October 2009 Arlington BAC Meeting Notes

I don't attend these, so this is from the minutes, and is probably incomplete and possibly wrong.

Trail maintenance.  Kevin Stalica, with Arlington County Parks, reported that they were aware of many lights that were out. He discussed improved signage on the W&OD and Four Mile Run trails and he reported that Parks & Recreation is facing a budget cut for fiscal year 2011 (beginning July 1, 2010), but that there were no cuts in trail maintenance so far.  He also reported that only three Parks bathrooms will be open in the County during the winter:  Barcroft, Blue Mont, and Glen Carlin. There are no plans for port-a-potties as they're as expensive as keeping bathrooms open.

Work is under way around the Lyon Village Switchback, but there is some concern that the detour is confusing. There were also concerns with graffiti, root bumps and county vehicles stopping on the trail without safety cones.

Bike D.C.  Chris Hamilton reported about 2,000 people had registered for Bike D.C. on October 17th and up to 7,000 were expected. 

NHTSA study of silent hybrid car hazard.  BAC member Riley Geary reported there were relatively few accidents for the data, specifically 77 crashes over several years.  Thus, the results of the study should be considered preliminary.  Though the problem is not particularly serious yet, hybrids do present a bigger threat to cyclists and pedestrians than other cars.  The question is, what to do about it?

Walter Reed Drive bike lanes. These recently striped lanes west of Arlington Mill Drive are very narrow, virtually unusable and do not meet Arlington's standard. Motorists expect bikes to use them, however, and cyclists have reported harassment by motorists there. The committee believes this is a definite safety hazard that needs to be fixed immediately. Arlington County Staff will investigate.

Charlie Denney, of Alta Planning, discussed ideas and planning for bike boulevards parallel to Columbia Pike and passed out an outline of the current design, "9th & 12th Streets Bicycle Boulevards." The project includes sharrows, signs and some reconfigured intersections. They'll consider all way stop signs or reversing the signs at Quincy, Monroe, and Highland streets on both 9th and 12th, at Edgewood and Cleveland on 12th and at Wayne on 9th.

Issues will include the crossing at Walter Reed Drive, where no traffic signal is now planned.

Comments

[Scott F]

The white stripe or "bike lane" on westbound Walter Reed Drive was covered up with black paint a few days after it appeared. I had tried riding in it before concluding it was far too narrow. The eastbound stripe is still there last I saw.