TheWashCycle

NPS considering rehabilitating the MVT boardwalk below Roosevelt Bridge (and more!)

The comment period for the Cultural Landscape Report/Environmental Assessment and the Assessment of Effect efforts by the National Park Service for Theodore Roosevelt Island closes tomorrow and the scope of the project, as well as at least one specific item mentioned in the presentation materials, makes it relevant to cyclists. 

The scope of the project includes the Mount Vernon Trail (MVT), the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge and the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Trail all of which could be improved in the area, but only the MVT is specifically mentioned. In the materials they mention that they want to

Rehabilitate Bridge 31 on Mt. Vernon Trail of the George Washington Memorial Parkway for safer pedestrian/bicycle travel

This is the so-called Trollheim Bridge, the boardwalk that runs from the south side of the TR bridge to just south of the TR Island parking lot. Sometimes described as "The notoriously slippery part of the Mt. Vernon trail that has caused literally thousands of crashes."

This is a slippery and dangerous section - though I'm not sure how to make it safer. It also is starting to show its age so even a rehab would be nice. 

In addition, I can think of a few ways to improve the TR Bridge, and at the top of that list would be finding a way to connect the south span bike/ped lane on the Virginia side to....something, really anything. If for no other reason than to make this sign less sad (it's so depressed that's it's attempting to leap to its death). It's also a goal of the Rosslyn Sector Plan and several other plans as well. 

Work with key stakeholders to create a safe, inviting, accessible pedestrian and bicycle path connection to the downstream sidewalk of the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge

In addition, I think it would be great if they created a connection from the north side path down to the island directly by cutting out a piece of the guard rail and putting in stairs. Bikes aren't allowed on the island, but it would be nice for pedestrians. It would obviously need a gate that can be locked. 

The Rock Creek Parkway Trail in front of the Kennedy Center needs a complete rehab and so does the MVT between the Trollheim and the parking lot. 

Though comments end tomorrow, the final report won't be completed until Spring of 2018.

A better Roosevelt Bridge would be nice too, but that's really DDOT's responsibility.

VDOT has a new, more modern design for the W&OD Trail bridge over Route 29

Last night, VDOT presented a new design for the bridge over Route 29 after the original one was opposed by the East Falls Church Civic Association. Gone is the Truss design and in its place is a bridge with a greater focus on aesthetics. 

It will also have a slightly straighter alignment than the original design.

This design takes in to account all the height and width constraints as well public concerns about abutment aesthetics, pier shape, bridge color, fence and railing design, and lighting. The center span of the trail will feature a low wall down the middle separating traffic in both directions and which could hold lighting, pending a maintenance agreement. 

I like the new bridge better, not that the old bridge was bad.

Comments are being accepted until April 21st. In early May they'll present the results of this workshop and then accept more comments through mid-late May. Contract is to be awarded in late 2017 and work done from mid 2018 to mid 2020. 

Now, here's some rendering porn:

From the archives: The Theodore Roosevelt Bridge

I was reading this fascinating history of Theodore Roosevelt Island, trying to find out what the original plan was for the downstream pedestrian path - the one that ends on the Virginia side in the middle of nowhere. Did they have a plan to connect that to something at some point in time but just didn't follow through or did they just figure that someone would eventually connect something to it? (if so construction began in 1960, so they misjudged). Anyway, I couldn't find any of the designs as presented to the CFA, or anyone else, at the time, so I don't know, but I did learn a lot of other interesting facts. The CFA approved a steel bridge design in 1955, but I'm not sure if that's even the design that was built, since permission to build it wouldn't come for another year.

