TheWashCycle

Wednesday Morning Commute - Southgate

Good morning

• Cyclist in Lapina fatality won't be charged. "The bicyclist was coming down a blind curve, so he didn't have a lot of time to react, Sternbeck said, and both the bicyclist and the victim could have delayed reaction times because of their ages." Both of which would be perfect reasons for slowing down. I'm sorry, but I would not let a car-bike fatality slide because it was an elderly driver and a blind curve, so I'm not going to agree with this either.
  
• Justice
• S. Joyce Street from Columbia Pike to Pentagon City gets " ten-foot wide shared use sidewalks on both sides" plus pedestrian-scale lighting. Which may or may not help cyclists. 
• ...which leads to the discovery that Southgate Road between Henderson Hall and Columbia Pike is going to be closed to make room for the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery. When I bike out Columbia Pike I go uphill on Southgate Road since gravity makes me go slow and there is less traffic on that road. In the same article they note that Columbia Pike is to be realligned to take it farther from the cemetery. Maybe this could include a climbing lane?
• Local poll done in conjunction with the Fairfax County Bike Plan shows reasons people don't bike more have a lot to do with a lack of facilities.
• The north section of the Bethesda Trolley Trail, which is in many places just sidewalk, needs work.
• Sharrows are nice, but they don't encourage more cycling like bike lanes and paths do. 
• Bike-sharing and smartphones are helping to drive VMT/capita down.
• A TRUE STORY OF WWII ITALY, THE NAZIS, AND THE CYCLIST WHO INSPIRED A NATION

• Local poll done in conjunction with the Fairfax County Bike Plan shows reasons people don't bike more have a lot to do with a lack of facilities.
• The north section of the Bethesda Trolley Trail, which is in many places just sidewalk, needs work.
• Sharrows are nice, but they don't encourage more cycling like bike lanes and paths do.
• A TRUE STORY OF WWII ITALY, THE NAZIS, AND THE CYCLIST WHO INSPIRED A NATION

Saturday Morning Ride - Resume Padding

It's a little late for morning I suppose

• District Council Candidate Jacque Patterson touts himself as a current or former Bicycle Advisory Committee member. I don't recognize the guy, so either he was a member prior to 2004 or he only attends the handful I've meetings I've missed.
• The Bicycle Commuter and Parking Expansion Amendment Act of 2010 shows up in the DC register.
• Here's David Alpert's statement he delivered at yesterday's hearing on bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement. TBD live-blogged it. I may watch it all again to add notes (I had it playing in the background while I worked). Mendelson quote:"If someone is driving a 2,000 or 4,000 pound machine, they need to be held to a higher standard." D.C. police assistant chief Patrick Burke follows hours of testimony on how officers fail to properly assign guilt or interview cyclists and pedestrians by pointing out that in more than half of all cases pedestrians are to blame. Yes, when the standard police reaction is to blame the victim, that will be the result.
• We're better than joggers!
• More on the Suburban Hospital expansion. "The hospital's expansion plan includes constructing a public pedestrian and bike path through the hospital property that would connect Old Georgetown Road to Grant Street"
• Fairfax bike plan meeting on the 17th.
• PoP wonders about a cyclist riding with his helmet on his handlebars. My theory is always this: they're off to do something riskier than riding on the street (racing, bike polo etc...). And he also wonders about yielding to pedestrians. I do it all the time, so I don't know what he's talking about. If I didn't, I would have crashed a lot more than I have.

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.

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

BRAC and Bicycle Transportation Part 5: Bethesda Trolley Trail

One lesson from the BRACtransportation plans at NNMC, Fort Belvoir and Andrews AFB is that it helps to have advocates for biking and walking engaged in the process. Around NNMC, WABA, the NIH bike club and Jack Cochrane of Montgomery Bicycle Advocates have successfully pushed the County to add in trails from the Bikeways Plan (and one that isn't). There are few items they're pushing for. In response to the "Purpose and Need" for the Medical Center underpass, WABA's official comment included

Instead of assuming, as the draft purposes and needs document appears to do, that facilitating the crossing of MD 355 at or near the Medical Center Metro station is the goal, the project should be aimed at encouraging safe and convenient access by bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users with the objective of minimizing the use of single-occupancy motor vehicles to reach destinations in the immediate vicinity of the Medical Center.

