Safety Meeting for the CCT

Recently Montgomery County instituted some changes on the CCT with the goal of increasing safety for all users.

Adjustments include posting a 15 mph speed limit, repainting pavement markings, rumble strips at two roadway crossings and posting handouts reminding trail users to be polite.

This was met with a lot of anger from cyclist, partially because they were not consulted. To address this the CCCT held a meeting on July 14th to discuss safety on the trail. Notes from the meeting provided by a frequent reader

The meeting was standing room only. I would guess that there were well over 50 people in the room, most of who stayed until at least 9. A member of The Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail (CCCT) give abrief introduction and quickly turned the meeting over to Mary Bradford, Director of Parks for the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission, to answer audience questions.

The meeting was not as contentious as one would have thought and focused on proposed safety solutions

Geographic modifications and trail widening

The stretch of trail under the MNCPPC's jurisdiction is approximately 3.5 miles. It was pointed out by several people that most conflicts occur between the stretch north of River Road and south of the trail head in Bethesda.

Proposals:

* Widen the trail in that corridor. MNCPPC responded that there was no money available to do that.

* Pave the gravel portions that flank the trail. MNCPPC did not have a cost estimate for doing that.

* Concentrate enforcement efforts on the congested portion, but leave alone the unclogged portion.

Time or day of the week modifications

An audience member proposed the idea of segregating trail uses either according to the time or day, or the day of the week. Variations on this were: bike-free weekends, bikes only during peak commuting hours during the week, one weekend day dedicated to bikes (the other day for other trail uses).

* There appeared to be little support for these ideas.

* There appeared to be some enthusiasm for the idea of raising the speed limit during peak commuting hours.

Enforcement modifications

There was a representative of law enforcement present. (I believe he was with Montgomery County.)

* The County is considering the installation of speed feedback signs so trail users can judge their speed. (You can find these in some school zones.) The County might also use a speed trailer.

* The cops can ticket for exceeding the speed limit of 15 mph and for cyclists judged to be riding too fast for conditions.

* Trail users should not expect a high police presence.

* Several audience members proposed that the cops concentrate their enforcement efforts on weekends, as that is the time the trail is most congested (and leave the commuters alone).

* The officer mentioned that he had been on the trail that day to remind all users of their respective obligations.

* MNCPPC and the Montgomery County Police have not yet settled on an enforcement strategy. They will, however, continue enforcing the speed limit until a strategy is determined.

Other stuff worth noting:

* WABA, represented by Eric G., reiterated that the issue of trail safety cannot be resolved by imposing a speed limit. Eric called for an ongoing public discussion of how trail safety can be improved. He expressed disappointment (directed towards MNCPPC and CCCT) that these safety "enhancements"were invoked without consulting WABA and its members.

* The 15mph limit was determined by MNCPPC's survey of multiuse trails around the country. Several cities/trails were citedas examples. It was noted by several audience members that other cities provide separate trail facilities for cyclists and/or have much better on road
facilities to accommodate higher speed cyclists.

* MNCPPC expressed regret that there are currently no good on-road alternatives to the CCT for cyclists.

* MNCPPC indicated that it had been working with the CCCT for nearly two years on this initiative. The CCCT spokesman issued a mea culpa towards the end of the meeting for not broadening the discussion sooner.

* Neither MNCPPC nor CCCT could produce any studies proving there is a safety problem on the CCT. The Montgomery County Police did not have any statistics on trail crashes. A few audience members gave stories about conflicts or collisions with cyclists. There is a safety study underway.The consultant had previously made recommendations on the Baltimore to Annapolis multiuse trail. The report is expected within the next 30 days.

* It could be worse… and it probably will get worse. At the end of the meeting Mary Bradford reminded all trail users that they should be watching plans for the unpaved portion of the CCT. She specifically mentioned the development plans for the intersection of Woodmont Avenue
and Bethesda Avenue.  And it looks like the County is about to axe a proposed bridge across the intersection of the CCT and Jones Mill Road (WC:emphasis mine).

