Friday Morning Commute - Counters

Good Morning. 

• Streetcar tracks in DC have already caused a few crashes, and with 37 more miles planned, it will become a more serious issue. So far, no one has really come up with a solution according to a long article on the subject at TBD. I know people from streetcar towns who assure me that cyclists get used to them, but I've been down H and I can see how they can cause problems.
• According to Arlington's automatic counters, biking is up more than 50% from March of last year. That follows on a 66% increase for February.
• The plan for the future Capital Crescent Trail enveloping Woodmont East development is being amended to include a hotel. This is on the west side of the Air Rights tunnel that may not include the trail if the Purple Line is built, but in the rendering below, you can see the trail heading for the tunnel anyway.
• Mayor Fenty's dream come true. 

Comments

[M.V. Jantzen]

The surface of the lane with trolly tracks needs to not be welcoming to cyclists, like cobblestones or grass, and an alternate bike lane needs to be provided and clearly marked.

[MM]

I wonder why the Columbia Pike numbers are so out of whack? Must be a faulty sensor or maybe the sensor is placed in a weird place that doesn't count everyone, since people spread out along the sidewalk there waiting to cross. But I have a hard time believing ridership past that sensor dropped by 6k, but more than doubled at the Bon Air and EFC counters.

[Fred]

Cool special word for cyclists only "embiggen"!

[charlie]

The one bike crash I've had in 15 years was on the rail lines in the road on the Mt Vernon trail in Alexandria.

But yes, cobblestones would be a key idea. Is that why they are on P and Q in Georgetown?

[Kolohe]

Cool special word for cyclists only "embiggen"!

'Tis a perfectly cromulent word

[Wayne Phyillaier]

The Woodmont East plan was presented to the Planning Board and approved at its worksession this Thursday. The rendering in this post reflects a little noticed feature about the proposed CCT alignment - you can see the fence blocking the trail from the street in the foreground of the rendering.

This fence apparently follows from the refusal from MCDOT to allow the trail to cross Woodmont Avenue, in the future plan, on the direct path that it follows now. MCDOT is insisting the crosswalk be parallel to and close to Bethesda Avenue in the plans - so trail users in the crosswalk will be more visible to motorists turning from Bethesda Avenue.

If MCDOT is so concerned about safety in this crosswalk from turning traffic, they should impose restrictions on turning from Bethesda Avenue instead of forcing the trail to follow an unnatural path.

[Wayne Phyillaier]

Another important part of the Woodmont East plan - The developer now owns every building on the entire block on the north side of Bethesda Avenue between Woodmont Ave. and Wisconsin Ave. The plan commits the developer to rebuild the sidewalk and build a new cycle-track down this block before the tunnel is closed for Purple Line construction.
The new sidewalk would be separated from the cycletrack by a curb and landscaped planting areas. The cycletrack would be separated from street traffic by a 2 foot wide hard barrier.