to have multi-use trails along their length and Nannie Helene Burroughs is to have bike lanes. There are also intersections with the Fort Circle Trail, Marvin Gaye Park Trail and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

2008 CWL #6 Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail

The Chesapeake Beach Railway was built in the 1890's as a connection between the population center of Washington, DC and the resort town of Chesapeake Beach, MD. In 1899 the railway started operation from south Deanwood, where Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue meets Minnesota Avenue running north of Watts Branch then through Seat Pleasant, Upper Marlboro and Owings on its way to Chesapeake Beach. Highways, fire and the Great Depression all led to the railway being replaced by a bus by 1935. The section within DC continued its operations as the East Washington Railway until 1978.

Ironically, much of the section within Maryland - the section abandoned 70 years ago - has survived, while the short piece in DC was quickly built upon. The DC ROW was just wide enough to place a house and yard on it.  Since it parallels Watts Branch (the reason it and the WB&A* chose to utilize that valley to approach the city in the first place) and the soon-to-be-reopened Marvin Gaye Park Trail (MGPT), an alternative exists. In fact riding the MGPT, just west of Division Avenue, you can see an old abutment of the WB&A rail line.

Aside: The old WB&A line in DC was owned by Capitol Transit and thus, I'd figure, by Metro. The East Washington Railway ceased service in the 1970's. In my research I never find out why Metro twice decided not to build a line (or hold on to/acquire land for later expansion) in this area.

Anyway, Maryland plans to build a trail along the ROW (map) and in places already has. It's been acquiring land for this purpose since at least 1999.

The Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail is a potential regional multi-use trail system that will utilize the original railroad route from Washington, D.C. to Chesapeake Beach. This corridor will serve as the spine for a number of potential greenways branches that would provide access to public lands, the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. M-NCPPC has acquired portions of the corridor through the subdivision process. The trail would be owned, managed, and maintained by M-NCPPC. The Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail is being considered in Calvert and Anne Arundel counties where several segments of the 28-mile rail corridor also exist. Eleven miles of the corridor lie in Prince George’s County

The problem is they don't own all of it as M-NCCPC points out.

The entire right-of-way (ROW) for the trail has not been preserved and the property has reverted back [to] owners, however, pieces of the trail are being acquired and built. The goal is to build an entire trail along the old rail line between Washington DC and Calvert County. As properties are subdivided and comes in for development review, the developer is obligated to do this.

It was abandoned before railbanking was an option. So instead they're forcing developers to build sections as they develop parcels the trail would sit on. Construction has been, at best, piecemeal.

• A 100-foot long portion was built in Maryland Park between Crown Street and the Addison Plaza shopping center. This is just east of the DC eastern corner.
• When the Walker Mill/Ritchie Marlboro Road intersection with the Beltway was rebuilt, sidewalks were added to serve as the trail in that section.
• In September 2004, the state of Maryland committed $1.6 million for construction of the first 1.4 miles of trail. Construction for the trail was scheduled to begin in the fall of 2005 but has been pushed back to 2008.  In October, MD Senate President Thomas Miller said, " Construction is about to begin on the Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail."

During the wait for this last section, it appears it has been expanded.

Councilmen Bruce Wahl, a champion of the project since 1989, and Stewart Cumbo have obtained $3.3 million  to complete the project. The 7.7 mile Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail will connect Bay View Hills and Richfield Station

When asked about the rail trail - and the closing of the Brown Station landfill that it would pass through - in 2007, M-NCCPC replied

One barrier to completion of the trail is the County Correctional Center, not the landfill. The facility off Dille Drive includes a segment of the former railroad right-of-way south of the Kings Grant development. A route or detour around this secure site will have to be utilized to provide a continuous trail.

Near the Beltway, the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Trail is accommodated with an existing eight-foot wide sidewalk parallel to the road. This wide sidewalk provides safe pedestrian access under the Beltway and can serve as a segment of the longer planned trail. As part of the master plan process, staff can evaluate the feasibility of a separate trail bridge (or tunnel) in this area to better accommodate the master plan trail.

