TheWashCycle

Bike ride season is around the corner

There are a lot of bike rides that are coming up as it gets warmer and here are just a couple. 

The last ever VASA ride. - April 7th

Sadly, this tradition is going away. It won't even be at the Swedish Embassy this year - instead it will be at the new REI. But there will still be blueberry soup. More info here. 

The DC Bike Ride - May 17th

A 20 mile, car free, recreational bike ride with music and food. 

Arlington Resident not happy about road diet and Complete Street

In a letter from late last year, an Aurora Hills resident writes that changes made to S. Eads Street as part of a Complete Streets overhaul have resulted in a "nightmare". 

Since our arterial street has reduced capacity, the cars all cut-through our neighborhood street.  And just to be clear, we are not talking about a few cars.  We are talking over 1,300 commuters a day.

Our one lane section of S. Fern St. simply cannot handle this traffic.  According to Arlington County historical traffic counts, last performed in 2011 on our street, they measured 500 cars on a daily average. What a difference a “Complete Street” makes.  We now have approximately 600 cars who rip down the same street in a three-hour period  our school bus is dropping off children.

That does sound bad - though I'm not sure how much it's out of the ordinary. Still the only data the author gives is how much traffic has increased. Chris Slatt, in the comments, notes that "In 2016, there were zero pedestrian, bicyclist, or driver fatalities investigated by the Arlington County Police Department."

Anyway, if there really is rampant law-breaking (which is something I thought only cyclists did) then a few speed cameras and stop sign cameras should do the trick.  I would not be too surprised if there were unintended consequences, and congestion might be one, but then this is a "pilot project"

With these changes in place, County staff are monitoring roadway operations using travel times and vehicle, bike and pedestrian counts. The design of the pilot project is flexible and may change as operations are monitored. The outcome of these measures will influence the ultimate cross section of the street and may lead to additional improvements as areas of opportunity are identified.

I don't know when they plan to present their findings, and since this was done 4 years ago, I suppose they should soon, but I'll reserve judgement until then. 

DDOT promotes safe door opening

Late last year, DDOT spent a little time promoting the DCReach (which is really just the Dutch Reach). 

The campaign promotes the “Dutch reach" method which requires drivers to look over their shoulder before opening their car door with their right hand. Efforts are concentrated on highly trafficked areas that include multiple transportation modes (e.g., H Street NE where DC Streetcar, cars, pedestrians and MetroBuses navigate).

“DDOT strives to create a transportation network that is as safe as possible for all users, no matter their transit mode," said DDOT Acting Director Jeff Marootian. “#DCReach is a robust education campaign that demonstrates the significant impact a minor habit change - looking over your shoulder before opening your car door - can have. By using the Dutch reach, we all can contribute to making our city's transit system the safest possible, and achieving our Vision Zero initiative.”

Opening a car door without checking for passersby, also called, "dooring,” is a top safety concern, especially for cyclists and those exiting cars near streetcar lines. 

This is a small initiative, but a good one. I'd rather see information like this disseminated during the annual "Street Smart Safety Campaign" than people with tire tracks on them, but I don't see that happening.  

Capital Crescent Trail/Purple Line update

There has just been so much going on along the Capital Crescent Trail and Purple Line that I can't keep up. So I'm putting it all into one post.

 

The Talbot Avenue Bridge

 

The 100 year old Talbot Avenue Bridge is going to be removed to build the Purple Line. If you've ever biked between the Georgetown Branch Trail and Bethesda, you've no doubt gone over this bridge. But because it has some historical significance, especially among the black community in the area, the County is trying to figure out how best to preserve it, at one point considering it for a footbridge over a trail or stream. But now it appears that part of it at least will go in along the new extended Capital Crescent Trail. 

Officials at the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) say they tentatively approved, with community input, two artwork proposals for the Lyttonsville station as part of the Purple Line’s $6 million art budget. One of the designs, by Maryland artist David Hess, shows one of the girders cut into two pieces and attached to the sides of the elevator shaft. The other girder would lie on the ground as a short wall between the station and the adjacent Capital Crescent Trail. The girders would be decorated with photos of Lyttonsville residents and other historic images as part of a “sculptural photo album,” according to draft designs.

