TheWashCycle

Capital Bikeshare to Prince George's by next spring. Trolley trail gap soon?

Some big announcements coming out of PG County. First of all Capital Bikeshare is expected to come to the northern and southern parts of the county as early as next spring. And it will expand into College Park in 2019 as the MBike contract expires. 

Karyn McAlister, the bicycle and pedestrian program manager with the county, gave a presentation to the Hyattsville City Council on April 3 about the upcoming addition of bike sharing to the county. The county has selected Capital Bikeshare for the county program and stations are anticipated as early as spring of 2018.

Over the past two years, Prince George’s County initiated and held a feasibility study to launch a bike share program. Since the completion of the study, the county has been working on developing a phased plan for an area of 36 square miles that includes the county’s hubs, such as National Harbor, cities bordering the District of Columbia like Mount Rainier, and transit areas such as Hyattsville.

[Hyattsville] will likely engage in talks about specific locations this fall, according to council documents. City staff will brief the council in Fall 2017 on specific recommended locations prior to the locations being finalized for Spring 2018 installation

Overall, the county plans to install 67 stations and 670 bikes over the next several years in five phases. The first phase will include 25 stations with 250 bikes throughout parts of Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Brentwood, Riverdale Park, Cottage City, Colmar Manor, Bladensburg and National Harbor.

“The county’s plan is to roll out Phase 1 and 1a next spring, 2018. Phase 2 is anticipated in 2019 and would coincide with M Bike’s contract expiring,” McAlister said, explaining that the expansion into College Park would be at the same time the current bike share program in the city is set to expire.

Hyattsville is in Phase 1 of the rollout of the Capital Bikeshare program in Prince George’s County, and McAlister came before the council to discuss the partnership and what role the city will play in the process. 

Perhaps by then the gap in the Trolley Trail at Riverdale Station will be filled. In a hopeful sign, the Whole Foods at the development opens today.

The first Whole Foods Market in Prince George’s County will open April 12 on Baltimore Avenue in Riverdale Park. The 40,000-square-foot store will be the primary anchor for Riverdale Park Station, the mixed-use development by Calvin Cafritz Enterprises that includes 160,000 feet of retail space and 37,000 square feet of office space.

SHA presentation to College Park includes bike shoulders on Route 1 and new Trolley Trail intersection

Late last month, Maryland SHA updated the College Park City Council on projects within the city. Of particular note were a couple of projects on Route 1 and a redesign of the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and Greenbelt Road.

The Route 1 projects will add "four-foot wide bicycle compatible shoulders" from College Drive to the Beltway

Project planning was completed in November 2005. The US 1 Corridor improvements were broken into 3 project segments to facilitate implementation: Segment 1 - College Avenue to MD 193; Segment 2 - MD 193 to Hollywood Road; and Segment 3 - Hollywood Road to I-95 / I-495. Segment 1 (PG624_21), is fully funded for construction. Final design, right-of-way acquisition and construction phases for Segments 2 and 3 will proceed as funds become available.

Design [of Segment 1]  is approximately 90% complete and the right-of-way acquisition process is underway. The team is working on getting SWM approval and utility coordination. We expect utilities to start relocations this summer and anticipate a NTP date of 10/8/2018 for construction. The estimated open to traffic date is December 2021. The project is funded for design, right-of-way, utilities, and construction.

The other project isn't included in the presentation, but according to the Diamondback it was discussed anyway.

The SHA also plans to make safety improvements at the Route 193 and Rhode Island Avenue intersection, which is located near a 7-Eleven and the Branchville Volunteer Fire Company. The SHA plans to shorten long, concrete islands at the intersection, Mookherjee said. Construction is estimated to begin by summer 2017 and end by the winter, she added.

After the council viewed a map of the intersection proposal, Wojahn noted that bicycle infrastructure at that location still seems to be lacking. The intersection crosses the Trolley Trail, which bikers and pedestrians use to travel.

"This is essentially the bicycle backbone of the city," Wojahn said. "It looks like the bike lane there is a little bit of an afterthought."

On the south side of the street, it doesn't look like bicycles have anywhere to go once they get out of that bike lane, he added.

"Right now you have a curb there — either you have to go around and down over the median where the pedestrians are going … or go straight down and go over the curb there," Wojahn said. "There's got to be a better way to do that."

Mookherjee said the bike lanes depend on where the right-of-way lanes are located, and that the SHA would discuss Wojahn's bike lane concern with the project's designers.

