TheWashCycle

Downtown Bethesda Bicycle Infrastructure Plan

In July, Montgomery County completed a new draft sector plan for Downtown Bethesda, and next month there will be a meeting to discuss the Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure recommendations from that plan. The meeting will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on January 11, 2017 in Room D of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda.

This community forum, Walking, Biking and the New Bethesda Sector Plan, is intended for those county residents interested in the Planning Board recommendations for making Downtown Bethesda more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists. The discussion will focus on how these proposals for Bethesda are different from what is there today and what it will take to make the changes recommended in the new plan.

The event is co-sponsored by Councilmember Hans Riemer (At-Large) and the Planning Department. It is timed to take place prior to County Council deliberations about the Planning Board-approved draft of the Bethesda Downtown Sector Plan that will begin in mid-January.

You can read the whole plan here. 

The bicycle infrastructure plan recommends adding ~4.5 miles of bike lane along with separated bike lanes, shared roadways and a few blocks of bike trail. 

And by shared street, they don't mean just throwing down sharrows, but rather something like this.

The entire bike sections (page 46-57) is 11 pages long, so it's difficult to to summarize, but among the highlights are separated bicycle lanes on Woodmont Avenue from Battery Lane to Bethesda Avenue; on Bradley Boulevard from Wisconsin Ave to Little Falls Parkway and along Bethesda Ave and Willow lane from the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) to Elm Street Park. In some cases, the roadway would be widened to allow for bike lanes and wider sidewalks, and in others the road would go on a "road diet" losing a few lanes. 

Other highlights include

• A ramp from Bradley Boulevard to the Capital Crescent Trail, to achieve an ADA-compliant longitudinal grade, where there is currently only stairs
• A connector trail from the CCT to Pearl Street
• Widening the North Bethesda Trail to 12 feet with 1 foot buffers and adding lights

The plan also recommends a bike storage facility, intersection improvements and bike share expansion.

Update: the Post had an article yesterday on the Downtown Bethesda plan too.

Meeting tonight on Union Station expansion project

The FRA is hosting a meeting this evening on the Union Station expansion project which, when built, will change the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Union Station bike station (as well as impact bike parking in and around the building).

FRA will hold a public scoping meeting on December 7^th, 2015 from 4:00PM to 8:00PM in Washington Union Station’s Presidential Room. The Meeting will be an open house format for discussions with the Project Team.  Two short identical presentations will be given at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m. to provide a project description. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting to learn about the Project and provide input on the purpose and need of the Project, concepts for alternatives that may be considered in the EIS, and the scope of the environmental issues and analyses to be included in the EIS.

The Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) in coordination with Amtrak is proposing to expand and modernize Washington Union Station, the National Capital Region’s principal intermodal transportation hub, in order to provide a positive customer experience; support current and future rail service and operational needs; facilitate intermodal transportation; preserve and maintain the historic station and its features; sustain the economic viability of Washington Union Station; and integrate with the adjacent neighborhoods, businesses, and planned development.

Any EIS should take bike transportation to/from the facility into account

The FRA website will be updated periodically with project milestones, information about additional public meetings, and other pertinent project information. Comments may be submitted through this website by visiting the comments section and/or by email to [email protected]. 

Alternatives considered in the EIS may involve Columbus Circle and other properties adjacent to Washington Union Station.

Washington Union Station is not integrated with its surrounding neighbors and land uses. The station limits movement and flow among neighborhoods and between neighborhoods and destinations.

