CommuterPageBlog

Take me out to the ball game

I had the opportunity over the weekend to spend July 4th on a boat on the Potomac, for what are arguably the best darn seats in the house to watch the national fireworks display. Considering that our nation's capital was purposefully built on a river, we generally don't take really great advantage of the waterway at our front door. Waterways are frequently used as great transportation options -- the Staten Island Ferry comes to mind, as does the Hong Kong-to-Kowloon ferry, etc. 

Anyway, after spending the night at a nearby marina, we got up this morning and took a stroll over to the new  Nationals stadium. It looks terrific from both land and water. I was particular impressed with the plethora of bike racks -- aren't they great looking?! I also saw a pretty big bike valet available. 

There's also good access to Metrorail, and Metro's Circulator bus (I believe), and parking for cars, of course. Great transit options and we are inspired to come back to the stadium in the very near future to grab a hot dog and catch a game. Maybe by bike! 

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Diana Sun is Director of Communications for Arlington County, a walking commuter, bicylist, and happy resident of the urban village of Clarendon. (dianasunVA on Twitter)

Trail work from July 6-10th

Starting Monday, July 6th, there will be two trail repair projects underway.  One will be at the Custis Trail near where it passes over Spout Run.  The other will be at the western end of the new Four Mile Run trail extension near the Shirlington Road Exxon station. 

"Staff has been directed to maintain at least one lane passable along each, [due to a lack of] good detour options for either project."  Work will not start until 9AM each morning, to allow for the morning rush hour of cyclists getting to work.  The work is expected to wrap up before Friday July 10th.

Check out the Arlington County Bike Map (.pdf) to find alternate routes if you're traveling during the day next week.  If you need to cycle through the affected areas, slow down and use caution around the workers and fellow cyclists.  Be safe out there!

Melissa Esposito is the Car-Sharing and Bike-Sharing Program Coordinator for Arlington County.

Canine Commuters

I am usually prepared with reading material for my Metro commute from Maryland to Virginia, but there are days when I forget it. On some of these days I kindly accept a newspaper highlighting yesterday's news at the platform. On others, usually Wednesdays, it doesn't matter what I brought to read because I won't have a) the balance to stand and hold something b) the personal space to hold anything more than four inches away from my face. On those days, I pass the time by reading the advertisements as well as the Metro rules posted near the entrances of the cars. We've all seen them: No - eating, drinking, smoking, spitting, littering, blocking doors, listening to audio devices w/o headphones, transportation of non-service animals, etc. In my six months riding Metro, I've seen a few service animals, but what about animals without persons?

Apparently, in Moscow, stray dogs have found a way to live the suburban lifestyle and commute into the city. Unfortunately, these dogs don't have permanent homes to go to at the end of the day, but it's nice to see them find a way to get by. Makes me wonder what my pooch is actually up to once I leave for the day. Has she found a way to jump the train to the Mall to get a glimpse of the First Dog Bo or is she napping where I left her? I know one thing for sure, I'm going to check her dog bed for warmth when I get home tonight.

Wendy Duren is a Business Development Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners, and commutes with Metrorail daily.

Zipcar: Making It Even Easier To Go Car-Free

From San Francisco this week came good news for area Zipcar members: Apple's Worldwide Developers' Conference was where Zipcar announced it would be introducing an application for iPhones that allows all Zipcar members to do all sorts of cool things, like:

- locate an available Zipcar near you using GPS and Google Maps technology;
- reserve said car;
and, best of all,
- have your reserved Zipcar honk at you if you can't find it.

You can sign up to learn about updates and find out when the app is available.  I've heard rumors that the app might have other features by the time it comes out; what else would you like them to add before the launch this fall?

Melissa Esposito is the Car-Sharing and Bike-Sharing Program Coordinator for Arlington County.

Biking to Tyson's via W&OD Link

Many people would consider trying to bike to Tyson's Corner to be a fool's errand. A couple of years ago, though, I discovered an unmarked, unpaved little trail through the woods from the W&OD trail to the residential areas south of Tyson's Corner that made it easy to ride to Tyson's without dealing with much traffic. I was out on the trail this morning and noticed that this link is now paved and connects directly, making this link to Tyson's no longer an insider's secret.

The link is about 100 yards west of milepost 10 on the W&OD, which is a little after crossing Cedar Lane when traveling westward on the trail. Here's a map of the route (starting at the Beltway) I would generally take to get to the Eastern part of Tyson's Corner (click here). During less trafficked times I'm liable to take Gallows Road, because it's a little shorter, but this route is more pleasant.

Here are some photos of the new link (click to enlarge):

Milepost 10 on the W&OD looking westward

Approaching the link, which can be seen going off to the right. 

The link connecting with Malraux Drive

The link looking towards the W&OD

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Steve Offutt, Arlington

Finally. . . the Seven Corners Pedestrian Overpass!

