Regional snow clearing getting better for cyclists

The Gazette had an article on the first snow event to result in snow clearing.

With forecasts calling for a dusting to 2 inches of powdery snow on Tuesday, Devlin said, workers initially thought they would be able to use a snowblower to clear the trail. The 3 to 4 inches that actually fell required them to go back and plow, however.

“Had we started with a plow from the start, we probably would have done it in four hours, tops,” he said. “[The] first one out is always more difficult.”

People who wrote in said that the Bethesda-to-Washington segment of the trail was mostly cleared to the pavement by Tuesday evening, making it easy to bike and hike. They did say, however, that the Washington portion of the trail had packed snow and ice, and reminded people to watch out for black ice on the pavement

Arlington County cleared snow from trails this year and DDOT was out removing snow from trails and protected bike lanes by noon on Tuesday. So snow removal was better this year than in the past (but not perfect). 

At the Bicycle Advisory Council this week, the DDOT representative noted that they learned a lot from this snow and they're hoping to learn more throughout the season, which they're viewing as a test year. For example, the Toolcat they bought fits everywhere they want to go, but the blade on the front is wider, so it doesn't. [They plan to order a new blade]. They also had trouble getting equipment to negotiate the Met Branch Trail switchback at M Street NE. Such experiences are not just informing them about what equipment is needed, but how future projects should be designed, operated and maintained. So, things are better this year, and should get even better going forward. 

Comments

[DE]

Arlington had put brine down again on the Custis trail last night. You could see the stripes from it this morning, showing that it somewhat works, though not completely.

Riding in fresh snow is fun, but I do appreciate the plowing efforts localities are making. Old, icy, foot-printed, and grooved snow is terrible to ride on.

[Gillian]

DDOT did a TERRIBLE job at clearing bridges, which, given their necessity and propensity to freeze before roadways, should be given priority. From reports, it seems that they cleared the Key Bridge sidepaths Wednesday late, and never got to the TR Bridge or the 14th Street Bridge.

[washcycle]

Not all bridges are DDOT's responsibility. At the meeting they also noted that some bridges were the responsibility of DPW, some of DDOT, and some of NPS if I am correct.

[SJE]

Any reports on the Georgetown Branch of the CCT?

[T]

Arlington did a really nice job. It's too bad I only get like 500' of enjoying it. NPS could care less and will only respond to downed trees or boards falling out of bridges. Alexandria kind of plowed the MVT path area through OT, but residents still piled their snow into it. Fairfax, ha, anything would be something.

[Greenbelt]

@PGParks tweeted yesterday that aw shucks they can't plow the Anacostia Tributary trails because their trucks are too big. Dang it all! What bad luck.

[Gillian]

NPS is only responsible for the Memorial Bridge, which they did a great job of clearing by Tuesday night. DC (whether it was DDOT or DPW) did a terrible job with the bridges mentioned. We need to hammer them on it, because there's really not another option -- taking the lane on those bridges is either illegal or highly unsafe, and the Memorial Bridge is a huge detour for most.

[washcycle]

Sounds like PG County needs to widen the trails.

[DE]

True, whoever is responsible needs to do it. I took the lane on Key Bridge much of the week, and got buzzed a few times, once by an SUV that must have been going more than 50. (Drivers can be absolutely insane on that bridge.) And the paths aren't just unsafe for cyclists, but for pedestrians as well, so it's not like it's only benefiting a few dozen problem cyclists.

[Slappy J]

Having studded snowtires made a huge difference. I don't know why I never outfitted my spare bike with them in the past.

[jeffb]

@SJE
Any reports on the Georgetown Branch of the CCT?

I don't recall the dirt portion between Bethesda and Silver Spring ever being treated. How would one?

Every few years the county would catch up on some erosion control.

[jeffb]

People who wrote in said that the Bethesda-to-Washington segment of the trail was mostly cleared to the pavement by Tuesday evening, making it easy to bike and hike. They did say, however, that the Washington portion of the trail had packed snow and ice, and reminded people to watch out for black ice on the pavement

And we still have half a loaf. In the past NPS cleared the DC portion while Mont Co never touched theirs. This time the reverse.

Having half a trail is not much better than no trail.

[BikeEveryDay]

The GBT is a sloppy mess whether there is snow or not, especially from Stewart Ave. to Jones Mill Rd. Nevertheless, there was no trail clearing activity on that trail at all after the snow.

[DaveS]

Agree with Gillian, we really need to escalate bridge clearing priority. In past winters the bridges have held onto snow and ice long after the connections have been cleared, making other trail and sidewalk clearing efforts moot.

It's not just a bike issue either - lack of snow clearing on the Sousa pedways last winter forced Joseph Brown into the street where he was struck and killed. If they can't show some changes for our small storms, there's almost no chance they'll do anything for the bigger ones.

[washcycle]

This came up at the BAC meeting as we had someone from the Arlington BAC there to discuss issues of overlap (with bridges being an obvious subject). DDOT said that bridges would be cleared that evening and that they shared responsibility with DPW, but didn't know which ones they managed. We should make it a priority to find out who does which. And if you see a bridge that needs snow removal - call 311 or use the app. Don't label it as a bike issue, just say that snow removal is needed. Forward your request number on to WABA so that they can track them and later FOIA the responses.

[Crickey7]

So, we miss our bike roads running through wooded areas into downtown.

Courtland's still a doofus.

[Gillian]

That was me at the DC BAC meeting. While they said bridges would be cleared that evening (Wednesday), TR and 14th Street never showed signs of human clearing, even after being reported to 311 on Thursday (by myself and I believe others).

It seems that DC doesn't know who is responsible for clearing these bridges, and they are vital links in the transportation network. DC needs to be using this (non-snow emergency) time figuring out lines of responsibility and response times, so when the next real storm hits, they can do SOMETHING.

[dynaryder]

@SJE,there's a site to check trail conditions.
http://www.cctrail.org/cct_conditions.htm

Also,the joeflood site seems to be down,but I found the article cached:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:P5bOjgMQbgIJ:joeflood.com/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[Smedley Burkhart]

Attempted the GBT to get over to the park and build in a workout this a.m., but I couldn't manage it, even with fattish tires. Ended up goofing around and hindering traffic in Bethesda.

[SJE]

Dynaryder: I regulary check CCTrail, but there was nothing up, so I put my question here.

[John]

As usual, I have to do my annual bitching about NPS and the MVT. Kudos to Arlington on their work brining the Custis Trail before the storm (I wondered what those lines were when I rode down the trail the night before) and plowing during/after. But of course, the MVT was it's semi-regular huge fucking mess by the next day. Because I'm stubborn, I still ride it, but goddamn is it slow and dangerous. Thanks for nothing, NPS!

[DE]

It was really weird to hit the MVT mess right after coming off the Custis. That sent me over to Key Bridge the rest of the week. Yet the parking lot there at Roosevelt Island has more salt on it (right next to the river for runnoff after it rains, natch) than anywhere else I've seen. Maybe they figure the only way to enjoy parkland is with cars, and the fish be damned.

[Jane Fairfax]

It's good that snow removal is being observed and taken seriously. It really is important that it is done right, for the sake of drivers and cyclists. In any area that receives a lot of snow each year, the best thing the town or city can do is hire a good company that knows how to plow and still keep things clear on the side as well.