In a follow-up this month, the Diamondback reports that the new design will

include implementing shortened concrete medians between opposite traffic lanes, as well as creating perpendicular crosswalks,..These medians will also narrow the road, which will, in turn, decrease traffic speeds

What's not clear to my reading is where these medians are. I assume they're talking about adding medians to Greenbelt Road, but then I don't know why they're shortened, since there aren't ones there. Nor do I understand where the crosswalks will be, since crosswalks alreday exist.. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any renderings or plans online. 

In addition to this redesign, the city and State Highway Administration also blocked access to Rhode Island Avenuefor drivers traveling westbound toward Route 1 on Greenbelt Road a month ago, Brennan said. The move was meant to improve safety for bicyclists, pedestrians and automobile traffic.

2017 "Cool Developments" include key trail segments

Washingtonian recently did a click-baity feature on the "9 Coolest Developments Coming to Washington in 2017" and two of them include key sections of bike trail.

The  first is the Wharf. In addition to inspiring normally nice Iowans to wish a recession on our town, the massive development on the SW Waterfront is also building a section of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. The trail project was long ago broken up into 19 pieces, and the Wharf section is #17. The portion completing this year, phase 1, will only build part of that; but when complete it would leave slightly less than 5 segments to go (part of 18 opened last year).

Status of the ART in 2012
 

The ART will be right along the waterfront (which is not the  Anacostia waterfront, but who's keeping track)

Cyclists will likely prefer Maine Ave, which will feature a protected pair of bike lanes, behind parked cars and at the sidewalk level - a first for DC. That will also not be completed in this phase. Phase 2 will be completed in 2020-2021. 

The other project isn't really in Washington, but rather Riverdale Park, MD. The Riverdale Park Station development is built atop an old trolley line and portions of that right-of-way from Hyattsville to College Park have been turned into a trail. The RPS property is the only gap. Though part of this project will open this year, it's not clear the trail will.

Interestingly, as far away as these projects are from another, you can ride from one to the other entirely on trail (except for the gap between the Wharf and Nationals Stadium).

Trolley Trail Sound Wall Removal and Trail extension update

Here's a recent photo of the work to remove the sound wall that diverted the Trolley Trail at Campus Drive in College Park and to extend the trail to the crosswalk.

Blogging has been a bit light this week because I was in a nasty bicycle crash on Tuesday night. I'm fine but I have a broken arm and it makes writing difficult. I expect to go back to work next week, be out of the cast in 2 months and be back to normal by summer. Blogging might be sporadic for awhile.

Removal of sound barrier along PG County Trolley Trail begins

Photo by Jeff L.

Following several fatal crashes at Montgomery and Prince George's County trail crossings, the counties and SHA have been making some changes in hopes of making the crossings safer. At Viers Mill (Matthew Henson Trail) engineers added button-activated flashing lights (which wasn't enough to prevent a 2nd fatal crash involving a cyclist a few months later); at Little Falls Parkway (Capital Crescent Trail) they've made plans for a road diet and speed limit reduction; and now at Campus Drive (Trolley Trail) the sound barrier that blocks the direct path of the trail is being removed. 

This is part of a larger project that will

Remove and dispose of 10 sound barrier wall panels, construct a new 50-ft long by 10-ft wide asphalt bike trail, and install a w-beam traffic barrier with end treatments on Campus Drive

The bid for that work went out 12 days after the fatal collision there. The traffic barrier referenced above will go where the wall used to be.

There was a proposal from a  Complete Streets public workshop to cut a hole in the wall (see image below), but not to knock the whole thing down, though the image above includes an email that says that just one panel could be removed. (Maybe they're moving it to the Mexican border). Not sure when this was decided on, but last April when participants in a charrette suggested knocking the wall down, they were informed that this was already the plan. 

About a month after the last year's fatal crash at this site, despite the bid, they still weren't sure what would happen with the sound barrier.

The city is working with the county to improve the Campus Drive intersection by either adjusting or removing a sound barrier, Wojahn said, which currently forces bikers to divert from the trail. However, these kinds of improvements have been in the works for at least a decade, Wojahn added.

"We'll continue meeting with them and continue to push them on this … they always talk about walkability … but it seems that the county practice when it comes to adjusting roads doesn't match what they say."

But by November, they'd made plans to "tear down that wall."

College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn said the city is removing noise barrier panels near the crossing to increase visibility for cars. The city also applied for a grant from the state that would help provide designated bikeways for bicyclists to use separately on the side of the road, Wojahn said.

The city wants to see speed cameras installed, because of rampant speeding, but SHA - who will take ownership of the road once Prince George's County approves it - has a different idea. 