Bike And Roll at Union Station

by M.V. Jantzen

Wednesday Morning Commute - Call to Action

Good morning

• On Saturday, MPD is hosting a Met Branch Trail Safety open house.
• On Nov 3rd, WABA is hosting the Regional Call to Action summit. "We need your help in shaping the future of bicycling in DC, Maryland and Virginia region. The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is hosting a regional Call to Action Summit on November 3, 2011 at the Waterview Conference Center in Arlington, VA. The one day summit will be a culmination of weeks of local meetings in all six jurisdictions that WABA represents and it will include a presentation of a plan for the the next five years of advocacy for the region." The speakers are listed here. 
• And one last one: On in November there are 4 Purple Line open houses - which would also discuss the future Capital Crescent Trail I presume. 
• Work begins on a building next to the MBT at the NY Ave Metro station. It should allow for a foot/bike connection from 2nd and N to the MBT trailhead along M.
• Streetsblog - at Rail~lvolution - has some facts on DC biking. "According to a CaBi survey, 40 percent of its members reported a reduction in their use of transit." and "Already the [Union Station Bike Station] has 200 members and an average of 35 trips per day."
• Time to break out the bike lights. 
• Harriet Tregoning calls SmartBike (not Capital Bikeshare) a failure because it started too small.
• Roanoke River Rails-to-Trails announced that construction of Phases II and III of the Tobacco Heritage Trail will begin soon. About 20 miles of the trail has been built or is under construction thus far, but when done the trail will consist of 160 miles of trail in Central Virginia.
• Cars v. bikes

Tuesday Morning Commute - Brunel

Good morning

• The "Union Station Bike Transit Center" won an award in the prestigious Brunel Awards International Railway Design Competition. It won in the Freight and Railroad Support category.A
• There is nothing new in this DCist report on the GW Parkway assault, except, of course, for the comments. But what value are those without any from monkeyrotica?
• Candidates for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Braddock District, include bikes or trails in their statements to the Gazette.
  
  • John C. Cook: "TRAFFIC/INFRASTRUCTURE:...There are additional needs for parks, libraries, trails, and other county buildings."
  • Janet S. Oleszek: "TRAFFIC/INFRASTRUCTURE: Long term we need to be focused on modes of transportation other than cars. To that end ... Land use decisions need to consider public transit and pedestrian and/or bicycling routes. One simple solution for Braddock residents is to link the Burke VRE station to the over 75 miles of bike and pedestrian trails that exist within a 3-mile radius of the station."
  • Carey C. Campbell: "Greatly expanded rail should be accompanied by bike lanes, and pedestrian friendly communities. The new bike rental program that is so successful in Washington D.C. and Arlington must be expanded across Fairfax County."
• Eloquent argument for stronger distracted driving laws "In Dubai, traffic accidents fell 20 per cent from average rates on the days BlackBerry users were unable to use its messaging service."
• OT, but interesting.

Tuesday Morning Commute - He says they've already got one!

Good Morning

• Reportedly, the Sligo Creek Trail bridge near Flora Lane/Crosby Road is closed as it collapsed during the recent rain storms.
• A meeting to design the extension the Paint Branch Trail from Cherry Hill Road to Fairland Park is scheduled for September 14, 2011 at 7pm. The meeting will be held at the Beltsville Community Center, 3900 Sellman Road.
• Though it is just getting started, there are already 300 cities with public bike sharing. And in London, you can now rent an electric bicycle from Hertz.
• The Supreme Court will be hearing a case on strip searches following arrest, including one person arrested for riding a bicycle without an audible bell.
• Roll Call is unware that Union Station already has a Bicycle Transit Center. "The [Columbus Plaza] project will widen Massachusetts Avenue Northeast, expand pedestrian traffic islands, redesign lane widths, modify traffic signals and install bicycle lanes and a Bicycle Transit Center at the southern terminal of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, among other things."
• WABA's local stakeholder meeting is tonight in Greenbelt.
• Two local news reports on WABA's anti-harassment law (which CMs Graham, Barry and Evans all support) are below. On the one hand, Fox spends a lot of time missing the real story, on the other WUSA interviews some...let's say non-experts.
• Despite the talk of "war" between drivers and cyclists, don't forget that DC is so bicycle friendly that going car free is easy. “You don’t have to keep a car,” said Carroll, who takes Metro to work most days but walks the 2.4 miles occasionally on a nice day. “I love that the city is becoming more pedestrian-friendly and more bicycle-friendly. I can rent a bike and ride downhill all the way from work. I haven’t yet, but I’m going to.”

