TheWashCycle

CSX now refusing to grant right-of-way to MTA for the Capital Crescent Trail

Silver Spring Trails has the unfortunate news. 

Gary Erenrich, MCDOT’s Purple Line project coordinator, broke the news at the 20 March 2014 Planning Board Purple Line/CCT mandatory referral. Mr. Erenrich announced that CSXT was now refusing to grant right-of-way to MTA for the CCT, MCDOT was now responsible for any further negotiations with CSXT for trail right-of-way, and that as things stand now the CCT would end at Talbot Avenue as an off-road trail. I have since had an email exchange with Mr. Erenrich, and he has clarified that MTA received a letter from CSXT mid-January stating they would not grant any CSXT right-of-way for a trail alone, and that MCDOT was now evaluating the physical feasibility and the cost of alternative trail alignments. Mr. Erenrich expects their preliminary evaluation of the alternatives to be completed in a month or so.

Oh CSX, everytime I think you might not be so bad, you prove me wrong. You're worse than Arvin Sloane. I can tell you what, I know who I won't be using to ship my future coal tonnage. 

There is hope though

Fortunately there is a good alternative trail alignment that can avoid CSXT property behind the Park Sutton building, shown above. This alternative would go around the front of Park Sutton by using Lyttonsville Road and 16th Street. Lyttonsville Road is overbuilt, and that extra wide road right-of-way can accomodate a full width trail with no need to ‘take’ private property. A trail along the west side of 16th Street will require either taking a strip of right-of-way from the Park Sutton Condominium Association, or putting 16th Street on a “road diet” and closing a southbound lane of the roadway for trail and sidewalk use.

If you're interested in this, you should read the whole post. 

Finally, they debate biking...

From Washington Post coverage of the final mayoral debate. 

The polite crowd reacted most strongly not to a candidate, but to a topic: bikes. An audience-generated question about what the candidates would do to encourage bicycle use in the city prompted cheers and a few sharp answers. Wells criticized the Gray administration for altering plans for a separated bike lane on M Street NW, changing the design in the 1500 block at the behest of Metropolitan AME Church. That comment incensed Orange —  who left unspoken that he is a Metropolitan congregant — accusing Wells of divisive rhetoric: “Last time I checked, I don’t believe I saw a bike lane in front of National Cathedral over on Wisconsin Avenue,” he said. “You can’t be on both sides of the equation depending on what audience you talk to.” Shallal, meanwhile, won cheers and applause for questioning the city government’s push to install bike lanes. “Just painting a bike on the road doesn’t make it safe,” he said, adding, “I stopped biking in the city because it’s too damn dangerous. … We have to come up with a real understanding of what safety is before we start just painting lanes.”

A plethora of information from the Ward 8 Project Update

In no particular order. First three are from here. 

1. Bikes on Anacostia streetcars - The modern streetcar’s interior layout is designed to allow bicycles to be brought on board using wide passenger doors that are level with the station platforms.

2. Connections between South Capitol Street Project and the Suitland Parkway Trail - Project staff members continue to work with other DDOT bicycle and pedestrian staff to address trail connectivity concerns through the two phases of the South Capitol Street Corridor Project and other AWI Projects as well.

3.The South Capitol Street Trail - Preliminary design project design work has been underway since Spring 2013 and is anticipated to be completed later this Spring 2014. Dependent upon funding being identified to complete the project design and build the trail, construction is scheduled to begin in Spring 2015 and will last about 20 months. The South Capitol Street Trail Project team has met with WABA over the past year to seek input and provide updates on this project.

4. The Oxon Run Trail - The new 4 mile trail will replace the old trail and will have a wider surface for pedestrians and bicyclists. The trail will feature new lighting and landscaping features, such as, bike racks, benches, trash receptacles and picnic tables. Preliminary Design is underway and is expected to be completed in Fall 2014. Final Design completion is Winter 2014

5. Southern Avenue & bridge over Winkle Doodle Branch - Only the conceptual design is done, but I like the look of the redesigned Southern Ave. Check out the bike lanes.

Bicyclists find cars in the bike lanes

Kate Ryan, who's written several very balanced articles about biking over the years for WTOP has another one about bike lanes and that tries to explain why cyclists are sometimes not in them or are not all the way to the right. Some excerpts below.

Craig Chester works on L Street in Northwest. He says he's actually had a car trail him inside the L Street cycle track, "and a driver came up behind me, honking, basically telling me I wasn't going fast enough in the bike lane."....

Last November, when D.C. Council member Mary Cheh joined business leaders to unveil a new bike rack on L Street, she witnessed up to 15 cars zipped into the bike lanes. Cheh, a cyclist herself, was surprised to see it. When a D.C. government vehicle slid into the bike lane, Cheh shook her head.

"Now see, that -- to me -- is totally unacceptable. Our own government truck?!" she said.....

The fine for stopping, standing or parking in a bike lane is $65, and according to MPD statistics, 4,236 citations were issued in calendar year 2013. That's up from 2012's total of 3,281.

The Tobacco Heritage Trail expands

A ribbon cutting will take place on Earth Day, April 22, 11 AM near Evans Creek Rd. trailhead in Brodnax, VA, to celebrate ten new miles of The Tobacco Heritage Trail in Virginia. Following the ribbon cutting will be a reception in Lawrenceville at Elm Acres (Brunswick Stew will be served!). The festivities will conclude with the opportunity for walkers, runners, cyclists and equestrians to tour the new trail at 2 PM. For more information or to RSVP, contact Trail Coordinator Heather Susee at hsusee@southsidepdc.org or(434) 447-7101.