• There's been talk recently of building a bicycle and pedestrian bridge between Roosevelt Island and the Georgetown Waterfront, but that wouldn't be the first time such a bridge existed. For a few months at the end of the Civil War a pontoon bridge was built to facilitate the return of captured Confederate troops. (see image at bottom)
• The Columbia Athletic Club leased the island, then known as Masons Island, from 1889-1892 and built several athletic facilities there, including a "quarter-mile bicycle and running track". Theodore Roosevelt was a member of the club. In 1890 "the Columbia Athletic Club hosted the annual meet of the American Athletic Union, drawing competitors from around the country. A new world record in the 100-yard dash was set that day at a mark of nine and four-fifths seconds. The crouching start to races is also said to have been first used on the island."
• The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) didn't want the bridge going across the island, as they planned to put a boathouse, ferry landing and outlook terrace there, but after many years they relented.
• In 1956, when the decision was made to run the bridge over the southern end of the Island, the TRA (which had control over the island) demanded, among other things, that "it include direct pedestrian and automobile access to the island." This had been included as a requirement in a 1954 Federal law authorizing the bridge.  In 1957, it was still part of the plan. Yet, the bridge provides neither, and its unclear what happened to that demand and why. I've often though it was a shame that the pedestrian path on the upstream side doesn't provide direct access to the park.

In addition to these bike relevant pieces of information, I found this interesting as well

• In the 1920's there was talk of building a stadium on the island to honor TR. "The Washington Board of Trade led an effort to build a 100,000-seat, $5 million stadium or athletic coliseum capable of hosting major national sporting events and the Olympic Games on the island"
• There was an alternate proposal, that wasn't seriously considered, to raise the island on the south side and then tunnel the bridge through it. An NPS official supported the idea enough to do a formal comparative analysis of the bridge and tunnel plans in February 1957. NCPC supported the tunnel.
• Before being called the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge it was the E Street Bridge.
• There were several ferries that connected the island to VA or DC and also several causeways between the island and VA. But from 1948 up until the current pedestrian bridge was built in 1979, the only way to get there was via ferry. The frequency and price changed many times over the years.
• In 1958, the 4th of July fireworks were launched from the island to celebrate TR's 100th birthday.

Berwyn bike/ped bridge replacement opened in June after original was accidentally destroyed

I'm a little late to the party on this, but back in late June, Metro reopened the pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Green Line that was knocked down by a construction crane back in April of 2015. Work on the replacement had been frequently delayed. Even last December it was to be opened in April. 

Bridge-building standards have ...changed since the bridge was built in the early 1990s, leading to more significant reconstruction being needed, College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn said.

Teachers living in Berwyn Heights who work at Holy Redeemer School — located on Berwyn Road in College Park — now have a connection to bike to work, which is an asset, said Brie Hall, the school's secretary to the principal.

In addition to offering a more attractive, cleaner steel framing, the newly reconstructed segment has also been designed to stand for a longer period of time

Metro officials will consider renovating the entire bridge with the same design within three to five years

 

Tolled, clip-on bike path proposed for NZ bridge. Could this work on American Legion or New York Avenue Bridges?

Aucklund, New Zealand is considering adding a tolled, clip-on bridge to the Auckland Harbor Bridge (NZ$3 each way, or a little more than US$2)

Council officers are backing a cycling and walking SkyPath attached to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, subject to conditions such as parking management and matching its colour with the ruling battleship grey.

They have prepared a report which will recommend the $33.5 million tolled crossing proposal to independent planning commissioners preparing for a public hearing next month.

Recommended conditions include changing the proposed colour of the pathway - to be slung under the "coat-hanger" bridge's citybound clip-on lanes - from white to grey and limiting users on it at any one time to a number yet to be prescribed by the Transport Agency.

I like this as a way to add a bike facility onto an existing bridge. It may not work on arching bridges like the Nice Bridge, but perhaps something similar could be used to add a MUT to the American Legion Bridge over the Potomac and/or the New York Avenue bridge over the Anacostia. 

Crossing the Susquehanna River by bike will get easier on July 1

This is good news for people biking the East Coast Greenway or the 9/11 Memorial Trail.

The Maryland Transportation Authority has released rules for bicyclists using the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge when cycling access to the Route 40 span across the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville begins on July 1.

