DDOT recently obligated money to hire a contractor to work on the formal design of the rehabilitated Rock Creek Park Trail and is working on selecting a contractor for that.
Meanwhile, DDOT is also planning to do a full reconstruction of Beach Drive from Connecticut Avenue all the way to the Maryland boundary in the near future. This will involve rolling closures of Beach Drive (Gotcardammerung!) and a full rebuild of the road from the bottom up. The road won't be widened, but DDOT is hoping to do some spot work on the trail in conjunction with the road work.
With only a little extra effort, DDOT could make the trail a full American Ninja Warrior course.
Posted by: Crickey7 | February 27, 2015 at 08:45 AM
I approve of this ^^^^ suggestion.
Posted by: Citizen | February 27, 2015 at 10:33 AM
We need high-quality bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Rock Creek Park. Shared-use paths only work in areas with very low volumes of people on bikes and on foot, i.e. not in Rock Creek Park, which definitely requires separate infrastructure for cycling and walking. Also, paths that go up and down hills, when they could easily go around them, send a clear message to people walkingh and biking that their convenience is not important. Beach Drive, which is nearly exclusively for cars is perfectly flat.
Path must be well-lit, wide, as flat as possible, clear of debris, with good sight lines, and open 24/7 in order to function well as transportation corridors.
Posted by: Uptowner | February 27, 2015 at 11:14 AM
I think if the shared use paths have high volumes of people on bikes and foot, then they're working. But they may not work for transportation.
Beach Drive is not exclusively for cars though. Not even nearly.
RCP work will widen, straighten and improve the trail for transportation uses, but some signage on Beach ("Drivers must chill the fuck out") would probably help too.
Posted by: washcycle | February 27, 2015 at 11:30 AM
If only we lived in a world where that could be a real street sign.
Posted by: DE | February 27, 2015 at 01:24 PM
While it wouldn't likely happen, putting Beach Drive on a road diet and using the reclaimed ROW for a real cycletrack would be most excellent. That would go a long way to deconflicting the peds on the trail from the serious cyclists.
Posted by: dbb | February 27, 2015 at 02:37 PM
Design? "See that path: Tear it up, repave, make it wider."
See that was easy, and won't require another decade of delay.
Posted by: SJE | February 27, 2015 at 04:22 PM
Well, the route needs to be relocated in places. Some turns have negative camber, others are really tight. And there are too many blind spots where bad people can hide right next to the trail.
Posted by: Crickey7 | February 27, 2015 at 05:52 PM
Honestly, given the amount of foot traffic on the trails (which is a good thing!) I'm more excited by the rebuild of Beach Drive. That road barely qualifies as a road anymore.
Posted by: Lost a Step | March 02, 2015 at 08:47 PM