 

But some longtime residents say the design loses the feeling of a bridge. Instead, they suggested placing the girders along both sides of the trail so walkers and cyclists would still feel like they were going over a bridge.

 

Tim Cupples, Montgomery’s coordinator on the state Purple Line project, said the county will explore the residents’ proposal to install the girders along the trail.

 But even this decisions still seems to be up in the air. 

 

Capital Crescent Surface Trail project

 

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett’s (D) proposed capital budget, released in January, included $3 million to design protected bike lanes in downtown Bethesda for cyclists who can no longer use the Georgetown Branch Trail during five years of the Purple Line’s construction. 

the county first will share “concepts” of the bike lanes with the community this year to get input before designing them, and the lanes should be in place in 2019. Cyclists will have their own stretch of pavement and likely be separated from traffic via plastic posts, she said.

Now is definitely the time to do this, instead of, let's say any time over the prior 20 years of planning. But bygones (technically this wasn't on the books until the 2017 Bethesda Downtown Plan), 

The design for the remaining Capital Crescent Surface Trail project (Bethesda Avenue, 47th Street, and Willow Lane bike facilities) is expected to be complete in FY18 and construction in FY19. The design for improvements along Woodmont Avenue, Montgomery

Lane / Ave, Pearl Street and Norfolk Ave /Cheltenham Drive will continue in FY19-FY20 with construction anticipated in FY19-FY21.

Ourisman Plaza

 

Rather than make the Ourisman Honda dealership in Bethesda knock down a wall that was built on the Capital Crescent Trail right-of-way, the county has agreed to accept about $1.4 million in improvements. 

Those improvements include a new 1,300-square-foot public plaza to be constructed next to where the trail meets Bethesda Avenue, new shoulders along the trail next to the Ourisman property, additional landscaping and a screen on the garage to make it more visually appealing.

I like a good win-win deal, but it seems to me like Ourisman is getting off pretty easy here. 

 

 

 

But good deal or not (and I have no idea), I do think the trail will be better here for it. The deal was approved late last month. 

 

And to add in here, the Barnes and Noble that has long sat across the street from the trailhead closed in January. It will reportedly be replaced by an Anthropologie clothing store.

 

River Road Park

 

After a very long wait, work has finally begun on River Road Park a small park located on the north side of River Road along the Capital Crescent Trail. 

The park near the trail’s River Road crossing will serve as a rest area for cyclists along the 11-mile trail and will feature a stone sitting wall, pergola, greenery and trees,

 

the first phase of the project will involve landscaping the area and adding a curb to discourage unwanted parking.

Purple Line at Sligo Creek

 

The Purple Line will cross Sligo Creek on Wayne Avenue and will intersect with the Sligo Creek Trail three too. Even though the bridge will be reconstructed, the trail won't be rerouted (it would have been nice if it could have crossed under Wayne with the creek). The sidewalks that the trail uses through the area will be rebuilt.. 

 

Finally, there's nothing bike-related about this, but this is the plan for getting the Purple Line under the BW Parkway.

 

Washington, DC Vision Zero Summit 2018

WABA is hosting the 2018 Vision Zero Summit next Thursday at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (950 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20052).

In the three years since the District of Columbia committed to Vision Zero, traffic deaths have gone up, not down. In the past two years, Montgomery County and Alexandria have also committed to ending all roadway fatalities and serious injuries within a decade.

The high number of tragedies on our roadways are largely predictable and preventable. On March 15th, policymakers, advocates, experts, and implementers will explore systemic ways to turn commitments and action plans in to substantive change.

This daylong event will feature plenary speakers Mayor Muriel Bowser and CityFi Founder Gabe Klein, as well as expert panelists on topics that include:

• How to ensure that Vision Zero programs don’t perpetuate systemic injustice
• How to actually get people to drive safely
• How agency staff tasked with carrying out Vision Zero can overcome institutional barriers to change
• Why we should treat traffic injuries as a public health issue
• Opportunities for cross-jurisdictional regional collaboration

Registration is $65, but scholarships are available. 

