When Orange Pylon's Surround your "Bike Friendly Community" sign for weeks, that's a problem @arlingtondes @arlparksrec #bikedc

What's wrong with this picture?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?  

Columbia Pike and W&OD

That's right!  The Bike Friendly Friendly Community sign there in the middle is surrounded by orange pylons.  Has been for weeks.  

Unlike everywhere else in Arlington where Arlco is placing roads on "road diets," here Arlco is expanding the width of Columbia Pike, my guess is to make way for the streetcar.  To do so, Arlco made a precarious single lane detour for the WOD - you know, that transportation artery for cyclists.  While I suppose one can concede the point that construction needs to be done, once again Arlco seems to be failing to treat cyclist trails as critical transportation infrastructure.  The detour was poorly designed.  The work has proceeded at a snails pace.  The cement on the new sidewalk appears to be dry and done, but still cyclists are forced into a bad detour.

Arlington:  treat cyclist core transportation infrastructure as critical.  If you have to block, provide a real detour.  Minimize the impact.  This project should have been done by now and the detour removed.  Indeed it looks like its all but done.  

Please remove the obstructions, remove the detour, and keep core cycling trails as a transportation priority.

Improvements to the WOD

NVRPA just sent out a newsletter summarizing upcoming improvements to the WOD.  Hey, NVRPA... Santa Claus isnt suppose to come to next week!  (that's for a great trail and helping to improve its condition).

Changes Coming at Key W&OD Trail Intersections

With over two million uses a year, and more than 70 at-grade road crossings, the W&OD Trail is the backbone of cycling, pedestrian, and other non-motorized recreation and transportation modes in Northern Virginia. Considering the Trail's size (45 miles from Shirlington to Purcellville) and volume, safety and safety improvements are always of the utmost importance to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) which owns and operates the trail.

Over the years, NVRPA has had a number of engineering studies and analyses conducted, with the safety of its trail users specifically in mind. In March of 2011, NVRPA commissioned an evaluation of the existing physical and operational conditions at six of the busiest individual roadway crossings across the region. Now, the recommendations created by these evaluations are beginning to be implemented. NVRPA has worked extensively to engage its jurisdictional partners such as Fairfax, Loudoun, and Arlington Counties and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and appreciates their efforts to assist in making this truly regional asset safe. The crossings identified for evaluation are as follows: Belmont Ridge Road in Ashburn, Sterling Boulevard in Sterling, Wiehle Avenue in Reston, Hunter Mill Road in Vienna, Lee Highway in Arlingon, and Columbia Pike in Arlington. Some of the highlights of the recommendations include: Belmont Ridge Road

• Relocate/eliminate parking area on the northwest and northeast corners (completed late November).
• Add actuated rectangular rapid flash beacons to alert motorists to the presence of a trail user.
• Trim vegetation to improve sight lines (completed late October).

Sterling Boulevard

• NVRPA and VDOT working together to consider reducing the length of the northbound deceleration/left turn lane on Sterling Boulevard to expand median refuge.
• Expand the sidewalk network along Sterling Boulevard.
• Consider the addition of actuated rectangular rapid flash beacons based on results from Belmont Ridge Road.

Wiehle Avenue

• Consideration to widen the median refuge.
• NVRPA and Fairfax County to work together to identify short term improvements to include additional signage, improved roadway markings, and potential lane width improvements.
• Consideration of alternate signal timing to reduce conflict with trail crossing.

Hunter Mill Road

• Consider replacing advanced trail crossing flashing beacon with Actuated Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons.
• NVRPA and VDOT to address vegetation and terrain issues affecting sight lines.

Lee Highway (Route 29)

• NVRPA to realign trail approaches to orient better to the crossing for trail users and motorists.
• NVRPA to work with Arlington County to consider adjusting signal timing, turn lane options, and additional signage.

Columbia Pike

• The trail approaches will be realinged to intersect at a better angle to the roadway.

• NVRPA to work with Arlington County to consider adjusting signal timing and phasing.