We submit that that the best way to achieve this objective would be to invest in secure bike parking and other amenities at the Metro station together with better connectivity via trails and on road routes.  The most important improvements to bicycling infrastructure are the widening of the Bethesda Trolley Trail (BTT) on the western edge of the NIH campus to AASHTO standards of at least 10 feet (and relocation of the trail to achieve a safe setback from the curb), construction of bicycling facilities on Jones Bridge Road and Cedar Lane as contemplated by the relevant local master plans, and widening and improvement of the existing multiuse path on the eastern side of the NIH campus between Cedar and the southern end of the NIH property, where the path merges with the Bethesda Trolley trail as it continues south to Norfolk Avenue in Bethesda.

The most important missing element according to WABA is the widening of the BTT from Center Drive to Lincoln Avenue. From Charles Street, where the trail becomes a narrow sidewalk, to Center Drive, the trail will be rebuilt and widened as part of the intersection improvements at Cedar and Old Georgetown Road. South of Lincoln, the trail picks up again. But the 0.3 miles between the two will still be just a narrow sidewalk, right up next to the road. It is such a short distance that it seems like an easy way to close a gap. 

The most recent Purpose and Need still seems written to require an underpass.

The most recent comment period ended on Feb 5th, but there will be more opportunities for public comment during the study. I'll try to keep people posted.

Comments on the statement are due Feb. 5 and should be sent to [email protected] or Kenneth Kendall, Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Engineering, 100 Edison Park Drive, 4th Floor, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

Of course it never hurts to write in late.

BRAC and Bicycle Transportation Part 2: The NNMC Crossing

As part of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, the County is working on a Multimodal Crossing Study of MD-355 (aka Rockville Pike). Originally, the purpose was to make it easier for the pedestrians leaving the Medical Center Metro to cross the Pike and access NNMC. It then had the expanded goal of also providing a better crossing for cyclists and emergency vehicles. The project has been controversial, with accusations of "secret plans" and concerns that the project that best serves Metro users is being ignored. WABA is concerned that the project will suck up a lot of money for a project that is done in cyclists' name, but that won't actually serve cyclists.

In May of 2009, the Defense Department budget proposed by President Obama included $20 million for a new entrance to the Medical Center Metro station on the east side of Rockville Pike. This would only address cyclists' needs if they were riding Metro, but they could still cross at grade at the signalized intersection (either in the crosswalk like a pedestrian or in the road like a car). 

Alperson said the $20 million line item is "a huge deal" because of the county's efforts to promote the use of mass transit and bike and pedestrian pathways, instead of new car trips, for the roads around the future Walter Reed facility.

Then, in September, the county proposed that the east side metro access project consist of a bicycle/pedestrian underpass (pictured). The underpass might serve cyclists who use the existing west side or planned east side path and who need to cross Rockville Pike but don't want to do it at-grade. There might not be many cyclists like that, and they may not gain much with the underpass. In fact, once the underpass is built, it appears the signalized intersection at South/Wood Drive will be removed, so that could be a net loss for cyclists.

At the same time as they issued the new proposal, the county submitted a $20 million TIGER grant for the underpass (in addition to the $20 million they already had). The project immediately became controversial as the underpass probably won't serve Metrorail users as well, will be multi-modal - allowing for cars to use it - and the designs submitted were confidential.

Some transit activists say the drawings they've seen show a zigzag design that would take pedestrians out of their way. Ben Ross, president of Montgomery-based Action Committee for Transit, said an underpass would feel unsafe at night and put vehicles that use it too close to people.

The county's plans, he said, "would turn Rockville Pike into a high-speed highway as opposed to a pedestrian boulevard."

He said his group favors building direct access to the Metro station via new elevators on the east side of Rockville Pike, near the medical center's entrance.