DC Mayor Bowser, DC CM Charles Allen, Gabe Klein, Montgomery County CM Hans Riemer, and Alexandria Vice-Mayor Justin Wilson and several others are going to be there. 

Fort Belvoir RR, no trail on the horizon, but there are markers

I've given up home on seeing the old Fort Belvoir Military Railroad turned into a rail trail. Not only because no one talks about it or has it in their plans, but also because they knocked down one of the railroad bridges (aka "Facility 1433") when they widened route 1 in 2014. You can see Facility 1433 below.

I mean they could still build a trail on the ROW from Newington to Accotink, using the last existing bridge over Cinder Bed Road, but someone would have to want to do that, and I don't know anyone who does. 

In the meantime, we have the next best thing - historical markers! I stumbled across these recently, and I assume they're drawings of markers that have been or will be erected. It's nice, but a trail would've been better.

 I should point out that when they widened Route 1 they also added a, dare I say it, sidepath and some terrifyingly narrow bike lanes wedged,at times, between high speed traffic lanes and turn lanes. 

Benning Road Streetcar project could come with a shared use path to Minnesota Ave

While the streetcar is getting some bad press due to the recently reported need for new cars, planning for the expansion of the streetcar continues and heading east that means some improved bike facilities along Benning Road. Back in November, DDOT presented the latest design alternatives, which aren't too different from what was presented in May, but there is some new/different information. After the May meeting, it appears they received many comments asking that biking be made better in the corridor. 

In both alternatives, cyclists would use a shared-use path on the south side of Benning Road from Oklahoma Avenue to Minnesota Avenue but it would differ in width. East of Minnesota Avenue, Benning would have sidewalks. 

In alternative 1, which has the streetcar running in the outside lanes, the sidepath would be 10 to 11 feet wide. 

Alternative 2, with a center running streetcar, would be similar, except that from Anacostia to 36th, the 10' shared use path would have an additional 3 foot buffer. [Note: it appears that there is an error on the Alt 2 sheet. In the "typical section" drawing for the Kingman Island stop, the drawing shows an 8' wide side path, but the text beneath it says there is a 10' wide sidepath. It doesn't seem like both can be right.]

There's a new drawing of the sidepath and transit stop at 34th that now shows the path moving behind both a bus stop and a transit stop, as opposed to just a transit stop; whereas before the transit and bus stops were combined.

By now, they should be in the process of creating the final NEPA decision document, with design starting this year and construction completed in 2023. 

 

Icarus

One of the movies up for an Oscar on Sunday is the documentary Icarus. While it starts out as a biking movie, after the first act that story peters out for the larger, accidental, story that it becomes.

In the film, filmaker Bryan Fogel decides to do an experiment on himself - similar to Supersize me - by competing in the Haute Route, an annual event in that Alps that he described as “the single hardest amateur bike race in the world." It's sort of an every man's Tour de France, and like the Tour, PED's are illegal and supposedly tested for (he said they actually were not). He would do it one year "clean" and the next all roided up. 

His experiment is a bit of a flop. The first year he does pretty well, but feels like the top few athletes are on a whole other level, and implies that they are doping. The next year he dopes under a program designed by a Russian doctor, Grigory Rodchenkov, who runs that country's anti-doping program. He has regular check ups to make sure he's healthy and he does all the things a doping athlete will do. Despite feeling much stronger and like he has more stamina, he actually does worse in the race the next time (in part due to mechanical issues, but also the doping didn't seem to help him as much as he'd hoped). He was pretty disappointed. 

But he stumbled onto a great story. Rodchenkov, who is hysterical and utterly likeable, turns out to be the man at the center of the whole Russian doping scandal. Fogel and the Rodchenkov become friends and when Rodchenkov decides to escape Russia it's to Fogel's home that he comes, and this is what the story is really about. 

I liked it, but it will make you wonder if any of the sports you've ever watched have been free of cheaters. I mean, even a curler tested positive for doping this year.