So what Maryland (and to a much smaller extant DC) needs to do is come up with a PLAN to match their plans. The M-NCPPC and state DNR need to put together a formal plan of how the CBRT will be built, where it will run etc...Otherwise we're going to end up with a messy, disconnected trail.

In the short term, Maryland should build the section - now a social trail - from Crown Street in Seat Pleasant to the District Boundary and DC should build the last 20 feet to the corner of Southern and Eastern, as well as a sidepath on Southern and signs and markings to connect it to the MGPT (as mentioned in this UMd Studio Report). Maryland should also build the Chesapeake Beach section.

*I'm not doing anything on the WB&A trail this year, since it's been covered twice already.

Christmas Wish List (CWL) 2005-07 Review

The past three years have featured a regular December feature I call the Christmas Wish List. Before getting into this year's list - which will again take a unique turn - let's look at the progress from the previous three years.

For anything skipped there is no status.

Updates from one and two years ago.

2005

1. Mt. Vernon trail expansion - A setback. Unfortunately, this was left out of the Park Service's EA. Boo!

2. WB&A to ATTS connection - Found out the Glenn Dale-Seabrook-Lanham and Vicinity Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment includes plans to build a sidepath from the southern end of the WB&A along highway 704. If it went far enough it could connect to the Marvin Gaye Park trail and then to the Anacostia Riverwalk. 

3. Suitland Parkway Trail rehab and extention - DDOT, at least, is looking at rehabing it's portion of the trail. I'll know more abou this on Tuesday.

4. Four Mile Run Shirlington Connector - If all goes according to plan, this should open in March of 2009. Hooray!

9. New York Ave Met branch Trail - opened in 2005, it's sat basically useless since. But on July 22nd of this year a 12-month contract was signed to finish this section to Franklin Street. So this should open by the end of July 2009. But there was a hold up with PEPCO and their land and so construction north to R Street won't start until the spring. Still I've heard it is to be finished in 2009. Hooray!

10 - Connecting to the 14th Street Bridges - Work began in January on the Humpback bridge that will create a new crossing under the GW Parkway, but in October the Arlington BAC reported that the Pentagon Area Bike and Pedestrian Access plan showed the proposed trail underneath the new Humpback Bridge will end abruptly and not connect to anything. The North Tract crossing, meanwhile, is back on track. The park was renamed Long Bridge Park and the Park Service began work on the EA.

11- Improve Rock Creek Park Trail - The MUP was repaved this spring from Virginia Ave to P Street, but the larger work languishes in NPS/DDOT purgatory. The EA for the redesigned trail was to come out in July last I heard, but if it did, I missed it.

2006

10 - WB&A extension to DC and BWI - This is a little different than what was mentioned in 2005, but it still benefits from the same Glenn Dale-Seabrook-Lanham and Vicinity Sector Plan and Sectional Map Amendment. At least for going south. Plans to cross the Patuxent were listed as high priority in Maryland's Trails Strategic Implementation Plan (even if they did call it the BW&A instead of the WB&A). Also I noted that at some point the trail was extended south of Patuxent Road along Brager's Road, but I'm unsure how far south it goes right now.

11 - Dupont Circle Bike Station - Though not necesarily a setback, an art group has its gaze set on the same space I covet. This is just like in high school when Billy Shepherd and I both wanted to date Violet Rassmussen. Let's hope the Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground doesn't play quarterback like Billy did or this could end just as badly. On the upside, work began on the Union Station bike station, which means DDOT may be willing to look for a second location.

2007 - Bridges

1. Wilson - While both spans of the bridge are open and have been since the summer, the opening of the bike trail between Alexandria and National Harbor has slipped to NET Spring of 2009. A trail from Route 1 south of the Capital Beltway to the Washington Street deck reportedly opened this Fall (I haven't seen it yet) and a trail from Telegraph Road at Huntington Avenue, passing over the Beltway to connect with Eisenhower Avenuewill open late in 2009. Hooray!