There is also concern, that the underpass will be used as part of an exit off of the Beltway, which would probably undo any benefit for cyclists. Greater Greater Washington has covered this story thoroughly.

Medical Center "secret plan" revealed (10/6/09)

Beltway widening plans should not be a secret (01/19/10)

Is MoCo DOT stacking the BRAC deck for an underpass? (1/28/10)

Edgar Gonzalez, Montgomery's deputy director of transportation policy argued that the underpass would be needed to make crossing the Pike safer and

Without pedestrians trying to cross Rockville Pike, Gonzalez said, vehicles would get more green time on traffic lights. Under current plans, he said, the underpass would be wide enough to allow vehicles to move between NIH and the medical center, in case patients or employees needed to be moved from one facility to another in an emergency. It would not be open to regular traffic.

In December, Montgomery and Fairfax Counties were assigned $300 million in federal money to help adjust to BRAC traffic and this may make the TIGER funding request moot, meaning the extra $20 million for the underpass has to come out of the $300 million or county money.

The January BRAC Implementation Committee meeting brought more news about the underpass. They continue to insist that they have not settled on the underpass, but David Alpert is less than convinced. At the meeting they listed possibilities that omitted the elevators on the east side and presented a draft Purpose and Need statement which defines a need the elevators can't possibly meet. The National Environmental Policy Act study is expected to be completed in June and will identify a variety of options, which could include a tunnel, bridge, underpass or an improved at-grade crossing.

As Esther Bowring of Montgomery County points out, the five designs to address pedestrian access between the Naval Medical Center and the Metro station that WMATA produced last July "excluded consideration for bicyclists and integration of the needs of the surrounding communities."

But the underpass may actually exclude consideration for transit users, as it will force transit users to walk farther so that the underpass connects to the streets on both sides of the Pike. One proposal to deal with this is to run a shuttle bus through the underpass to give transit users station to door service, but no one knows if this will actually increase transit use.

Since the elevators are being scrubbed, and the reason given is, in part, to include cyclists, it's worth asking the question, is the underpass something anyone will bike through, or would cyclists just rather see an improved at-grade crossing? The east-side elevators cost about $20 million less than the underpass. The money saved could be used to improve the at-grade crossing and add secure bike parking, channelized stairs and other bike friendly amenities to the station. It might even leave enough to improve the Bethesda Trolley Trail. These are things that WABA and MoBike would rather see. They'd like to see a Purpose and Needs that is aimed at encouraging safe and convenient access by modes besides single-occupancy motor vehicles. If the county wants to build this underpass, they shouldn't say they're doing it for cyclists, because WABA would rather see the money spent elsewhere.

Photo from GreaterGreaterWashington

BRAC and Bicycle Transportation Part 1: NNMC Bike Paths

As part of the expansion of the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda to include Walter Reed, Montgomery County and the Federal Government have been making plans to improve the transportation network in the area and to increase capacity. After some pushing from people in the community, that included more bicycle and pedestrian elements. What they have planned so far is good, but there is still more work to do.

The whole thing started back in 2005 during the last round of Base Realignment and Closures when the Defense Department decided to move the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center from DC and onto the site of the NNMC (map of the area). Naturally, this will lead to more trips in the Bethesda area and a committee has been formed, and money allocated to deal with that. As far back as 2007, the county was including "improving bicycle safety" as one of their goals - albeit with "wider sidewalks." But when the Transportation Management Plan came out, it didn't even mention bicycles. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) plans ignored their own guidelines about adding enhanced bicycle and pedestrian facilities to any new transportation facility and, the plans would take so much right-of-way for road widening that it would make it almost impossible to add in Master Planned bike facilities in the future. They also did traffic counts that ignored cyclists. There was then a push back from the community to focus more on bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and since then, plans have gotten noticeably better.

In response to the neighborhood concerns about the lack of bike and pedestrian planning, a $750,000 study of pedestrian and bike paths in the area was commissioned in June 2009. It is to be concluded this spring.