The physical condition of the Trail and the intersections is vitally important, but far more important is the behavior of those on the Trail and those on the roads. NVRPA is proud to also be a partner with Street Smart, an annual public education, awareness and behavioral change campaign in the Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia area. Since its beginning in 2002, the campaign has used radio, newspaper, and transit advertising, public awareness efforts and added law enforcement to respond to the challenges of pedestrian and cyclist safety. Please feel free to contact the trail office at (703) 729-0596 or via email at wod@nvrpa.org if you have questions concerning these changes.

So I'm Confused @ArlingtonVA, is Cycling "Transportation" or Not #bikedc

Photo by alykat (cc)

Now I love Arlington.  And Arlington DES is one of my favorites (not joking... DES has been highly responsive to inquiries and concerns).  But DES did something recently that caused a kerfuffle.  DES thought that it would be a good idea to talk to Arlington Citizens about snow removal.  Why would that cause a kerfuffle?  Well it resulted in this exchange:

Q by CS: Arlington often talks about how bicycling is an important part of our transportation network, and yet our bicycling infrastructure rarely if ever gets plowed, even major cycling thoroughfares like the Custis trail that continue to see hundreds of riders a day despite the weather. Minneapolis manages to keep their bike infrastructure plowed. When will Arlington?

A: Currently there are no immediate plans to plow or treat primary commuting bike trails, but our planners, Department of Parks and Recreation and DES operations staff continue to strategize how to improve the bike commute. The County will be looking to coordinate with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority for priority to treat the WO&D Trail, which is not maintained by Arlington.

Q by MB: I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed by DES' inaction on plowing our primary trails. As people within DES can tell you, thousands of Arlingtonians use those trails every day to get to work. By failing to plow the trails, DES puts more people onto the streets in cars. Is that really what you want, during a snow event?

A: As previously asked by Chris, our planners, Department of Parks and Recreation and DES operations staff continue to strategize how to improve the bike commute. There are many significant safety and environmental concerns for bikers and our trails that we have and are attempting to find the best solution.

Okay, once again: consternation.  Arlington talks a good talk.  Arlington talks about how cycling is a great way to commute. Arlington talks about the Car Free diet. Arlington talks about Smart Growth through Smart Transportation. 

The problem is Arlington actually convinces a few of us.  And a few (thousand) of us have come to rely on cycling as our mode of transportation.  It's how we get to work, or to school, or to the store, or to lunch.  We drank the kool-aid, we have become car-free, and we bike the solution.

But having converted us, Arlington goes sideways on us and doesnt follow through.  There are major cycling arteries in Arlington that see 1000s of cyclist get to work every day.  These are the Custis Trail, the W&OD trail, and the Mount Vernon Trail (NPS).  These trails are cyclists freeways that see levels of traffic during rush hour that rival the roads.  During rush hour on the Custis Trail in Rosslyn, the cue at a red light is as deep on the Custis trail as it is on Lee Hwy.  The flow of traffic on the Custis is constant and we saw essentially cyclist traffic jams this year.

Those cycling arteries are not treated as "transportation" arteries by Arlington:

• There are no plans to clear snow from the trails, in the same way other transportation arteries are cleared.
• Arlington police park their cruisers on the Custis Trail in Rosslyn, blocking the trail.
• Arlington Parks and Rec trucks regularly drive on the W&OD during rush hour, creating dangerous situations.
• Arlington Parks and Rec shut down the Custis Trail during rush hour so that they could prune trees - something VDOT would never do to Route 66.
• After decades of complaints from cyclists, the Custis Trail / Lynn St intersection remains as dangerous as ever with almost no action taken.

Let's make this simple:

Arlington: Is cycling actually "transportation," or is that just some cute words you put on paper so that you have dazzling looking transportation strategic plans?  

If you are going to talk the talk, walk the walk.  1000s of cyclists rely on the trails as transportation arteries.  Arlington, please behave like they are transportation arteries.