Saturday Morning Ride - Jet Residue

So, it's the least exciting last week of college football I can remember, but I'm not so confident that LSU can lose and expect to be in the title game. They have to at least keep it close.

• In addition to the good news that was the Rock Creek Park Trail EA (more on that coming Monday) the redevelopment of the GSA Heating plant - where Rock Creek meets the C&O Canal - could also improve the RCPT.  A plan to turn it into a Four Seasons Private Residences, would also build a bridge across the C&O Canal to the RCPT and continue the trail along the west side of the creek over to Water Street. Cyclists trying to connect between the RCPT and the CCT now have to cross Rock Creek and then two at-grade crossings before finally being able to get on Water Street. This would be a faster, safer and - from the looks of it - nicer connection.  There's an aerial view of the trail at the link. 
• "we should not buy into “Save the Trail” and other Purple Line opponents’ efforts to hype the danger of crossing Wisconsin Avenue to hysterical levels. Yes, any at-grade crossing of a busy highway should be avoided wherever an attractive trail bridge or underpass is possible for a regional trail like the CCT. But no, the trail network will not be destroyed if we must cross in a protected crosswalk at a well redesigned intersection."
• The Alice Swanson ghost bike is gone again. While, oddly, I always liked seeing it, perhaps it is time to let it go. Other ghost bikes for Constance Holden and David Williams are gone, without event after all. There have been 18 area bike deaths (involving cars) since Swanson's and I'm not sure any of them have ghost bikes anymore. But I mixed feelings. 
• The Post has a two-pager on the new Long Bridge Park - where "advocates hope to create a direct link to the Mount Vernon bike trail." They found an old railroad bridge while digging it out [ How cool would it be to refurbish that and make it into a future bike trail crossing some where? Probably not salvageable, but still.] It's a really interesting article. Jackson City would be a great name for a neighborhood bar. This quote though... you just can't make this stuff up "“I’d never let small children walk under a jet path, where there’s jet residue, or along a bird sanctuary where there are all kinds of diseases. Some energetic kid is going to climb over that fence to get closer to the railroad tracks. They did a beautiful job. . . . But how are SUVs with three kids going to get in there? You tell me. It’s a treacherous entrance.” Before I pick up my beer from Chocolate City, I plan to check it out.

Comments

[Kolohe]

The connection back to Long Bridge Road (old Jeff Davis Hwy) at the north end of Long Bridge park is currently Silversteinian. (i.e. the sidewalk ends). You have to go across the construction entrance to get back on the street (and to keep on going north under 395 to Boundary Channel Drive), which is OK if it's dry, but muddy and rutted out when it's not.

[Michael H.]

Why does she need to drive an SUV to Long Bridge Park from Crystal City? It's only a couple blocks away.

I'd like to see a couple lunch places open up on the west side of Long Bridge Drive (officially Old Jefferson Davis Hwy until next spring). There are going to be a lot of hungry soccer players, walkers and runners nearby. There are also residents of the nearby North Tract apartments as well as Boeing office workers in the near future.

The direct connection to the MVT will be a nice addition. While cyclists probably shouldn't ride at fast speeds in the park, they could at least avoid Gravelly Point.

[Crickey7]

We need to continue to press for further investigation into the real costs of accomodating the trail in the Bethesda tunnel. At the end of the day, though, a properly designed at-grade crossing of Wisconsin Avenue is not a deal-killer. Let's not forget that even with a tunnel, the entire volume of the trail gets dumped out onto an intersection a short distance away, where trail users need to cross both streets. The CCT already involves some compromises on that score, so we need to keep some perspective.

[Walsh44]

When you check out Long Bridge Park, check out the alternative of completing the pedestrian/bike path that dead-ends 1100 feet after going thru the south/VA-side tunnel of the Humpback Bridge (re your Trail Ends post of Dec 2) Laying down some asphalt there & then along Boundary Channel Drive under I-395 to Long Bridge Drive & then to the Park entrance would be infinitely cheaper (& could get done a lot sooner)than building an overpass over the GWMP like the one from Rosslyn to Roosevelt Island.