The study would look at either expanding or building new paths along Cedar Lane, Rockville Pike and Jones Bridge Road, and new signage and safety improvements for bikers and walkers in neighborhoods directly south of Navy Med and the National Institutes of Health.

The announcement of this led one person to point out all of the deficiencies in the Bethesda Trolley Trail (aka the North Bethesda Trail) - it disappears between Charles and Lincoln and the trail south of there is too narrow, with sharp curves - in the hopes that they would be addressed.

At the July 14th Base Realignment and Closure Implementation Committee meeting they updated some plans, including

A 10-foot pervious bike and pedestrian path [WC: I assume 10 foot wide and not 10 foot long] would be added to the south side of West Cedar Lane and the east side of Old Georgetown Road.

but it still wasn't totally satisfactory to residents and officials.

Tension between residents and officials also continued about short-term improvements at the intersections versus a long-term vision that emphasized mass transit, pedestrians and bikes as well. In another presentation to the committee, John Carter of Park and Planning said planning models for the White Flint area in North Bethesda that encouraged walkers and bikers could also serve the area around Navy Med.

Good news came when, later that same month, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $9.2 million (to be split evenly) for road improvements near the four Maryland bases that will see increases in personnel. This includes NNMC as well as Andrews AFB, Fort Meade and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

By the end of the summer the details for the Bethesda area BRAC bike projects started to emerge.

Preliminary design work is under way for a series of hiker-biker trails and bike lanes near the National Naval Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health on Wisconsin Boulevard in Bethesda.

The work will include:

-Cedar Lane: an off-road bike path between Old Georgetown Road and an existing path beyond Rockville Pike that connects to Beach Drive.

-Battery Lane and Glenbrook Parkway: sidewalk repairs, lighting and improved signage.

-Rockville Pike: a hiker-biker path to replace the existing sidewalk on the east side of the Pike between Cedar Lane and Jones Bridge Road.

-Jones Bridge Road: adding either bike lanes or an off-road bike path between Rockville Pike and the entrance to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services.

As well as start dates and costs

Construction on the improvements could start in September 2010. The county has estimated that the cost of the biker and pedestrian upgrades will be about $5 million.

The trail along the east side of Old Georgetown Road mentioned in July was apparently dropped. That's unfortunate as connecting to the North Bethesda Trail seems like a good step.

With a $5 million price tag (in addition to all of the other transportation expansion needed), to be paid for with a quarter-share of $9.7 million, Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown wrote a letter to the Gazette in October to explain that the state didn't have enough money to build out the multimodal plans without going to a tiered approach.

In December, Lt. Gov. Brown's concerns were somewhat addressed when Montgomery and Fairfax Counties were assigned $300 million in federal money to help adjust to BRAC traffic

In Bethesda, residents who have been working with local and state officials said they were adopting a wait-and-see attitude, as much will depend on how the money is allocated and who makes the decisions.

"The community pushed for this unprecedented level of cooperation," said Ilaya Rome Hopkins, who represents about 13,000 residents, businesses and schools near the medical center as chair of the Coalition of Military Medical Center Neighbors.

"We need to be at the table when they are making these decisions," she said. "We need to continue to think of solutions designed for the future, not the low-hanging fruit of widening roads without adding bikeways and walkways."

$5 million of that money would likely be assigned to cover the bike path and sidewalk upgrades defined above.

At the December BRAC implementation committee meeting, the SHA and County DOT announced that work might begin on the bike/bed improvements by the end of 2010 (though that isn't yet the plan). They would like to avoid overlapping the bicycle/ped improvements and the intersection improvements as much as possible, which means starting the bike/ped projects ASAP. Furthermore, the Cedar Lane project has been expanded as to include adding a bike lane to the portion of Cedar Lane under and outside the Beltway. This would connect the Elmhurst Parkway Trail with Beach Drive and the RCP trail. Presently they're only connected with a narrow sidewalk. To do this, and other bridge work, they'll need to close the bridge over Rock Creek for about three months.

On Cedar Lane south of Beach Drive, the county will re-stripe the road to create a new lane for bicyclists. The existing bike path that runs alongside Cedar Lane for a portion of the road will also be upgraded, so that the new bike lane and path will create a continuous route for cyclists.