The announcement caused some consternation, because the bridge, the oldest of the state's toll bridges, doesn't have shoulders. When the bridge was built in 1940, it had a sidewalk, but that was taken out in subsequent reconstructions of the highway decking.

The local leaders are concerned about safety, like trucks not being able to give 3 feet when passing. But the bridge is two lanes, so trucks should just move to the left lane.

bicyclists will be allowed to cross the bridge from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from dawn to dusk Saturday, Sunday and on state holidays.

Prior to crossing the bridge, bicyclists will push a button to activate flashing warning lights that alert drivers when a bicyclist is crossing the bridge. The lights will flash for 10 to 15 minutes, providing the bicyclist time to safely cross the bridge, MDTA said.

Bicyclists must ride in the direction of traffic and should position themselves in the center of the right lane. Motorists are encouraged to use the left lane when warning lights are flashing.

And this is exciting

Bicyclists traveling east will pay the $8 two-axle toll in the far right toll lane, where cash and E-ZPass are accepted.

Finally I'll have a comeback when people say that cyclist don't pay anything to use the roads. I think this will be the only place in the US where cyclists pay a toll. 

Benning Road will get better, but not perfect

DDOT is having a public hearing on the Benning Road Transportation Improvement Project tomorrow night, and I had planned to write about it in detail today, but then WABA covered most of it earlier this week saving me the trouble. [GGW has an article on the streetcar element of it].

Long story short, the EA proposes including a 6-10 foot (including the 1 foot buffer) wide bi-directional protected bike lane from Kingman Island to 36th Street where MoveDC had called for a 10-foot wide bicycle and pedestrian trail from Oklahoma Avenue to East Capitol Street. Update: This is only an "option." The standard  build is no bike lane. 

In some cases the bike lane would pass behind a floating bus/streetcar or bus stop.

The Viaduct Bridge (I'm so glad I know what to call that now) will be completely rebuilt and made much better. The 5' (width varies) sidewalk on the south side will be replaced by a pair of 10 foot walks on either side.

On the west side of the Viaduct Bridge the problematic intersection at 36th Street, where Benning Road splits to either go over the Viaduct or onto ramps to access DC-295, will also be redesigned. Accommodations would be made for the new north-side sidewalk. The south side crosswalk would be moved east for a more direct crossing, and then - y'know - painted. It would unfortunately work on a 'beg' button (Update: or not, TBD), but I'm not sure what the alternative would be. WABA says it will "encourage crossing against the light" but I don't think there's going to be a light there. I see this as more of a HAWK beacon, which is a pretty good option for a trail crossing of a high speed road. 

The lack of a bicycle facility east of Minnesota is unfortunate, but likely unavoidable.

Update: DDOT has not finished looking at it, but there may be enough room to widen the sidewalk on the south side into a sidepath. I suggested finding a way to connect the semi-paved Fort Mahan Trail to the intersection of Minnesota Ave and Benning Road, There is a "paper" alley between the 7-11 and the Metro PCS store that connects to the trail (See it here or on the map below) and it seems like this could be used to make a bike facility. Improve the north side sidewalk from Minnesota Avenue to the green strip between the WMATA property and 7-11 (owned by WMATA) and then on the alley to the trail. Perhaps NPS would even be willing to allow DDOT to improve the trail, and extend it to both 41st, 42nd Streets and Brooks Street. Bike signage/facilities on Brooks and 45th could then connect to the Benning Road Metro station. It was odd that despite a sign showing that it was there, there was no mention of the Fort Circle Trail at all. At the bare minimum, this project should connect the trail's crosswalk with the actual trail (just up the hill in this streetview).

Update: Despite all the talk of improved safety at the intersection of Minnesota and Benning Road, the poster for it had four recommendations - all of which were designed to improve throughput.