Bicyclists can increase their safety by stepping off their bikes and walking alongside them when they cross an intersection, [SHA spokesman David Buck] said.

The Anacostia River Trail is soooo Monday

(This post has been updated with information from the comments)

Sure, a brand new section of trail along the Anacostia just opened on Monday, and yeah, it connects two major trail systems and more than 70 miles of trail overcoming a jumble of barriers like highways, railroads, streams and such and it's amazing and you've wanted it for a long time, but now you're bored. I mean Monday was last month. What has happened lately? Well don't worry, there are lots of other new trails that you can longingly gaze at over the shoulder of the Anacostia River Trail while it drones on and on about that thing Nancy from accounting said that was just so unbelievable. 

Here is a list that is likely both incomplete and inaccurate (the old Washcycle doubleshot). 

The Klingle Valley Trail - DDOT is currently building a 0.7 mile long trail on an abandoned section of road in the Klingle Valley (War on Cars!)

Rock Creek Park Trail - The trail is, right now, undergoing the first part of a long desired rehabilitation which will also add a mile of trail along Piney Branch Parkway

Needwood Road Path - Phase 1 of the this trail extending from the ICC trail is under construction. 

Bowie Heritage Trail - work was underway in April

Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail - A gap south of Albion is currently under construction and someday the trail will be connected to the Northwest Branch Trail and extended north to Quimby.

Four Mile Run Trail - Work begins next week on the restoration of the lower section of Four Mile Run stream. "As part of the construction, the Arlington trail will be completely rebuilt to current standards, including a new sub-base and asphalt surface.  Improved trail railings and a new observation platform will also be installed."

Metropolitan Branch Trail - DDOT could begin work on the northern DC section of this trail next year. Maryland will start work on its remaining pieces in 2017 too.

Washington Boulevard Trail - Work could begin in 2017

Capital Crescent Trail - This popular trail will be extended from Bethesda to Silver Spring if/when the Purple Line gets built

Oxon Run Trail - This was issued permits over a year ago. So that's something, right? Also there is an unfunded section in PG County from Southern to Naylor that remains on that county's priority list

South Capitol Street Trail - ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Old Cameron Run Trail - Design could begin in 2017

Northwest Branch Trail extension - from Wheaton Regional Park to Matthew Henson Trail, this is Montgomery County's top hard surface trail priority. Other trails include the Wheaton Regional Park Through Trail, Muddy Branch Trail, Magruder Branch Trail extension, and the Rock Creek Trail - Millennium Trail Link

I-66 Trail -  More likely than not?

U.S. Route 110 Trail - Still in phase 2 of 5 planning phases. Same as in January 2013.

Shepherd Branch Trail - Soon to be acquired!

The New York Avenue Trail - A concept

Arlington Boulevard Trail - An existing trail that could be improved

Palisades Trolley Trail - A thing

Other PG County Trails, including a list of high priority, but unfunded trails that has been mostly unchanged over the last 5 years (the Bowie Heritage Trail is off the list and the Seat Pleasant section of the Chesapeake Rail Trail and the north extension of the Rhode Island Avenue Trail are on). This includes the WB&A Trail to Anne Arundel County, Piscataway Creek Trail, Henson Creek Trail Extension, Little Paint Branch Trail Extension, Prince George's Connector Trail and the Folly Branch Trail.

Cyclist struck and killed on Campus Drive in College Park

College Park District 3 City Council Member Stephanie Stullich has been proven right, but I bet she wish she wasn't. Back in 2009, after a 2nd crash and another injured cyclist at the same trail crossing of Campus Drive, she said

"Cars travel very fast on [Paint Brach Parkway] and drivers don't necessarily pay attention," Stullich said. "We're lucky he wasn't killed. But there's been other close calls at that crossing, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time."

Yesterday a 77-year old man was crossing Campus Drive (which used to be Paint Branch Parkway) on the Paint Branch/Trolley Trail, was struck by a car and killed.  

At about 7:30 a.m., officers were called to the 4600 block of Paint Branch Parkway for the report of a collision involving a car and a bicyclist, Prince George’s County Police said in a statement.

A preliminary investigation revealed a car was stopped at a red light on Paint Branch Parkway (sic) as Robert Dickey of Southeast Washington was riding his bicycle in the crosswalk and attempting to cross the street, the statement said. When the traffic light turned green, the car struck Dickey, who was taken to a local hospital where he died several hours later, according to the statement.

The 4600 block would place it on campus, but this account differs with another from the Diamondback yesterday, which has it at the trail crossing farther east.