For the other three projects the start and finish dates are heavily contingent on reaching agreement with the Navy. The new bike path on the south side of West Cedar Lane between Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike could start this fall if negotiations go quickly, but is scheduled for March of 2011, with completion in June 2011. The east-side Rockville Pike path upgrade could start this August and end this September with quick negotiations, but is scheduled for July 2011 with completion that September. And the bike path on the north side of Jones Bridge Road from Rockville Pike to Connecticut Avenue could start in March 2011 and end that August with quick negotiations, but is scheduled for May 2011 with completion in December 2011. There are also plans to add bicycle improvements in Battery Park and on Glenbrook Parkway from Wisconsin Avenue to Jones Bridge Road.

The four main BRAC bikeways projects are included in the county's FY11 funding, but since then, the Transportation Planning Division of the Montgomery County Planning Board recommended that the Cedar Lane Bridge Project be changed from simple bike lanes to a road diet that uses the extra space for a wider sidewalk on the east and continuing the mutli-use trail on the west side. I think that's a better idea than the bike lane that transitions to a trail.

The four improvements planned have things to like, but they all seem to end short of the best connection. Other improvements to consider include

• The Cedar Lane changes called for by the Planning Board.
• The Jones Bridge Road facilities should be continued on to Jones Mill Road (as a bike lane perhaps) where it could connect to the Capital Crescent Trail.
• Rockville Pike/Wisconsin Avenue actually gets less bike friendly south of Jones Bridge Road as the roadway is pretty much the same but the sidewalk now has numerous curb cuts and more pedestrians. Ideally, bike lanes or a cycletrack would added on Woodmont Avenue from Jones Bridge Road to the existing bike lanes on Woodmont at Edgemoor; or even on Wisconsin Avenue itself. This would give a second connection to the Capital Crescent Trail for cyclists heading south.
• Make Maryland Avenue/Pearl Street into a bicycle boulevard with good directional signage.
• Make improvements to the Bethesda Trolley Trail from Charles Street to Battery Park for the reasons stated above.
• Improve the path down the old trolley bed on Huntington Parkway
• A stream (Glenbrook?) passes through NNMC, under the Beltway and to Rock Creek. From Perimeter Road to the RC Trail is only about 1000 feet. Depending on how that stream passes under the Beltway they could run a trail along it. This may be infeasible for security reasons - there is not an entry gate on that side of the facility - or just not worth the money - Perimeter Road isn't even a real road and the bridge across the stream looks washed out. But it would make for a quick connection.

NNMC (pre) BRAC just got better

After things looked bad, and then worse, things are now turning around with the National Naval Medical Center transportation planning.

A $750,000 study of the pedestrian and bike paths around the current National Naval Medical Center should start this summer and be finished next spring, while building improvements for bikers and walkers could start in September 2010 and take about one year. The study is being funded by a Defense Department grant.

The study would look at either expanding or building new paths along Cedar Lane, Rockville Pike and Jones Bridge Road, and new signage and safety improvements for bikers and walkers in neighborhoods directly south of Navy Med and the National Institutes of Health. Gonzalez said the improvements' current ballpark cost is $5 million, compared to estimates from the Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority of $14 million to $59 million for new access infrastructure to the Medical Center Metro station.

Technically, this study isn't part of the BRAC, but it would be impossible to ignore the impact of the base expansion in the study and planning.

Local residents have questioned the effectiveness and long-term wisdom of several of SHA's [BRAC-related] possible intersection enhancements. They have pushed for alternative solutions such as enhanced bike and walking pathways.

Gonzalez said his department will study building a new path on Cedar Lane north of NIH; widening, relocating or otherwise enhancing the current path on the east side [WC: I think this actually on the west side] of Rockville Pike along the Navy Med campus; and possibly widening Jones Bridge Road or constructing a new path for walkers and bikers. Construction money would come from the county at the approval of the County Council.