4. 14th - The EIS process has continued all year and will conclude in 2009. Sadly, I have not been able to make it to any of the meetings or know much about it. Anyone have any status? A new 14th street bridge with better bike access was included in the non-official new plan for the National Mall.

Marvin Gaye Park Trail Rehab Update

The Marvin Gaye Park Trail (I'm pushing for it to be called the Grapevine Trail. I might just start calling it that and see if it sticks) is undergoing a rehabilitation and I recently went out to take some photos - of which only one is any good.

The project, which started in July of 2006 should be done soon and includes: restructuring and resurfacing where needed, adding two bridges, improving existing bridges, Widening the trail from 8 feet to 10, narrowing the street at certain trail crossings, installing new lighting and replacing some unneeded trail sections with grass. The trail was in bad shape the last time I rode it and could use some work. I hope it includes signage as well. Last I heard, work at 295 (below) over Watts Branch would include an underpass for the trail, but I don't see it yet.

June 2007 Recreational trails committee notes

At D.C.'s Recreational Trails Committee meeting, many projects were discussed.

Met Branch - As mentioned earlier, the RFP went out recently. Those bids are due by the end of June. Once the contract is awarded it will take 2 months to get the Notice to Proceed issued. The contract will be a 12 month contract (the amount of time they have to build it before incurring fines) but they'll be some accommodation in the contract for bad weather. So, in reality, they'll have longer than 12 months. What this means is the trail will open around September 2008 at the earliest. The present DDOT contract manager for this project is leaving DDOT and a replacement will have to be found and hired, so that may slow things down further.

There are plans to have the outdoor bike map sign installed at 8th and Monroe NE by the time the Close the Gaps ride comes through this week. It's unlikely they'll be cultural or historical markers on the trail since the Cultural office seemed uninterested in doing the work. Art, however, is a possibility as Rails to Trails is working with local schools on mural design and placement.

Choosing a designer for the bridge to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro is underway. The design will take 9 months and construction could begin next summer.

WMATA is ready to build the temporary staircase from the southern end of their section of the trail down to L Street. Work should begin this month (6 months late). It will be a wooden staircase with a bike trough. Once developers start to develop the parking lot there, DDOT will work with them to insure a bikeable connection to L street is included.

Rock Creek Park - This project is about 6 months behind due to problems with Rock Creek Park's management. They have a meeting this week where DDOT will show its ideas for the environmental documents (how wide the trail should be and where it should be located) and they're taking a "take it or leave it" policy (DDOT is paying for this project, not NPS). If Rock Creek should pass, the plan is to go higher up the NPS chain of command.

CCT - DDOT has a Memorandum of Agreement with the Park Service to repair the damaged part of the trail. Due to the DDOT personnel change mentioned above, DDOT is hoping NPS will take over design of this project. DDOT will still pay for the repairs. Repairs going on now are temporary and being paid for by Arlington County (because they depend on the reservoir for part of their water supply).   

Work on the Anacostia Riverwalk and Marvin Gaye Trails is on-going.

MORE has completed a feasibility study on Mountain Bike trails within the Fort Circle Parks.

03/07 & 05/07 D.C. BAC Notes (combined)

I didn't go to the March meeting but I did go to the May one. March notes are the minutes, with my additions in italics:

Anacostia Riverwalk(ART): As previously reported, work on this is underway. I stated it was going from Barney Circle to Benning Road, but a second section is also being built from Barney Circle to the Navy Yard (where it will ostensibly meet up with the Navy Yard Promenade when that opens). This will be mostly on road along Water and M Streets. Officially you'll have to use the detour to get from one to the other because of the railroad tracks that separate the two sections north of Barney Circle. Unofficially, you can walk your bike across the tracks - though that is trespassing.* Eventually DDOT will build a bridge over the tracks because CSX refuses to allow an at-grade crossing. A formal groundbreaking will be held on May 7th.