I see this as the usual way of progress, which I define as "This horrible thing is going to be made much better, but still not as good as it could be." I agree with WABA that a further road diet on Benning between Kingman and the Viaduct would get this to where it needs to be. And I'd rather see 8-10 foot wide, single direction protected bike lanes on each side in that case. Lest you think that is too much, I'll point out that this is the only place a cyclist can go directly from the west side of the Anacostia to the east side of the railroad tracks between Pennsylvania Avenue and Bladensburg.

Benning Extension EA Hearing
Thursday, May 19 6 – 8 pm
Department of Employment Services, 4058 Minnesota Ave NE

Please consider attending and providing testimony. DDOT will also accept written comments until June 2.

There will be closures II: The closening

In addition to a long-term full an partial closure of the Memorial Bridge planned by NPS, road users in the near future can also look forward to many months of partial closures of the East Capital Street Bridge.

The slides are not online yet, or at least not where this obsessive blogger can find them, so here's my second hand telling of what is going on with the East Capital Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project.

First of all, Whitney Young is getting the shaft. They named the bridge after the guy and no one can bother to call it that? 

In addition though, it seems the bridge is in desperate need of repairs. The undersides - I believe they mentioned something about pins and rollers(?) are in bad shape. They showed a photo of how one is being supplemented and supported by stacks of wood, bubble gum and at least a half dozen of those sugar packets you get from a restaurant caddy. They'd like to resurface it too.

So the plan is to close the north/inbound span of the bridge for four months, fix it and then repeat with the south/outbound span. During the closure all traffic will be re-routed onto the open span with one lane in each direction and one variable lane in the rush hour direction. You can see what that might look like in the images below.

Anyway...what about bikes.

The good news is that the Young Bridge doesn't get a lot of bike/ped traffic because it isn't particularly useful. OK, so that's not really good news. As I noted back in 2007, DC-295 and the railroad tracks create a barrier that can't be crossed on foot or bike anywhere between Benning Road and Pennsylvania Avenue, so the Young Bridge only gives access to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and the River Terrace neighborhood. Still, it does get some traffic.

One of the lessor problems with the Young Bridge is that the south side bike/ped facility is useless. As I mentioned back in 2007, "The east side of the downstream lane dumps riders off at a dead end with woods on one side and 295 on the other. A connection to the future ART is needed here." The actual good news here is that this could finally get addressed.

During Phase I, the bike facility on the north side will probably be closed (though only if necessary). If it is closed, they'll either route it onto the south bridge separated from car traffic and with a connection to River Terrace's East Capitol Street NE; or they will build the needed connection mentioned above. Someone suggested that it might be a temporary connection, which would be silly - the bad silly, not the good silly. Such a connection will require NPS to sign off on it since that is NPS land - something to include in any comments on NPS's paved trails study!

Even if they don't need the south side connection for the north side closure, creating such a connection is something they have been looking into as part of this project. That would solve at least one issue with the bridge.

There doesn't appear to be any plan to create another bike/ped connection to the east side, connect the trail to Kingman Island, improve the connection to E. Capital Street, NE, widen the bike/ped facilities, or improve lighting or signage. Once a method for commenting on this is made public, I'll share it on the blog. 

I'll point out that the best place to connect this to the east is probably not at East Capitol Street - at least not as part of this bridge. The "easiest" way would be to build a bridge from C Street and 33rd SE that goes over the RR tracks, and then to contiueing the path under DC-295 where the road is elevated and an underpass already exist. Then it is a few feet to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. The nice thing about C and 33rd SE is that it is also where the no-longer-in-use Shepherd Branch terminates.

Memorial Bridge rehabilitation is an opportunity for NPS to do other things it wants to do

WABA has an alert about the Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation (now accepting comments, I will reiterate) stating that this is a great opportunity to add bike facilities across the bridge by closing a lane. 

Two years ago, after an initial study on regional traffic patterns, traffic engineers determined that a closure of one of the three lanes in each direction would only minimally impact traffic on other bridges that cross the Potomac River.  This has been borne out by experience: since late last fall, the Memorial bridge has been operating with a total of four travel lanes, without any resulting traffic armageddon.