 

Learning How To Share The Road With Bicyclists: MyFoxDC.com

Friday Morning Commute - Tear down this fence

Good Morning

• GOOD spotlights DC's "new" Bikestation in their Good Design Daily feature.
• A call to give a cycling a human face. I like some of the ideas, even if I find them a bit naive. I think the opening, fake quote is unfortunate as is the reference to "blowing through lights without slowing down" which never actually happens, but otherwise I think the article has some good intentions. One of the comments calls for a regular "Ask a Cyclist" column, an idea which I like.
• Some university's are talking about bike rack-to-bed ratios instead of bed-to-car ratios.
• As part of a deal to close a section of Lincoln Street in Bethesda, Suburban Hospital would be expected to "maintain pedestrian and bicycle paths in that area." This is across the street from the Bethesda Trolley Trail
• Alice Swanson's mother will attend today's hearing on bicycle and pedestrian safety in DC.
• Local trails are mostly clear of snow and ice.
• Two years after Montgomery College built a fence that limited bicycle and pedestrian access to a path used by nearby residents, the College Gardens Civic Association has met with school officials and plans to meet with the Rockville City Council to get the path opened.

Tour de Links - Cal Park

Maillot Jaune: An author suggests that London replace its freight fleet with bicycles. The truth is, bicycles (and their three-wheeled cousins) are already a major piece of the freight puzzle all over the world.

Podium - St Louis is building a bike station and looking for help from the Pepsi Refresh project to do so. 

Podium - IKEA gave 12,400 employees a free bicycle for the holidays. "We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport." Except they don't call them bicycles. They call them Fforonags. 

Maillot Vert: From the East Coast Greenway: "For years, the ECG has left Richmond (southbound) by crossing the James River on Manchester Bridge - narrow, sewer grates, merging traffic. Not optimal by any stretch of the imagination. However, we will shortly be improving the route by using a bike-ped span suspended beneath the Robert E. Lee Bridge (US Rt 1), which drops you on Belle Isle (a beautiful park in the river; it was used as a prison during the Civil War) to use the paths found there, which link to calmer streets on the south side of the river."

Maillot a Pois Rouge: Esquire has a long profile on Janette Sadik-Kahn and her efforts to change New York City as part of a series on the 16 geniuses that give them hope. Millions of New Yorkers love the new plazas and walking spaces and bike lanes. But millions of car drivers are pissed off. And that manifested itself in a City Council hearing on bike lanes.

Maillot Blanc: An Italian driver whose license had been revoked and who was driving under the influence or marijauna hit a group of cyclists, killing 8 of them and injuring 4 others. Meanwhile, an Indianapolis women who hit and killed a police officer on a bicycle because she was paying attention to her kids is asking that her case be dismissed because the police have been uncooperative with her information requests.

Lanterne Rouge: The Cal Park Tunnel, an 1100 foot tunnel in Marin County, CA opened. The bicycle and pedestrian portion of the tunnel is 12 feet wide and divided by a wall from the train portion. It has an arched ceiling 12 to 13 feet high. A 2002 county study predicted that 800 to 1,000 bike riders and pedestrians would use the path daily.

 

Christmas Wish List (CWL) 2005-09 Review

The past five years have featured a regular December feature I call the Christmas Wish List. Before getting into this year's list let's look at the progress from the previous five years.

The Four Mile Run Shirlington Underpass and the Wilson Bridge crossing are now Hall of Fame members. For anything else skipped there is no status update.

Updates from one, two, three, and four years ago.

2005

#2 WB&A to Anacostia Connector Trail - After being idle for several years, PG County awarded a contract to study this connection.

#5 North Bethesda to the CCT - The trail south of Cedar Lane may be widened and improved as part of the BRAC process.

#8 Reopening DC - The only improvement on this I can think of are plans to reconnect F and G Streets over the Center Leg Freeway in NW DC, and plans to open up Walter Reed (somewhat).

