TheWashCycle

Met Branch Trail Update 4/07

At the Coalition for the Met Branch Trail meeting earlier this month, there wasn't much new to discuss. Here is the agenda with notes.

1) Recent progress on the DC realization of the trail - no progress.

2) The PG connector and Shoppers Warehouse - A trail through Fort Totten and Annadale parks is to connect the Met Branch and the NW Branch trails. Where this trail meets with Chillum Road, Shoppers Food Warehouse plans to build a grocery store. Negotiations on how the trail and shop will share the space are ongoing. It seems the SFW people are viewing the trail as more of an annoyance to be dealt with (pushed to the edge and separated with a wall) than an opportunity to be exploited (incorporating it into the building with bike parking and signs etc..).

3) The dream of a National Bike House in Brookland - Catholic U owns the land between Monroe, Michigan, the trail and 7th Street. They're looking to sell it and there is some hope that a building could be "set aside" to serve as a National Bike House. The idea is that it would serve as office space for WABA, Rails to Trails, The League of American Bicyclists and Bikes Belong. Perhaps the ground floor could be a bike shop (for trail users, university students and the community - the nearest shop now is Cap Hill Bikes I think). Though a good idea, in reality this is probably somewhere on the scale between pipe dream and crazy talk.

4) Preliminary results of the questionnaire that was sent out to the Ward 4 candidates - This was a questionnaire about their support for the Met Branch and no one responded.

Confident City Cycling Classes 2007

3C classes started last weekend, and there are more all spring, summer and fall. Get the schedule here.

Topics include:                         

• Rules of the Road: Knowing is half the battle! Did you know that you have to adhere to the same rules of the road as a car or truck does? Did you know that you have the same rights that the operator of a car or truck does? Well its true- you do! Our course offers some great tips and tricks for safely and legally using our roadways.
• Avoiding the Common Causes of Crashes: Believe it or not, most crashes are avoidable. Learn what to do if a car turns suddenly in front of you, if you have to stop suddenly, what to do to avoid the dreaded car door and much more!
• Lane Positioning: Do you ever feel like cars are passing you too closely or running you into the gutter? Learn proper lane positioning to encourage drivers to pass you at a safe distance. Also learn how to safely cross lanes of traffic in order to made turns or avoid obstacles in the road.
• Improving Pedaling Efficiency: Bicycling shouldn’t be backbreaking work! The bicycle is one of the most efficient inventions of all time- make the most of it! Learn how to shift gears in anticipation of a hill, achieve a good cadence, and minimize the wear and tear on your knees.
• Useful Accessory Equipment: We all know you need a helmet, but learn some other   helpful and handy equipment to make your ride more enjoyable.
• Basic Bike Maintenance and Repair: Everyone who rides a bike should know some basic repair and maintenance skills. Learn how to change a flat tire and other emergency repair tips.

Anacostia Riverwalk Work Under Way

Taking the Orange Line last week I noticed a bunch of orange cones and digging along the Anacostia by RFK. At first I thought it was just utilities or drainage work, but it occurred to me that it was probably related to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, the next section of which is supposed to open this fall - meaning construction must be under way right now. So I went down to check it out. While there is some utility trench digging, I think it may be for the trail's lighting system. On the south end (pictured) I definitely saw a wide swath being cut for what looks like the trail. This would be on the section from Barney Circle to Benning Road.

Rock Creek Bike Path Rehab II

Dr. Gridlock says that the trail is part of the work mentioned here.

Roadway reconstruction, bridge deck resurfacing, stone median replacement, widening of the multi-use trail and repaving of the Parkway and Thompson's Boat Center parking lot. Construction will also include drainage work, grading, roadway paving and curb replacement. The multi-use pedestrian and bicycle trail will be closed for approximately four weeks for reconstruction during the first phase of the project.

70 year old is way tougher than me

Care of Commuterblog

The 70 year-old Janusz River embarked on his globe trotting journey on December 31, 1999.  His extensive journey has spanned seventy-three countries and logged over 49,000 miles! River plans to end his cycling journey by biking to the 2008 Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony.

I wonder how many flats he's had.

Fairfax Taking Biking Seriously

Last year at this time, Fairfax County began investigating the possibility of creating a county wide bike program. Since then they've set up a bicycle coordinator, Charlie Strunk, and have put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to seek a contractor to produce a bicycle map of the county and they're working on the plan. Fairfax County has it's own bike blog here and it can tell you way more about Fairfax county bike happenings (bus racks coming) than this blog can. [Check out their draft bike route map which covers much more than Fairfax]

This spring they announced a plan to create a "cool counties" program that would attempt to reduce emissions. They were then oddly attacked for decisions made years ago that are in contrast to their present plans. To which the county rebutted.

Fairfax's board is as visionary in its environmental viewpoint as any governing body in this region. It has initiated the Environmental Improvement Program, which outlines specific actions for a wide range of goals dealing with growth and land use, water quality, solid waste, air quality and transportation, parks and open space, and so on.

However, even if reporter Amy Gardner's assignment was to focus only on the government center, she still failed to tell readers the whole story. No mention was made of the demonstration green roof being installed on the parking deck of the Herrity Building, part of the three-building government center complex.

Nor did it mention this innovative bike-sharing program:

Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT)  is considering a pilot program to have bicycles available for employees to travel from the Herrity and Pennino buildings to the Government Center for meetings, deliveries, etc., instead of driving or walking. Biking this short distance would save gasoline and reduce emissions — you’ll save money, get exercise and do your part to help the environment. Send your comments by Friday, April 13, to FCDOT's Bicycle Program Coordinator at bicycleprograms@fairfaxcounty.gov.

What a great idea. There are several other campuses (including the one I work on) that could emulate this. And on the buses...

