Arlington and Alexandria seek funds to improve the Mt. Vernon Trail

Arlington County and Alexandria have applied for a SMART SCALE grant that will allow them to widen and improve the Virginia portion of the Mt. Vernon Trail between Roosevelt Island and Jones Point Park. The portion that runs across Columbia Island is in DC and will be funded separately. 

The project widens the trail’s paved surface from between seven and eight feet to 11 feet where feasible, and makes other associated improvements including striping center and edge lines, signage, improved bridges, and realigned trail intersections.

NPS completed a comprehensive Mount Vernon Trail Corridor Study in May 2020. The study recommends major capital improvements in the Arlington and Alexandria sections of the trail; these are included in the SMART SCALE application.

SMART SCALE funding is pretty competitive, but it's encouraging to see this get such high priority. NPS has been talking about widening and realigning the trail for at least 15 years and it's well past time to do so. 

Much of what this grant would do is covered in the Corridor Study, which I have not written about before, but it calls for creating a much better trail and fixing many of the problems that trail users have just been living with.

It should come as no surprise that the study determined that the trail is crowded and conflicted; has too many crashes; is showing it's age in some places and is out-of-date with best practices. And if nothing is done, most of these problems will get worse. 

In order to modernize and improve the trail, they have a long list of suggestions including signage; bridge replacement; at-grade crossing improvements; new trailheads; and trail widening and realignment. Also the section in Fairfax County has significant issues with root heave and needs to be repaved in sections. 

Four bridges are already scheduled and funded for replacement, including the long bridge (#31) under the TR Bridge. 2 others are in need of replacement soon, 25 need maintenance and 9 have chain railings that should be upgraded to metal ones. Bridge 31 is to be replaced and widened and the intersection will be improved for safety. 

On signage they report that

Signage is highly variable throughout the trail. Many key sites lack site entrance/orientation signs. The use of regulatory/warning signage also varies considerably and is sometimes excessive. Emergency signs are weathered and may not communicate up-to-date information. Wayfinding/directional signage tends to be weathered, under-sized, and vary widely in terms of style. Signage at at-grade intersections with roadways also varies and is missing completely in some locations. There is a lack of signage for the on-street portion of the trail in Alexandria.

And then they recommend both near and long term changes. They also recommend adding a full time trail manager, bike parking, bridge treatments that reduce slippage and new trail counters. 

In the longer term they want the trail in Arlington County widened to at least 11 feet where possible, with bridges that are 4 feet wider than the trail. They recommend adding trail intersection enhancements, such as implementing trail roundabouts, at the 14th Street Bridge and Four Mile Run Trail and implementing bicycle-pedestrian separation at areas like Gravelly Point. 

Another trouble spot they explicitly called out is the Daingerfield S-curve. Without going into specifics they suggest realigning and widening this area when the rehabilitate Bridge 28, which I think is the bridge just north of there.

Other intriguing recommendations include:

• Develop a connection from the Mount Vernon Trail to the south side of Theodore Roosevelt Bridge
• Conduct alternatives analysis to provide off-road trail connection from the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge to Arlington Ridge Park
• Reduce motorist lane width from 20 ft to reduce motorist speed at Airport Crossing Trail or add rumble strips
• Remove stop and dismount signs at Airport Crossing Trail and replace with yield signs
• Install bicycle traffic lights, which would remain green unless a vehicle approaches, at Airport Crossing Trail
• Add button or pressure actuated sensors to active crossing warning lights at Arlington Memorial Bridge
• Provide formal access to the MVT from the northern side of Arlington Memorial Bridge
• Provide grade separation at crossings at Arlington Memorial Bridge
• Add half-mile markers along the MVT
• Conduct a feasibility study for the time and financial costs of plowing the northern half of the trail (north of Alexandria) during winter weather

Unfortunately, there's nothing about improving the very narrow part of the trail under Arlington Memorial Bridge, but that is an admittedly large ask. I think the best idea I've heard on that is to build a boardwalk that goes over the river and under the bridge's westernmost arch.

Only somewhat related, but if DC gets statehood maybe part of that whole map reworking should include the transfer of Columbia Island and TR Island to Virginia (at least jurisdictionally, as we've done with the Alexandria waterfront). It just makes more sense.  

Anyway, going back to the original article, another project Alexandria is seeking money for is 

to $40 million for what it calls the Upper King Street Multimodal Improvement project. The project “would fund design, right-of-way and construction of traffic/multimodal and streetscape improvements along King Street (VA 7) between Quaker Lane / Braddock Road and Menokin Drive,” adjacent to Arlington’s Fairlington neighborhood.

Comments

[Fair Cases]

We must improve this trail! Human safety should be our foremost priority.

[Zac]

I wonder when we'll see improvements for the Potomac Heritage Trail.

[David]

The recently implemented memorial circle improvements are an opportunity to widen the MVT into what is now a lane on northbound GW Parkway.