* An audience member reminded us all that there is money for trail widening—especially in these days of $4/gallon gasoline. He encouraged all of us to write the County Council to express our support for more funding for the trail.

* There was a minor skirmish over safety at the intersections of the CCT and Little Falls Parkway and the CCT and Dorsett. Amazingly, this comment was made by a driver, who seemed to be indicating that trail users were not obeying the stop signs and were, instead, leaping out in front of the cars. The comment made by the MoCo po-po wasn't helpful either. There remains a lot of misunderstanding over a driver's obligation at the trail crossings.

* Mary Bradford made several pro cycling and pro pedestrian safety statements. 

* Two people showed up to oppose any trail widening, seeing it as a backdoor for the Purple Line.

* The most contentious (and funniest) moment of the meeting came when a cyclist suggested that the problem with trail safety was due to the women walking three and four abreast. He nearly got the hook.

* DC's competitive cycling community was well-represented: Rockville Harley Davidson, Artemis, DC Velo, and Hub Racing.

Where to next?

MNCPPC is waiting for the consultant's report on trail safety.  No word on whether that report will be made public. In the meantime, Mary Bradford indicated that the trail policies are in flux while MNCPPC tries tofigure out what's working, and what's not.  The Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail (http://www.cctrail.org/ <http://www.cctrail.org/> ) will continue to be the liaison between CCT users and the MNCPPC. WABA reminded cyclists to keep the comments coming.

As predicted, the first impact of the new speed limit signs is to create animosity.

I was walking with a friend on the right side of the road, with walkers coming toward us on the left side of the path. A biker, who was clearly traveling at a speed faster than the posted 15 mph, whizzed by us. I yelled for her to slow down, since there were many pedestrians on the path at the time. She made an obscene gesture and continued speeding along.

In a case of shoot first, ask question later

the Parks Department will contract for a full-on safety study of all trail users, Bradford said. The study’s results will help the department to make further improvements next summer.

Ading insult to injury for the Parks Department is the way NPS is doing a better job with safety on the DC section. They've started with an outreach event.

The National Park Service will host an outreach event at Fletcher's Cove on August 2 & 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., to promote safe use of NPS trails in the Washington DC area. Park rangers and volunteers will be at the event, contacting visitors. You can learn about safe trail use and how to be prepared for your travels. Pick up trail maps and park brochures, earn a free bike bell, meet the volunteer patrols, and pick up your own trail pledge card.

Fletchers Cove is at the junction of the CCT and the C&O Canal, near trail milepost 8.  The NPS event announcement is at Trails Days Invitation.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Comments

[Rocky6]

Thanks for the summary.

[CoquetteCutie]

I really wish we could all just accept responsibility for our own actions without posting more signs or installing new obstacles all over the trail.

[Jack]

I hear pedestrians are going to hold a critical mass event and walk four abreast down the entire trail :-)

[Contrarian]

I don't know whay they say there are no on-road alternatives. Little Falls Parkway is an excellent bike route.

[silverspringtrails]

Yes, Little Falls Parkway is a good road for bikes. But - it only goes from Bethesda to Mass. Avenue. At that point one must take a very inconvenient, steep path to get back up onto the CCT. The Little Falls Trail does continue south from Mass. Ave. for a while, but it is not appropriate for heavy bike traffic.

[Contrarian]

It's true that the Little Falls Parkway goes from Massachusetts to Bethesday -- but that's the section of trail that has essentially 100% of the problems. If they trimmed the bushes in a few spots you could ride on a paved shoulder the whole way. I agree that the junction with Massachusetts is a problem, but you could probably fix that by making the ramp 100 yards longer -- which needs to be done anyway, and would do far more to improve safety than anything that the CCCT or the county has proposed so far.

For those keeping score, so far the CCCT has expressed regret about the process, but not the outcome, and MNCPPC isn't budging at all.