In my post on it, I pointed out that NPS could address other improvements it wants to make at Arlington Memorial Circle (those are being studied and have not yet been defined). But WABA's request makes even more sense, because in the just released NPS Paved Trails Study, one of the high priority recommendations is to improve Lincoln Memorial Circle. In that they state that

The NPS should move forward with an alternatives analysis that considers traffic volumes, pedestrian movements, tour bus movements, Bikeshare volume, and trail traffic, to define preferred routes and safety improvements for pedestrians and cyclists that consider:

• Reduction in travel lanes or lane width to allow for dedicated bicycle lanes
• Addition of a bike lane on the Arlington Memorial Bridge

Adding a bike lane is something NPS already wants to do - pending an alternatives analysis. They should do/have done that alternatives analysis as part of the Memorial Bridge Rehabilitation EA. The iron is pretty hot right now, time to strike it.

Some of the other elements for consideration in that alternatives analysis could be rolled into this as well, including:

• A signed route that connects the Lincoln Memorial Circle NW to the Rock Creek Park Trail. Both on and off-road options should be considered, including a dedicated bicycle lane from the Arlington Memorial Bridge to 23rd Street SW across Ohio Drive SW to the trail. This would encourage trail traffic to utilize the western sidewalk of Ohio Drive under the Arlington Memorial Bridge which is wider than the sidewalk on the eastern side. 
• Provision of bulb-outs and refuge islands to narrow pedestrian crossing lengths

The other elements can wait. The study also notes that:

Other improvements to trail bridge approaches to the Arlington Memorial Bridge are also needed to address safety and user conflicts and will be addressed as part of an ongoing NPS study.

If not now, when? We're not asking them to do anything more than what they've already expressed an interest in doing.

 

NPS Trails Study - National Mall and Memorial Parks

The National Park Service's National Capitol Region (NCR) recently released a draft version of its "Paved Trails Study", which serves as a plan for how NCR sees the paved trail network, both within and outside of the parks, developing in the future and as an update to the 1990 plan. In addition to identifying several high priority capital projects, the NPS Paved Trails Study also identifies some lower priority capital projects which it groups by park.

Comments are open until May 19th.

Here are all the paved trail projects identified for the National Mall and Memorial Parks.

Immediate (0-2 years)

1. (N1.1) Remove stairs at Ohio Drive SW Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge to connect to Ohio Drive Trail; narrow travel lanes on inlet bridge to widen sidewalk; mark bike lanes along East Basin Drive to connect to proposed new cycle track extension on Maine Avenue with connection to 14th Street Bridge Trail - this is a high priority project that was covered in this earlier post. 
2. (N1.4) Coordinate with DDOT for development and installation of signage
3. (N1.5) Install sharrows for shared facility on Jefferson Drive from 3rd to 15th Street 
4. (N2.4) Improve safety of all at-grade trail crossings from the National Mall leading up to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge; Improve crossing of existing Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway at the Belvedere/ Constitution Avenue extension; Provide new crossing of Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway to connect Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Trail to volleyball courts and bridge approach; Provide additional signage; Expand trail width on both north and south sides of bridges - this is a high priority projects that was covered in this earlier post.
5. (N2.2) Conduct a feasibility study at Lincoln Memorial Circle to develop set of recommendations to improve visitor safety and reduce conflicts for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Alternatives should improved connections across the bridge and along the Parkway and Ohio Drive to trails. - this is a high priority projects that was covered in this earlier post.
6. (N4.1) Provide crossing improvements from existing George Mason Memorial/ Bikeshare station across East Basin Drive SW to Jefferson Memorial and across Ohio Drive to East Potomac Park
7. (N4.2) Develop trail crossing of the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway from F Street NW to Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway Trail (Not sure why this isn't part of the Rock Creek Park portion)

Short term (0-2 Years)