The completed section is the yellow line that connects the two completed (blue) lines in this map 

Rambling Rail Trail Tunnel Post

I was looking up something about the Pinkerton Tunnel and found many interesting articles about rail trail tunnels in the process.

First of all, a group is raising money to rehabilitate the Pinkerton Tunnel which is along the Great Allegheny Passage between Pittsburgh and DC. It would replace a 1.5 mile detour with an 849 foot tunnel - making biking to Pittsburgh just a little bit faster. If all goes as planned, the tunnel could be open sometime next year. Donations are being accepted at the Somerset County Rails-to-Trails Association, Attn: Pinkerton, P.O. Box 413, Somerset, PA 15501.

Also, the National Park Service is closing the Carnifex Tunnel in West Virginia. This tunnel is not used as part of a rail trail now, but the rail right of way is planned for one.

Federal highway engineers inspected the tunnel in the fall and found the crumbling ceiling created unsafe conditions for pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and as a result the park is permanently closing the tunnel. Fortunately, the upriver section of the rail grade from the tunnel can be reached from Shawver Bridge Road.

And also, there aren't very many remaining rail tunnels in Texas. 

742-foot long Clarity Tunnel remains as one of the few railroad tunnels left in Texas. The tunnel, home to half a million Mexican free-tailed bats, is popular with visitors, who gather there at sunset to watch the bats swarm out on their nightly excursions.

Product review: Ivanabitch Vodka

It seems like an odd connection for this blog, but I was recently sent two bottles of Ivanabitch vodka to review because, I suppose, they think my readers are heavy drinkers. I'm not sure where they would get that impression. 

Anyway, not being much of a vodka drinker, my wife and I did the only rational thing. We invited a bunch of friends over, bought tons of mixers and had ourselves an Ivanabitch vodka party. 

First of all, the name turned off at least one of our guests because she does not care for the b-word. Fair enough.

But, otherwise it made for a good evening. We had the Dutch apple (I figured Dutch was remotely related to biking) and coconut flavors, so we went to their recipe page and took turns making their recommended drinks for each. 

The painkiller (made with coconut) was by far the favorite. "It tastes like the islands" someone said. Forbidden Fruit, made with the apple, was not well received until my genious wife added seltzer water to it and everyone agreed that it was much improved. Candied Apple also went over well. 

We had beer there, in case the vodka was undrinkable, but by the end of the night the entire bottle of apple was gone, as was half the coconut. All in all, I would say it was a hit. If you like your vodka tasteless and odorless, or with the cache of a Grey Goose, this is probably not the product for you. But if you're looking for fun (and it's clearly aimed at a younger demographic), and drinks that are sweeter (and I'm an admitted girl-drink-drunk) then this is worth a try at least. It can be bought at any of these fine establishments.

The only downside came the next morning, when the kids rudely awoke us at 6:30am and we wished we'd stopped one drink earlier. It was a rough morning. When sold to 40-somethings it should really come with a morning nanny or something.

And remember - don't bike when drunk. 

Takoma Park Metro development and the MBT

A development proposal for the Takoma Park Metro station is highlighted at GGW. It doesn't seem to show any sign of the Met Branch Trail through the area, even though alternative C3 would pass right through the area. And alternative C1 goes along the side of it. 

DDOT Tries again with bicycle parking regulations

Back in 2007, the Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Act (page 11) created a requirement that residential building owners "provide secure bicycle parking spaces for all existing residential buildings with 8 or more units."  But in order for that requirement to go into effect, DDOT needed to write regulations to guide that process. They first tried in 2012, but had to make changes to address the concerns of developers. Now they're ready to try again. 

The regulations floated Friday, which the D.C. Department of Transportation expects to enact within 30 days, require “secure bicycle parking spaces for the storage of bicycles in operable condition.” Exempted properties include "elderly housing buildings," assisted-living facilities and nursing homes.

In existing buildings, the spaces — one for every three units — must be provided within 30 days after a written request is received from one or more tenants or property owners. The same amount of spaces must be incorporated into all new buildings.

The spaces (racks or lockers) should be inside the building, in a garage, or in another secure, covered space adjacent to the building. Where the bicycle room has solid walls, the entire room must be visible from the entry door and the room must be outfitted with a motion-activated security light, unless it is illuminated enough already.

The regulations set the minimum size for lockers and the minimum width for each space, in addition to a DDOT-led dispute mediation process.

Property owners will have the opportunity to request a waiver to provide fewer spaces, where parking spaces are not “physically practical” or where “undue economic hardship would result from strict compliance with the regulation.” Where there is no waiver, a violation of the rules will be a Class 4 civil infraction that could result in a $100 to $800 fine.

According to the DDOT’s rulemaking, the agency received some comments “that it felt conflicted with the goals” of the original regulations. It left alone, for example, rules that require covered parking, that determine interior parking locations (no lower than the first cellar level or the first complete below-ground parking level), and that allow for developer waivers.

Election open thread

The primaries in DC have already started and will wrap up on April 1st. I'm not going to endorse anyone or go into any issues, but if anyone wants to comment on various candidates and their positions on bicycling this would be the chance.

There is also a special election in Arlington on April 8th.