Tuesday Morning Commute - Wetlands Bridge Open today

Good morning. Noticed the headline yesterday "Secret Service Scandal Widens". Has there every been a headline "Scandal Narrows"? Probably not. They might as well have used the headline "We're still talking about the Secret Service Scandal, so you know what that means."

• The St. Elizabeths East Campus Transportation Network Environmental Assessment is out. it would remove a barricade east of the river, but not do much more. 

Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 would open the campus’s roadway network to cyclists, providing alternative bicycle connections to Alabama Ave. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. The low-speed nature of the proposed street network on the East Campus would accommodate cyclists with safe and attractive facilities, providing a parallel network to the primary facilities mentioned above. Both of the alternatives provide on street bicycle lanes  along 13th St.Improving bicycle facilities would make cycling a more attractive option and contribute to a mode shift away from single-occupancy vehicles

• VDOT's list of 2012 Tentative Enhancement Allocations includes $190,000 for the Potomac Yard - Four Mile Run Trail Connection which will construct a paved connection between the Four Mile Run Trail and existing bicycle / pedestrian facilities in Potomac Yard and $80,000 for the translation of a statewide pocket safety guide for bicycle/pedestrian/motorist safety into an additional language, create an electronic version, and fund local safety classes.
• It also includes money for part of the following projects
  • bikesharing at the University of Virginia*; the conversion of a ca. 1881 bridge in Bristol for use as a bike trail
  • construction of a bicycle/pedestrian trail system to connect the historic sites of Belmont, Chatham Manor, and Ferry Farm
  • construction of an asphalt, bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting Pierce Elementary School to residential areas in the Town of Remington
  • construction of a multi-use trail from Occoquan Regional Park to the Laurel Hill Greenway
  • Construction of a multi-use trail on abandoned Chesapeake and Ohio right of way from the City of Covington to the Town of Hot Springs
  • Construction of Virginia Creeper trailhead facilities; a connector trail linking the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Overmountain Victory Trail
  • Construction of a multi-use trail along abandoned Norfolk Southern right of way from the Town of Appalachia to the Town of Big Stone Gap
  • Construction of an extension to the New River Trail from its existing northern terminus in the Town of Pulaski to Randolph Park
  • Construction of a multi-use trail through the communities of Roanoke County
  • Construction of a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
  • Construction of the Tobaco Heritage Trail, a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
• Arlington installed two new CaBi stations yesterday. One at 20th & Vietch and the other at Veitch & Key near Courthouse.
• Park Police are ticketing cyclists at Hains Point, but they're saying things like 'you don't have to unclip or anything, but at least slow down. You just blew right through it and turned right, so I had to stop you." which seems reasonable. 
• Manassas Trail Meeting on Thursday. 
• Fairfax County students to participate in National Bike to School.
• New Bicycling postage stamps coming this summer.  

*I believe this is in Rep. Eric Cantor's district, which is interesting because he opposed and belittled bike sharing in DC. 

Comments

[charlie]

The Veitch and 20th (Bergmann's cleaners) has a proposal for an organic market and 10 story condo.

Really great news about the Key one; now you can take a easy shot down Key Blvd -- espcially from Ballston.

[dayglo]

Google wins again!

"Sex SCANDAL NARROWS mayoral field"

http://www.lfpress.com/unknown/2010/02/11/12833566-sun.html

[washcycle]

dayglo, I give you a technical victory. Like sending Al Capone to prison for tax fraud.

[Will]

Charlottesville is not in Cantor's district, it's just outside, and up until the last election, had Tom Perriello,a moderate democrat representative. Robert Hurt beat him in 2010 to win the seat for Republicans.

[Michael H.]

The NPS/Tourmobile scandal narrowed pretty quickly last year. I'm not sure why. Maybe it wasn't sexy enough to be an ongoing story. I guess it can't really be a scandal unless millions of dollars or prostitutes are involved.

[Shawn]

There's also a bicycling postage stamp currently included in the 'green actions' stamp set of 20 - I found it at the post office in the Postal Museum.

[charlie]

apparently they also dropped a station on Scott and Key.