#9 New York Avenue Station MBT - Success. This section of the trail was finally connected to the street grid this past May.

#10 Connecting the 14th Street Bridge - Work continues on the Humpback Bridge rebuild. It was originally to be completed in February 2010, but now won't be finished until Spring 2011. Once it's completed two underpasses will allow cyclists to get to the other side in the area of the Boundary Channel. On the Virginia side Arlington is studying how to connect to the underpass. Work also began on Phase I of Long Bridge Park, but it will be a long time before a bridge connects it to the Mount Vernon Trail. Phase I is to be completed in Summer 2011. "Environmental remediation work within the park is expected to be concluded by the end of November 2010. The sub-grades for Field "A" and for the parking lot are nearly complete and the parking lot is expected to be paved by the end of October. Sanitary and water system work continues on Old Jefferson Davis Highway and is causing the road to be reduced to one travel lane at times. This work is expected to continue throughout the fall. Construction of footings and wall foundations for the esplanade, various site walls, the plinths and buildings is in progress. The galvanized steel wall adjacent to the esplanade is being erected. Footings for sports field lights are being installed."

2006

#5 Transit Access - WMATA has done an extension study on bike access, but they also increased locker fees by 186% and cut bike funding by 53%. Amtrak is considering roll on/roll off service to Pittsburgh.

#7 Walter Reed bike routes - discussed above

#10 WB&A Extension to DC and BWI - the south extension was mentioned above and the bridge crossing the Patuxtent is still stalled.

#11 Dupont Circle bike station - Looking increasingly unlikely.

2007

#3 11th Street Bridges - Work has been going on since last year. The new local bridge won't open until 2013. The rebuilt bridge over 295 opened this year.

#4 14th Street Bridges - The EIS process goes on, and this year they had a bicycle workshop.

#12 Chain Bridge - The bridge was repaved this year, but I don't know if that meant any improvement for cyclists.

2008

#3 Shepherd Branch - The spur that went to St. Elizabeths has been turned into a construction access road, but when the project is done, the plan is to make it into an access road with a parallel bike trail.

#6 Chesapeake Beach Railway Trail - Work is currently underway in Calvert County on a section of this trail. "The Chesapeake Beach Rail Trail is well under way with several piles driven and framing complete on the most western channel crossing. Paving on the land section started in September." Funding is from state TE money.

#11 Three Notch Trail - Ground was broken last summer on Phase V. It should be completed summer of 2011. Here's a slideshow of the trail. The status of the other phases at groundbreaking were:

*      Phase III: This two mile section, from the Wildewood development south to the Wal-Mart shopping Center, is being constructed primarily by private developers; South Plaza, Wildewood, and Wal-Mart have completed sections along their development frontage.  

*      Phase IV - Phase IV-A from Wal-Mart to Chancellor’s Run Road in California is nearly complete. Phase IV-B from Chancellor’s Run Road to Pegg Road will be coordinated with the future construction of FDR Boulevard, a community roadway project.

*     Phase VI - from MD Route 5 to MD Route 236 in Mechanicsville is planned for design in FY11 and construction in FY14.

*     Other Phases: Phases VII, VIII and IX, from Wildewood north to Baggett Park, are planned for FY15 and beyond as future funding permits.

2009

#8 Watching for and Yielding to Cyclists - Success! Maryland passed a three foot passing law, [and Virginia tried to].

#9 Complete - Success! DDOT adopted a Complete Streets policy.

#10 Distracted - Maryland passed a law banning handheld phones, but it isn't likely to do much. A cell phone ban made it through the Virginia Senate, but never made it into law.

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/02/brac-and-bicycle-transportation-part-5-bethesda-trolley-trail-.html

DC cycling is getting better

The Washington Post has a lengthy article today about the District's bike program and the success it's been having.