In neighborhoods south of Navy Med and NIH, county DOT will study new signage and enhanced safety measures to existing paths and roads, but no construction will take place in these areas according to Gonzalez

This would create better connections to the CCT and North Bethesda Trail, but not really to Rock Creek.

View Larger Map

A Call for Mileage Markers

On his blog, Steve Offutt wrote about the difficulty of finding your route via bike on local trails

There are numerous connectors in South Arlington off the 4-Mile Run and W&OD trails--all unmarked. The only way I could do it was trial and error--trying each one to see if it went where I needed to go. I had to spend more than 20 minutes of time just figuring out which trail was which and mapping out my route. If each of those connectors had a sign identifying the street it connected to, it would have been much easier. Even now that I know it, I would still have an enormously difficult--if not impossible--time trying to describe to someone how to take my route.

And has some suggestions for improvement (numbering is me - I'm list-oriented)

1) signage should be placed just like it is on streets.
2) Each trail should have an identifiable name and every intersection should have a sign with the names in both directions--just like street signs.
3) Discontinuous trails (like the extraordinarily confusing "Four Mile Run Trail") should be broken into parts with each part given a distinct name to avoid confusion. Trails should also only have one name (problem; there are parts of the W&OD that are also the Four Mile Run Trail and parts that are also the Custis Trail; a part of 4-Mile Run is also called Barcroft Trail. . .and I even saw a sign the other day that said "Anderson Bikeway," along 4-Mile Run, whatever that is).
4) Signage needs to be maintained and updated as changes and improvements are made.

Think of how much information drivers have. Each exit has a number, describes locations accessible by it, tells you what road your on (and which mile you're at) and where it goes, and where the next exit will take you. There are signs letting you know which jurisdiction you're in, laws etc...It isn't quite the same for cyclists. There are 'exits' off the W&OD that have no signs. Where do they go? Who knows. 

Speaking of which, I just noticed that last year Toole Design worked on a Bethesda Trolley Trail Wayside and Information Initiative. Admittedly, this deals with much more than just signage - the waysides include several elements such as art, parking and seating. But it adds plenty of map kiosks. Phase I of the plan would include up to 17 map panels, with more to follow.

Photo by M.V.Jantzen

NNMC BRAC just got worse

Last month I wrote about the problems around the NNMC BRAC expansion. NNMC should be a cycling hot bed, as it's nestled in between three trails and has a workforce that's legally required to stay fit.

In the design, the State Highway Association (SHA) is ignoring its own recently adopted guidelines calling for bicycle enhancements to be incorporated in all major SHA road construction projects.

In some cases the work they are doing will make it harder to add master planned bike facilities in the future because they are taking all of the available right of way.

Two Black Wheels recently reported on the traffic counting process around the medical center.

Neither counter had been instructed to count bicycles specifically although Worker One pointed out that cyclists were to be included in either pedestrians or automobiles based on whether they were riding on the sidewalk or road.  Worker Two did not count cyclists at all unless they were walking their bicycle on the sidewalk, in which case the cyclist was to be counted as a pedestrian.

I waited on the corner of Wisconsin Ave and Jones Bridge Road to take [a] photo of the counters for about twenty minutes.  In that time I counted nine bicycles including myself.  Surely, the total number of cyclists in the neighborhood are not an insignificant number.  A friend, who also spoke to them, reports that the traffic counter with whom the friend had spoken stated that tons of bikes had been seen but none counted.

Ah...science. 

In further bad news, Two Black Wheels won't be reporting on this anymore.

When I first came to USUHS I made a conscious decision to not discuss my critiques of USUHS issues because such issues need not be discuss in this forum.  I considered NNMC issues to be somewhat different, but now feel differently.  My feelings have changed not due to any outside pressure, but because of a fuller consideration of the boundaries of the profession God has chosen for me.

That's certainly understandable. I knew a guy who worked for the IRS and was a stand-up comic. He didn't do jokes about the IRS, despite the rich territory, because you don't bite the hand that feeds you. So, if you find any information about how the NNMC BRAC is going and how it's dealing with cyclists feel free to send it on to me and I'll try to follow up.