Plowing trails

This seems to comes up every year and this year is no different someone asked me about who is responsible for plowing the CCT. I think the answer is that NPS plows the DC portion, and no one plows the Maryland portion, but that may have changed.

Anyway, I noticed that the Custis Trail was plowed when I rode it the other day. Last year people worried that plowing the trail could result in black ice in spots. Now I'm no expert on ice/snow/plowing, but certainly there is some point where it makes sense to plow a trail (two warm days to follow or something) and times when it doesn't. Like I said, I'm not sure when that is, but I'm sure someone at DOT knows.

Anyway, Richard Layman wrote about this a little recently including a link to story about snow plowing on the Boston area's Minuteman Bikeway.

Both Arlington and Lexington have a plan in place to plow the bikeway, one of the most heavily used pathways in the country.

A successful trial run last winter prompted the Arlington Board of Selectmen once again to fund snow maintenance for the town's 6-mile-long section of the trail.

Jeff Roth of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, which helped spearhead efforts to clear the trail last year, said the cost came to $2,700. The committee kept track of how many pedestrians and bicyclists used the plowed trail in the winter months, and found it was as high as 100 to 200 people per hour.

And for those who last year asserted that cyclists should just salt the trail themselves

Many Lexington residents urged the town to clear its 5-mile section of the trail, said Peggy Enders, chairwoman of Friends of Lexington Bikeways. Because of a tight budget, the Lexington Board of Selectmen declined to allocate the $4,000 needed.

So Enders' group raised the money privately through donations. So far, about $2,000 has been set aside, Enders said.

Lexington's total bill will be more costly, however, due to bollards, or posts, placed along the town's section. A normal-sized plow cannot maneuver around them, so the trail must be cleared in two passes with a sidewalk plow. Enders said this could drive up the cost to about $6,000 and hopes people who use the path will make donations.

It's better to pay an expert to do it. One of the main reasons for clearing the trail has nothing to do with cyclists.

It was Arlington's Commission on Disability that filed the warrant article that brought the issue to the Town Meeting...The Commission on Disability is both charged with and committed to improving access for all. And we are pleased to have taken a part in this significant community success.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Comments

[kenf]

When I lived in Chicago, the trails in Lincoln Park on the lakefront were always plowed.

[Bilsko]

Not sure which department was doing the work but earlier this week (both on Tuesday and Wednesday) when I got on the CCT (at the Canal Rd tunnel) I saw a pick-up truck salting the trail.

Last week they plowed it once shortly after the snow-fall began but I don't think they followed up. The next day when everything froze, it was a sheet of ice.