According to census data, the number of Washington residents who commute to work by bicycle has nearly doubled to 2.2 percent over the past 10 years. Official hourly "bike counts" conducted by the Transportation Department suggest much of that growth has occurred since 2007. An average of 72 bicycles now pass 18 designated counting stations during an average "peak hour."

Jordan said that mini-bicycle backups are becoming the norm during the morning rush hour on routes such as 14th Street NW.

Many outdoor bike racks downtown are at capacity during the day, a scenario that replays itself at night at racks near some popular bars in Northwest. And officials say they are stunned by the immediate popularity of Capital Bikeshare, a network of 1,100 communal red bicycles scattered around the District and Arlington for residents and tourists.

The story runs with the usual theme that the reason Fenty and Williams supported biking was because they're both avid cyclist, when the more likely reason is the one I emphasized below.

With Williams and Fenty both avid cyclists - the former mayor recreationally and the current one competitively - the District has undertaken one of the most ambitious efforts in the country to promote the use of bicycles.

Fenty, a triathlete who can peddle 40 kilometers, which is about 25 miles, in little more than a hour, aggressively moved to implement the plan, believing it was a key linchpin in his effort to make the District a "world-class city." Similar to his drive to build turf athletic fields for students and $500,000 dog parks, Fenty tested transportation officials ability to build top-flight bicycle amenities.

It's a bit lazy to say that Fenty supports bike facilities because he rides a bike. He also walks and runs, but that is never mentioned when discussing pedestrian improvements. He drives most of the time, but that isn't mentioned. Does he have a dog? Is that why he supports dog parks? Never mentioned.

Anyway, there is more about the recent history of DDOT and biking, including the bike plan, bike lanes, the Bike Station and Capital Bikeshare; and how that is getting the "Interested but Concerned" onto bikes in DC

The bike lanes convinced Liz Casey and Mary Kirby, both 23, to test their luck Saturday at biking from U Street to the Mall, the first time either had ridden in the city.

"I've lived here four years, and I think the city is petrifying to bike in, so I am pretty scared," said Casey, who moved to District from Pittsburgh. "But we heard 15th Street had a bike lane, so we are going to use that.

On Capital Bikeshare Gabe Klein makes a strong statement for the program and there is a lot of good news.

Jim Sebastian, director of the Transportation Department's Bicycle and Pedestrian program, said the system has 4,700 annual members, a number growing by "30 to 40 a day."

Officials had estimated 6,800 members by the end of August, prompting them to begin plans to expand the program in the coming months.

"It's absolutely plausible to have 10,000 bikes in 10 years," Klein said.

It ends with the theory that supporting bike facilities may have cost Fenty the election (which I personally don't subscribe to) as well as a quote from George R. Clark, chairman of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City. He claims that because "In some places where (the bike-sharing stations) ended up, the first anyone found out about it was when they were put there," that this is a sign of poor communication by DDOT.

I don't doubt that people didn't know, but that isn't necessarily a sign of bad communication. One of my neighbors was unaware that the Old Naval Hospital was being remodeled even though it has been ongoing for several months now and the building is only a few blocks away. People get busy and not everyone cares that much about these things. But DDOT certainly tried to make the locations known, while not wating time. After the announcement of bike sharing in the spring, they held a contest to name the system, asked residents to suggest locations, and announced the planned locations a couple of months before it opened. They even went to some ANC meetings.

Did they really need to canvas every house to let them know that a bikeshare station would be a few blocks away? There has been very little protest about the locations. What would a resident do if they knew a station was forthcoming? In only two cases that I know of did anyone even oppose them. What has a resident lost by having one installed without being personally informed? They can moved in a few hours.

Because Capital Bikeshare is such a wild success, the Committee of 100 has to find something else to criticize, and the fallback position of those with no valid criticism is process. But that Capital Bikeshare was a failure because they didn't preadvertise the locations well enough is not a criticism anyone else shares.

"I now can get around anywhere without a car," Vale said after he dropped off a bike at the Dupont Circle docking station. "This is what makes D.C. great."