Smart Bikes (Automated Bike Rental) - [Sorry it seems part of this post was lost here]

*       Near P Street Whole Foods.The front of the store is already at full-capacity for bike racks so they would have to be located nearby.

I'm not sure about these locations. They shouldn't all be at Metro stations. They should be in areas that are destinations and starting points (high population density) and preferably under served by transit. H Street/Atlas District, Adams Morgan, Georgetown (this is a must - maybe even 2) come to mind. Some Metro stations make sense - so that people can use the bikes to extend Metro. So Foggy Bottom would be good as a way of connecting to Georgetown (and allowing student to get around). Gallery Place would be good. Dupont Circle works as a connector station. I certainly hope they'll go with more than 10 locations, or I fear this won't work.

Other Suggestions:

*       Place bike maps at the rental sites.
*       Ask if Clear Channel can include reflectors and lights on the bicycles (make sure they conform to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) standards).
*       Ask if a technology is available to secure helmets to the racks or bikes.
*       If helmets cannot be affixed to the racks, require helmet use as a part of the contract, or provide education of the benefits of helmet use.

DCist recently had a post asking for Paris-style bike rentals just like this (which was followed by the usual bike/car/ped comment melee) If that isn't enough for you, there is more fighting here.

Ward 8 Representation The Council is desperately looking for a Ward 8 representative. If you can meet the following strict guidelines, contact Jim Sebastian (202 671 2331) about being on the BAC:

1. You are presently alive (or at least mostly alive)
2. You reside in Ward 8
3. You can tell the difference between a bicycle and Shinola
4. You have 12 hours a year to spare

Bike Route Signage: BAC is working to make sure that bike route signage in the district makes sense.
Usually, each large bicycle route sign has one or two sub plates below it. The final destination and interim locations directly off the bike route are placed on the sub plates. Signs are positioned approximately every quarter mile and at all turns on the route. Mileage is given for all destinations. posting maps at certain points along the route that show the whole network was suggested.

Bike Bait (anti-theft idea): Evan McAnney, Ward 3 DC resident presented his idea for implementing a bicycle bait system. After his fifth bike was stolen he searched for a lo-jack type device to deter bicycle thefts. During this search he found out about the DC police bait vehicles. A possible barrier to implementing a similar system for bicycles is that the MPD uses seven officers to monitor the bait vehicle. However, Sacramento police have been successful using a bike bait system with less staff. Publicity from this California campaign has reduced theft by 70%. It seems Mr. McAnney isn't the only one:

[Nicholas McKenna] said he had gotten fed up with the situation and recently placed a GPS tracker on the bike days before it was stolen.McKenna told News4 that he has pictures of the young people who stole his bike. In those pictures, the youngsters are riding around the neighborhood while smoking pot.McKenna said he also has pictures of them riding a motor scooter, which was also reported stolen in that area.

There was no report on what the police did with the information.

Marvin Gaye Park Trail - Work is under way and starting on the east end near the Maryland boundary. Excavation is done, gravel is being pured, paving will begin soon - as will bridge reconstruction and light installation. There's a plan to take the trail under the Railroad tracks - which will be tight - and under a new 295 bridge - which will have more space, so that it can connect to the ART.

Metropolitan Branch Trail - Design/Build should start in the next few weeks (I know, we've heard that before). Hope is to break ground in late 2007. The problem seems to be disagreements between the FHA and D.C.'s contract office (about what I don't know).

Rock Creek Park Trail - DDOT doesn't know how wide the trail being worked on south of P street will be, but it will be wider (NPS appears to be building a retaining wall to provide more room). DDOT is still negotiating trail width in other parts of the park with NPS. DDOT wants 10 feet, NPS wants less. DDOT plans to build an off-street connection between the trail and P Street.

Bike to Work Day - The mayor will be there, so will Tommy Wells (who seems to have had some of the bike advocacy Kool-Aid).