Thanks to hard work by Charlie Strunk, the Fairfax County Bike Coordinator, with encouragement from FABB, Fairfax Connector buses will soon be equipped with racks for holding two bikes. All Metro buses and many of the other local bus systems have the racks, and now bicyclists in Fairfax will have the ability to extend their bike rides by using the new racks. Look for the racks at the Fairfax Corner, Reston, and Vienna Bike to Work Day events. Prototypes will be available for cyclists to check out. Expect to see racks on buses in the Fall.

Fairfax, it's the new Arlington.

Since I wrote this (but before it posted), the Post ran another article (Braving Tysons Corner on a Bicycle Seat) about a Fairfax's efforts to become more bike friendly. This one was about a FABB-led tour of Tysons Corner that included county officials and Charlie Strunk.

to show where bikes can go, where they can't and what Fairfax County could do to make the region's largest employment center more bicycle-friendly....Several large-scale property owners in Tysons are planning major developments that will cluster high-density residences, as well as shopping and office space, around the new stations.Walking and biking must be part of the plan, planners and advocates say. Leesburg Pike and Gallows Road need dedicated bicycle lanes, they say, as does Jones Branch Road.

The article doesn't mention all the county officials, but it included

Kathy Ichter, director of the county's Transportation Department... Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence), whose district includes part of Tysons, showed up at the start of the ride. A couple of county planning commissioners also joined the group, as did Clark Tyler, chairman of a county task force studying the future of Tysons.

And of course you can find more at the FABB blog.

Muddy Branch Trail

The Muddy Branch Trail is a trail system planned for western Montgomery County, between North Potomac and the C&O Canal. I recently had this email forwarded to me (which has some dates for input that I've missed)

The overall Park Plan calls for two parallel trails. A hard surface (paved) bike trail and a natural surface (dirt) trail from Rt. 28 near where it crosses Muddy Branch stream to the C&O Canal Tow Path. In the northernmost section of the plan, the hard surface trail, for people on bicycles, would start on the east side at Rt. 28, but cross over to the flatter west side for most of the route to the Horse Center. From the Horse Center south, the plan calls for the  hard surface trail to leave the Park and would follow Tavilah Rd. to the Canal.

At Rt. 28 there is a trail underpass built specifically for this trail to connect into Gaithersburg's trail system. If you want to see the details of the plan and a map (pictured), they can be found here (pdf). When this plan was most recently updated 5 years ago (after already 22 years on the previous plan), the Planning Commission directed that due to lack of funds at the time, an "interim" natural surface trail be installed on the route of the planned hard surface bike trail. They pointedly said that this interim natural surface trail was not to be considered a replacement for the ultimate bike trail.

Well, it has taken 6 years to get the natural trail started, but now the Parks Department is calling for volunteers to assist with the installation of the natural surface trail and the interim trail this year. To volunteer, email Ben.Sugar (at)mncppc-mc(dot)org. With this movement, now is a good time to press for the hard surface bike trail. For more information contact Alan_migdall(at)yahoo(dot)com

The Flying Scotsman

There could be a new movie making it's way into the Top Ten bike movies soon. The Flying Scotsman is an award-winning film that should come out this summer.

The Flying Scotsman is a feature film based on the remarkable true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. In 1993, and as an unemployed amateur, Obree broke the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine.

(The Scots are so good at making stuff out of other stuff). Not sure where or when this movie will show, but maybe WABA can arrange a night of it - (in addition to their Bike-in-Movie on May 12th). There was a sneak preview of this at E Street Cinema last week, but I wasn't able to make it. Has anyone seen this yet? Here's the trailer.

Abandoned Bikes

Apparently abandoned bikes are now the great scourge of our fair capital, as we have not one, but three articles about it. The Times mentions that.

Abandoned and vandalized bicycles are lining streets and walkways in the District, a problem community activists say has become an eyesore that city officials aren't effectively addressing.

I don't doubt that there are abandoned bicycles, or that they're an eyesore (and never mentioned in the article is how it reduces available bike parking) but to say they're "lining the streets" is a bit of an overstatement especially when you read the next line

Nearly a dozen old bicycles are currently locked to poles, meters and trees in Northwest, said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations.

Nearly a dozen?! In all of NW. Wow! That is serious.

The city disposes of about five to 10 unclaimed bicycles a week, depending upon the time of year, said Jim Sebastian, the bicycle program manager for the D.C. Department of Transportation.

"Bikes get abandoned just like cars," [said Lynch] "On college campuses, around apartment buildings, near Dupont Circle, along Wisconsin Avenue. ... The ones we reported are just the tip of the iceberg."

The Examiner's article included this laughable line (if you've ever tried to register your bike with the police)

The District has a hard time determining who owns the bicycles, and although the Metropolitan Police Department offers owners the chance to register them, many do not.

But the Examiner felt this story was too big for one article, so they ran the Times article as well. I too am perplexed by people who abandon bikes, but I don't feel the city is doing too bad a job of dealing with it. I would hardly say it's an epidemic. Certainly no worse than abandoned cars, or let's say littering. Still, if you don't want your bike anymore give it to Bikes for the World

Safe Bicycling Book

A new "Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area" is now available:

A partnership of BikeArlington, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation worked together to create "Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area". This booklet instructs the reader on everything the beginner and intermediate bicyclist needs to know, including:

- finding the right bike and equipping it;

- where and how to park your bike;

- how to choose a good helmet;

- traffic basics;

- lane positioning, turning, and passing;

- what to wear in the dark and in inclement weather;

- and a whole lot more!

"Safe Bicycling in the Washington Area" is an invaluable guide and a biker's bible. You can download the booklet for free.