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I do not recall any signs stating "Walk your car" since the construction began...

This part is hilariously poorly designed. After two days it is essentially unusable (if it ever was usable at all).

The sharp turn onto a shifting surface coming from 14th Street Bridge or going up the hill onto the asphalt, especially coupled with the straight shot from existing detour to the new downhill detour are problematic as well as the quickly deteriorating quality of the surface.

Walking a bike down this grade must be almost as difficult as riding it down.

Imagine what is going to happen once it rains or when the weather gets a little better and more people are forced to use this detour.

I am calling this the cyclocross portion of my commute...

I agree the transition from pavent to the gravel at the bottom of the hill is dangerous.

As for the dismount signs, they should be worded in the way that is an option, not a forced dismount for all riders. I belive the sign at the top of the hill at Mount Vernon is would be a good sign. Can't remeber the wording.

The problem is that it's a paved trail that unexpectantly changes to a gravel trail. What they should have done was paved this section. If we have a forced dismount because of this gravel section then we might as well ban bicycles from all gravel and cinder trails.

Anytime you see a sign that says "Walk Your Bike" or "Dismount" you know that bad design is involved. I slipped on this at the top and the bottom last night on the way home from work. If a cyclist like me with decades of experience has trouble, imagine the problems when it warms up and the occasional rider encounter this mess. It needs to be paved and re-designed so that it is not so abrupt. Maybe they should require the folks who designed this to ride it. Once they get back from the ER they can fix it.

@John: That's exactly what I mean.

More traffic will bring riders who are not as experienced (in general or rusty from winter break) and the by-then totally deteriorated surface will almost invariably lead to accidents, involving single and multiple participants.

The difference in quality and consistency of the surface between Wednesday and Thursday was astonishing.

Do we have a contact we can write to? This needs to be addressed ASAP.

I think we have all become a nation of wimps. Whoever is riding and is suprised by the 10' wide by 20' length gravel really shouldn't be riding a bike should they? Hey Park Service, while we are at it, I hiked the Grand Canyon and there was no defined barrier between the trail and drop off...maybe we could just fill the canyon in for safety for those that don't notice the giant hole in the ground!

P

When your kid or girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse goes down on this and breaks a collarbone, let us know how you feel when your standing there on your high horse.

This is a man made hazard in what amounts to a park. It would have taken very little additional effort to do this right. Moreover, they NEVER would have done something this shabby for car traffic. They can fix it or they can spend Park Police time attending the injured.

Usually I would say "Don't feed the troll". But this is so particularly uninformed and ridiculous that I am responding in support of John's post.

I agree that this needs to be fixed BUT mandating dismounts would be a copout that will just tick off more poeple leading to more cyclists disobeying rules of the road in the future and not fix the problem but make it worse.

I took the pictures above. My observation is that the skill level of different riders, even during weekday commuting, varies widely. (On the weekend there will be even a greater difference in skill level plus more pedestrians.) Some riders won't even be able to successfully analyze this and realize it is difficult - in short, crashes will happen that could be prevented by a better designed detour. As to the "walk your bike" sign suggestion, I believe these are done here as diamond shaped yellow "warning" signs and are considered a warning, not a required behavior (in contrast with a posted speed limit on a white square sign). If they posted a sign that says "steep/loose gravel" or something that would be OK too, if they can't just fix the problem correctly (but that sign would be like posting one that says, "we screwed up" wouldn't it?). The "walk your bike" sign seems the most easiest warning solution the Park Service should be able to implement immediately since they probably have some of those laying around. If you google "park service gw parkway" you can find their contact form and let them know what you think.

Thanks for the contact info Michael. I just sent my e-mail. I hope they'll react (ever the ternal optimist).

P - we should be doing all we can to make cycling inviting and safe for users of all levels. I have ridden this spot and this design is neither inviting nor safe for beginners. Cyclists, runners, and pedestrians deserve better, and they deserve to be given the same accommodations during this bridge project as cars.

But, let's keep in mind that this is a temporary measure, and the overall bridge project will result in major improvements for bicyclists over the old Humpback bridge.

I fully agree, this temporary ramp is a bit lacking in terms of design, especially the right angle turn with the loose gravel at the bottom. With that said, I asked my wife who rides everyday into DC what she does. She says she walks down it. Which is what I expect people do if they can not negotiate the ramp. To me it's common sense. If this was a permanent fixture of the trail, I would have a different attitude, but it is only temporary detour till the bridge is revised. How come no one has an issue with the detour sign at the north end of the humpback bridge at the Navy memorial. The detour sign points you to the right yet the trail heads to the North (to the left). Are people not seeing the physical trail and just riding off into the Potomac or into the chain link fence? I doubt it.

It just got worse. Others probably also encountered on their way home what I did. Namely, a handmade sign urging bicyclists to dismount and hastily made asphalt speed bumps, complete w/ jenkity yellow spray paint lines at each end of the detour. I was near three other cyclists heading my way on the commute home this evening, and we were all cursing the changes. The consensus opinion: it just keeps getting worse every day.

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