The Corner of 15th and Snow

I showed a photo a few days ago of the 15th Street Cycletrack with ice piled up in it, but DDOT does make an effort to keep the lane cleared, as evidenced by this photo.

"DC Crews have been out since yesterday treating and clearing the streets. That also included the 15th Street bike lane which was cleared in time for the morning ride to work."

Speaking of 15th Street, GGW links to an article about extending the 15th Street Cycletrack. DDOT got permission from ANC1B to extend it north from U to W. 

Though one resident complained of renegade cyclists disobeying traffic laws, the ANC voted to support the lane anyway.  Commissioner Brianne Nadeau (ANC1B05 -  Meridan Hill) expressed her desire to see the lane extended all the way up Meridian Hill to Euclid Street, but DDOT is not seeking that extension just yet, though they seem to be studying it, if informally.

Up Meridian Hill, 15th has bikes lanes - two in the same direction - and DDOT is aware that they could do something with the space the left bike lane represents.

And speaking of snow, RTC has an article about cyclists who took the task of clearing bike trails into their own hands. 

Maybe during the next blizzard, cyclists could commit themselves to riding their bike route to work (on the ensuing snow day) with a shovel and clearing snow on the trail until they're tired. Then someone else comes along and clears some more, and so on and so on. Not sure if it's enough to clear every bit of trail needed, but it would be interesting to see how far we'd get.

Photo by DDOT

Comments

[Wayne Phyillaier]

And also speaking of snow, today's Bethesda Gazette quotes a Mont. Co. Parks Dept. Director saying they cannot treat the CCT any differently than any other trail.

Cyclists seek snow...

That is like saying you can't treat the beltway differently than a country road.

[Eric_W.]

How about we try your clearing the trails concept with regular streets first and see how the drivers do it? ;-)

I am disappointed with the lack of clearing the Mount Vernon trail (and others who use major trails like the CCT etc probably are as well). I guess cyclists don't really count. After all, we are only accounting for 1% of all trips made.

I like Wayne's analogy!

[washcycle]

I know, cyclists shouldn't have to clear the trail. But sometimes, you have to be your own hero.

[Eric_W.]

washcycle: I think the Omaha example is workable. If all there is to do is clear up defined small sections (e.g. a wooden bridge or a narrow part where the plow cannot operate), I think the Washington area cyclists could handle it. However, if you have to kill yourself just by getting to the trail, that is not really workable.

I love this comment by the MoCo southern region division chief for parks:
"If you start clearing snow on trails, you give the perception it's going to be a safe and clear passage, and you set yourself up for failure," Woodward said. "I think the best think to do is to let people know they are using it at their own risk."

Can you imagine saying this as the MoCo souther region division chief for roads?

[Richard Layman]

I think that the thinking about maintenance of way (MOW is what the railroads call it) hasn't kept up with changes in balancing planning by mode. Streets have dominated transportation planning and operations, and sidewalk and bicycle facilities maintenance has lagged, just as provision for B&P facilities has lagged.

This should become a bigger issue over time as people make a point of it.

Trails are sticky issues too because typically they are managed by parks authorities, and most parks close at dusk.

What do you do when certain segments of trails act as trunklines for commuting purposes?

Night riding, MOW in both snow and rain, and lighting become issues.

Dupage County IL has a trail maintenance policy, but it doesn't include snow removal. I queried them about it and they said that they do have some separate agreements for parts of trails that support commuting.

I was reading a trail planning guide from Australia (they didn't have to worry about snow) and it's very interesting the kinds of things you need to consider when planning multi-use trails.

In the planning study I am running now, we will be sure to raise these issues. How they will be reconciled, I don't know.

FWIW, last night I saw a guy walking his two dogs, and one of the dogs carried a blinking red light to alert others to his presence...

[Contrarian]

Trails are sticky issues too because typically they are managed by parks authorities, and most parks close at dusk.

Allow me to rephrase: Trails are managed by parks authorities, who have no clue how to run transportation facilities. That's the real problem.

[Richard Layman]

In some places, trails are managed as part of the department of transportation, i.e., Tempe, AZ, because transpo funding tends to fund their development.

In my study, I am looking at the park dept. as an opportunity, because of the potential for generating money from bonding authority.