1. (N1.2) Extend cycle track south on 15th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue NW and Constitution Avenue by removing vendor/ street bus on west side of street. Extend cycle track on 15th Street between Constitution Avenue and Maine Avenue in area between existing sidewalk and road/or move sidewalk to accommodate lane. Reclaim a southbound lane of Maine Avenue from Kutz Bridge to Jefferson Memorial and East Basin Drive for cycle track connection/dedicated bike lanes. Will require coordination between DDOT and NAMA for 15th Street ROW between Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue. - this is a high priority project that was covered in this earlier post.
2. (N1.6) Implement preferred alternative from the National Mall Walkway Study to improve access, ADA and user conflicts on the National Mall Trails (outer perimeter loop trails). Work with Denver Service Center on study of discrete signage options for future separation of user needs. 
3. (N2.2) Conduct an EA at Lincoln Memorial Circle to develop set of recommendations to improve visitor safety and reduce conflicts for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. Alternatives should improved connections across the bridge and along the Parkway and Ohio Drive to trails. - this is a high priority project that was covered in this earlier post.
4. (N2.3) Implement signage enhancements and access improvements from Lincoln Memorial Loop to Arlington Memorial Bridge in coordination with DDOT.
5. (N2.4) Implement signage enhancements and access improvements from Lincoln Memorial Loop to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.
6. (N3.3) Develop a multi-modal regional trailhead at the MBT endpoint at Union Station.

Mid-term (5-10 years)

1. (N1.3) Analyze route alternatives for a new path between FDR Memorial and West Potomac Park ball fields to include marked or separated bicycle and pedestrian facilities. 
2. (N1.7) Study feasibility for on-street bike facility on west bound Independence Avenue from 23rd Street SW to 17th Street SW. Sign/mark bicycle loop from MLK Jr. Memorial to Lincoln Memorial, to Vietnam Veterans Memorial, north of Constitution Garden to 15th Street NW and down to Independence Avenue and back west to MLK Jr. Memorial
3. (N2.1) Build dedicated bike/ped. trail via new CSX bridge (aka Long Bridge); Connect to Mount Vernon Trail and Long Bridge Drive (Long Bridge Park) and Boundary Channel Drive on west side of Potomac River and to Ohio Drive SW and Rock Creek Park Multi-use Trail on east side of Potomac River. 
4. (N3.1) Develop a local/NPS trailhead which may include signage, bike repair station, water, etc. at East Potomac Park where the 14th Street Bridge is.
5. (N3.2) Develop a local/NPS trailhead at existing Bikeshare station to include bike repair station, water, etc. at the intersection of Ohio Driver and West Basin Drive (study actually says East Basin, but image shows West)
6. (N5.1) Assess options to expand the width of Rock Creek Park Multi-use Trail along Ohio Drive

The 1990 Paved Trails plan calls for improving several facilities and widening trails, some of which I assume has happened and others (like widening the shoreline trail beside the Kennedy Center, or the sidewalks along Ohio Drive through the underpasses) have not. But in general, they've done a good job either doing these things or rolling them forward

There's one good idea that is missing

• Encourage the Architect of the Capitol to establish east-west bicycle routes past the Capitol, connecting Mall traffic to East Capitol Street.

Update: Here's a map of the Lincoln Memorial Circle idea from 1990. I like the trail along the loop ramp between the Memorial Bridge and Ohio Drive and the similar one on the loop ramp from Ohio Drive to the Circle

Not really something that's appropriate any longer, but interesting is that one of the recommendations was to repave the roads of the Ellipse as they "are periodically used for bicycle races and rallies." Also, one of the projects on the list, widening the Kutz Bridge sidewalks is just now finishing up - though it is to address ADA compliance, not to "relieve pedestrian and cyclist congestion."

In addition, I'm disappointed not to see more mention of bikeshare and where NPS would be willing to allow stations. Granted this is a paved trails plan, but how one rides them is nearly as relevant as where they go.