DC announces special crews to clear snow from bike lanes

WTOP reports that DC is going to have “non-motorized trail” work details this year "specifically assigned to clearing bike paths, bridge deck sidewalks and ramps compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act at intersections."

To help accomplish that, the city purchased new equipment.

“It’s still a little too wide to do all of the (city’s) bike lanes, but it looks pretty good to do many of them, those that aren’t hemmed in by cars like the cycle track,” said Mary Cheh, chair of D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment.

And keeping bike facilities clear came up at the snow summit this year.

The city is also vowing to make bike lines and paved trails a bigger priority this winter.

“It is a big part of our snow program, and we have purchased equipment in the offseason to make sure we are prepared to treat bike lanes and nonmotorized trails with the same efficiency and effectiveness that we treat roads and bridges,” said Shorter. “It’s why we purchased new equipment.”

That new equipment is actually different from what was used last year, which Shorter said worked well, but wasn’t quite as nimble as the city needed.

“This blower will allow us to spread [and] to plow on bike lanes,” he added. It’ll be attached to an ATV that city workers will used to get through what can sometimes be narrow bike lanes. “It’s a great piece of equipment and we’re looking forward to using it this season.”

There has been steady progress by the District in clearing bike facilities. 10 years ago I think it was hard to convince District leaders that snow needed to be cleared and that it could be done. Recently there were issues about deciding who (DDOT, NPS, DPW?) would do the clearing. But I feel like in the last couple of years much of that has been settled and now it's a matter of executing. Buying new equipment for the job is a real step forward. We'll see how it goes. 

 

Comments

[Pepper Burly]

Great news! Now if only we could get residents and small businesses to take shoveling their sidewalks seriously. One step at a time.

[Turtleshell]

What's the cost? I will benefit from this since I commute all year, but I'd rather spend the money on bike infrastructure... And speaking of wasting cash, what was up with all that salt DC dumped on the roads over the holiday weekend when it never got below freezing... Salt sucks for bikes (and cars), especially when its not needed....

[huskerdont]

The bike lanes are infrastructure, and the lanes are not functional if they're full of snow and ice, so it is money spent on bike infrastructure. The cost is what the cost is.

[Turtleshell]

You get maybe 2 weeks of extra use, in a bad winter, by a relatively small group of riders, from plowing/shoveling. Whereas most infrastructure is available for most of the year. Wondering how money can best be spent is usually a good thing.

[DCAKen]

Hopefully they'll also be used in other months, like right now to clear out the leaves and debris in the lanes.

[Crickey]

If people are going to use cycling as transportation, then you cannot have it off line for, sometimes, weeks. You lose people for good there. DC and MoCo have done a decent job keeping the COOT clear the last 2 winters, and the trail was out of commission for a fraction of what it used to be.

[huskerdont]

Yup, that's it. For infra to be viable, it has to be usable almost all of the time. We don't say to drivers, hey, it snowed so you can't go to work this week. The same should be the case for cyclists and pedestrians.

There are a few of us that will ride on snow, but most people won't, and even for those of us who do, it's a great benefit to have it cleared before in freezes into rutted and clumpy, unrideable ice.

[Nate]

Who cleans up the gravel and salt? Now the 11th St SE bike lanes are filled with trash, and they still haven't been swept since last winter.