A 70-year-old male bicyclist was struck by a car while heading south on College Park’s Trolley Trail on Monday morning, University of Maryland Police spokesman Maj. Marc Limansky said.

 

The man was attempting to cross the Campus Drive intersection at the time of the accident, he said.

District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan wrote in a message that he’d biked by the scene and saw a bent bike and two distressed onlookers.

I'm not sure which account is correct yet, but if this crash did happen at the trail crossing that would not be the first serious crash there. There were two serious crashes there in 2009, but since then the crossing has been made safer with an island and a traffic light.  Of course, as recently as this summer, the College Park Bicycle Boulevard Implementation Plan recognized that this crossing was still a "Challenging Area."

 

Anyway, regardless of where it happens, it sounds like the cyclist was struck in the crosswalk by a driver who started on the green, but when it wasn't clear.

 

BTW, here's how a Complete Streets public workshop proposed improving this intersection, by cutting a hole in the wall where the trail is.

 

Update: This gets more confusing. WTOP places the crash on River Road at Campus Drive, right near the Metro; but Fox5 has a photo of the bike near the trail crossing. Anyway, if it is the trail crossing - and I think that's the most likely location based on the photo - it brings this into contrast with the Viers Mill trail crossing where there have been two recent fatal crashes. Here - unlike there - a light has been added and yet there was still a fatal crash. 

The Rhode Island Ave. Trolley Trail and the Final Inch

WABA Action Committee for Prince George’s County hosted an event on Tuesday (sorry so late) to kick off the campaign to finish the Trolley Trail and fill the gap in the Route 1 trail network

Starting at the Skate Park at the Northwest Branch Trail, we will walk north towards the current end of the Trolley Trail, discussing challenges and opportunities for creating a new trail link along Rhode Island Ave. We will finish with happy hour and more discussion at Franklins Brewery at the current end of the Trolley Trail.

It looks like they had a good turn-out despite my letting you all down.

@WABADC meeting about RIA trolley trail completion in #Hyattsville pic.twitter.com/COL1pnpsTQ

— Maryland Milestones (@ATHeritageArea) July 12, 2016

“AND NOW LISTEN: THE RULE OF THE FINAL INCH! The realm of the Final Inch! In the language of Maximum Clarity it is immediately clear what that is. The work has been almost completed, the goal almost attained, everything completely right and the difficulties overcome. But the quality of the thing is not quite right. Finishing touches are needed, maybe still more research. In that moment of fatigue and self-satisfaction it is especially tempting to leave the work without having attained the apex of quality. Work in the area of the Final Inch is very, very complex and also especially valuable, because it is executed by the most perfected means. In fact, the rule of the Final Inch consists in this: not to shirk this crucial work. Not to postpone it, for the thoughts of the person performing the task will then stray from the realm of the Final Inch. And not to mind the time spent on it, knowing that one’s purpose lies not in completing things faster but in the attainment of perfection.”

Construction to start soon on new Riverdale Bridge over CSX, will include bike facilities and connect to Trolley Trail

Below is a new rendering of the bridge over the CSX tracks that will connect Riverdale Park Station and M square in Riverdale Park.

It looks to me like the bridge has bike lanes, but those might just be wide shoulders. At the very minimum it has wide sidewalks. The west side of the bridge (on the left) will end at a "Village Green" one block from the new section of the PG County Trolley Trail. On the east side it will end at Tuckerman (I think), about 4 blocks from the NE Branch Trail. In the plan below, it is on the right side, with trail near the middle.

The text that goes with the top rendering.

Closure of Parking Lot of Former ERCO Plant Between the Rivertech Court Cul-de-sac and Lafayette Avenue in Riverdale Park

Work will soon begin on the much awaited new CSX crossing at Riverdale Park Station. The bridge construction work is significant and requires the closing of the former ERCO plant parking lot between the Rivertech Court cul-de-sac and Lafayette Avenue. This route has been used for years as a “short cut” from Lafayette Avenue to M-Square. The closure will begin on or about December 14, 2015 and will continue until the new bridge is open – estimated to be in April 2017.

The initial construction activities include the relocation of existing electrical and gas utilities that run parallel to the CSX tracks. Utility relocations are necessary for the construction of the new bridge over the CSX railroad tracks

Riverdale Park Station section of Trolley Trail hits a milestone

According to a construction update from earlier this month. 

Installation of the Hiker/Biker trail sub-base is complete. The installation of the retaining wall along the Northern property line will be completed by the end of April.