Strange things are afoot at the AWI

The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative just announced its updated website. Pretty nice - except there are a lot of broken links. It's even got a cyclist on the banner. The AWI could impact cycling in many ways not the least of which is their involvement in the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and Marvin Gaye Trail, but really all of their projects are so enormous that they could either be a boon or a disappointment for cyclists.

It's also announced that its CEO is leaving and that the corporation will be abolished.

His departure comes just a few weeks before hearings will begin to determine whether AWC and the National Capital Revitalization Corp. should be abolished and have their operations transferred to city personnel.

More about that here.

Ten for Tuesday - 230th birthday edition

1. Here's a great photo from the Silver Spring (singular) criterium a few weeks ago and more can be found here.

The Gazette covered the race.

Also happy were the event’s organizers, including Susan Hoffman, marketing and special events manager for downtown Silver Spring. The second year of the event drew larger crowds than the year before, and the hope exists that the Grand Prix of Silver Spring will become a permanent fixture of the summer.

‘‘It brings people downtown, which is exactly what we want to do,” Hoffman said. ‘‘We’re ready for primetime, and we want people from outside the area to come here.”

2. Here's the photo of the 10 foot long bike lane on Massachusetts just north of Thomas Circle. The sign reads "Bike Land Ends" (though Bike is a picture of a bike).

3. Another product recall, this time for Specialized bicycle stems

The bicycle stem is black with the words "S-Works" and "Magnesium Faceplate" printed on it.

4. Reconstruction of the Marvin Gaye Park Trail began June 24th.

the city began work on a 1.6-mile walking and bicycling trail that will connect the northeast corner of the District with a network of regional trails. The $3.1 million project will include lighting, emergency call buttons and other safety measures. The trail was first constructed in 1978, but it was long neglected and became polluted and dangerous.

In time, the paved path will be lighted and widened for walkers, cyclists and skaters and better marked where it crosses streets.

The city has been aggressively encouraging cycling and commuting by bike. In addition to the Marvin Gaye path, the city will break ground next month on a section of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail from the Navy Yard to Benning Road in Southeast. The city is also planning work on the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which follows Metro's Red Line from Union Station to Silver Spring, said Jim Sebastian, the Transportation Department's bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

5. Here's a photo of the "mystery bridge" along the NE Branch Trail. It's been sitting there for four months if not longer and I haven't any idea where it's to end up. If you know, leave it in the comments. On the left side of the photo is a wooden bridge. The new bridge seems way too big to replace the wooden one.

6. San Francisco is having trouble implementing their bike plan.

Superior Court Judge James Warren issued a preliminary injunction this week at the request of two groups, Coalition for Adequate Review and 99 Percent, which are seeking greater public review of the bicycle plan. The plan, approved last year by the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom, is designed to make the streets of San Francisco more bicycle-friendly by creating more dedicated bike lanes and places to securely stow bikes.

The injunction bars the city  --  at least temporarily  --  from creating new bike lanes, changing the timing of traffic signals to accommodate cyclists, and restricting or removing on-street parking to benefit bike

7. Also along the NE branch trail, the town of Edmonston built a park sign dedicating the park to the town's veterans (see left) and moved the gazeebo (see right) at Decatur Street.

8. I only use it for racing .

Researchers at Stanford University Medical Center believe that Viagra improves cardiovascular and exercise performance measures of trained cyclists at high altitude.

9. The Virginia transportation board approved funding for path improvements in Northern Virginia.

Fairfax County Park Authority’s Cross County Trail received the highest allocation of $435,000 toward a $2.2 million trail rerouting project between Lake Accotink to Hunter Village Drive.

Arlington: Child and Adult Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Classes and Brochure

Fairfax: Mason Neck Trail extended between Gunston Hall Plantation to Pohick Bay Regional Park

10. And finally, Lance Armstrong is planning to ride RAGBRAI at the end of the month. Makes me wish I could go this year. That and my need for delicious pork chops.

Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will not be biking across the hills of France this summer, but instead riding a couple days across Iowa highways and county roads.

Armstrong decided to ride in the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, one of the largest bike rides in the world.