It's almost done; ribbon cutting scheduled for May 20.  Even before I moved to a part of Arlington that is not far from Seven Corners, I was aware of the significant number of pedestrian deaths that were occurring along the stretch of Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) near Patrick Henry Drive and Seven Corners (right by the Home Depot to point out a familiar landmark).  Here's a map of the area (one detail: the actual location of the bridge is somewhat west of what is shown. This is taken from the official VDOT site):

I've also included a number of photos below, which you can expand by clicking.  There's also a great article in the Falls Church News Press by Penny Gross describing the placement of the main bridge section a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know the exact statistics, but since I started paying attention I would guess at least 12-15 people have been killed by cars in that area.  This bridge should have been built 20 years ago.  There is no good way to cross route 50.  I know that at least one of the pedestrians was killed crossing at the walk signal at the Patrick Henry intersection; there really is no safe way.  There are homes, apartments and significant commerce on both sides of the highway, so there are lots of reasons for people to cross.  One would think that the businesses would have an interest in making it easier for people to reach their establishments, too.  I don't know how strong a role they played in helping make it happen, however.

So hooray.  As usual, though, I have opinions about this project.  Here they are:
- Way, way overdue, as mentioned above.
- It took a long time.  This project was started in the fall of 2007.  Originally it was supposed to be complete last November.  Unfortunately, the original truss that was delivered was cracked, which caused a several-months delay.
- Why does the north side empty out inside the frontage road, so people still have to cross another lane of traffic to get to the sidewalk (see photos)?  If the frontage road had been shifted a little southward, the bridge would need to be somewhat longer, but not much.  They completely rebuilt this entire area, so it could have been designed that way.  I often wonder why--when we're building a piece of infrastructure that will be there for 40 years or more--that more thought isn't put into these details.
- Pedestrian access on both sides should be improved now that the bridge is complete
- It probably cost too much.  Although it appears to be an excellent facility, Fairfax County is not known for its willingness to invest in bike/ped facilities.  I suspect that the next time someone suggests an improvement, the county will say, "But that one at 7 Corners cost so much; we can't afford to spend that kind of money willy nilly on pedestrians."

Taken in February from the Barnes & Noble parking lot prior to installation of the bridge (click to enlarge)

Looking east from Seven Corners.  Home Depot is behind the bridge to the right (click to enlarge).

Looking West along Route 50.  You can see the ramp pedestrians will come down and then have to cross the frontage road on the right to get to the sidewalk.  Dumb.  (Click to enlarge)

 

At the top of the ramp looking south across the bridge.  Still a little work being finished up.

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Steve Offutt, Arlingtonian and future Seven Corners bike/pedestrian bridge user

Let's Split It!

How often do you hear that these days? Arlington Transportation Partners is joining the frugal bandwagon with their Spring Let's Split It program. If your organization is interested in helping convince employees to get out of their single occupancy vehicles more often, you might qualify.

Of course, there are the normal inherent savings that come from buying less gas, changing your car insurance to non-commute status and the regular maintenance fees that you can forgo by driving less. But this program is about saving companies money that offer a new or expanded direct-benefit (IRC 132(f)) Participating organizations could receive up to 50% reimbursement for their subsidies. To see if your company qualifies, or to learn more, contact Arlington Transportation Partners at 703-247-9299 and get started!

Wendy Duren is a Business Development Manager at Arlington Transportation Partners, and commutes with Metrorail daily.

If You Want to Go There, You Have to Have Gone There Before

One frustration that works against more people making new transportation choices is that the information being provided is directed at insiders--regulars--and is either not helpful or outright confusing to newbies.

I had this experience last summer on a trip to New York City.  It has always been an interest of mine to ride on the Staten Island Ferry, just for the experience.  The opportunity presented itself when I coordinated a drop off of my daughter and another pre-teen girl to a family in New York City, who would then take them to a camp out on Long Island.  Part of the logistics included seeing The Lion King in New York, which was terrific.

The plan was to have the other girl's father drive us to the ferry; we would take the ferry to Manhattan and the subway up to the theater where we would meet our friends.  All well and good.

We found the ferry terminal without incident and were pleased to find a subway card machine at the terminal, so that we could get our farecards before we boarded--a nice convenience.  After our 20-minute wait we hear announced, "Now boarding: the 12:30 ferry to Whitehall at dock number 2."  Whitehall?  I've never heard of Whitehall.  Where's that?  I glance around the waiting area and see throngs of people heading over to board and about 10 others like me with uncertain looks on their faces.  My daughter, with an anxious tone in her voice asks, "Are we getting on the right boat, Daddy?"  Now I'm pretty sure that the Staten Island Ferry just runs between Staten Island and Manhattan, but I'm not 100% certain of that--especially right then.  I look all around for some clue about Whitehall and finally spot on the large schedule board the words "(Whitehall Terminal)" in parentheses.  My anxiety level goes down, we get on the boat and everything goes smoothly from then on.

Now I don't think that the ferry is deliberately trying to confuse passengers or create angst, but that was the unintended consequence of the announcement for me and a dozen others (and probably almost every trip for at least a couple of new riders).  The "insiders" do not need anything more than, "12:30 ferry now boarding."  We newbies would benefit from something like, "The 12:30 ferry to Manhattan now boarding."  Mentioning Whitehall provides no useful travel information to anyone: insiders already know where the ferry is going and we rookies are only confused by it.  It also sends a signal--not so much that we newbies are not welcome--but that they just haven't given any consideration to thinking about us.

Those who provide transportation services need to constantly be putting themselves in the shoes of a brand-new user and trying to forget everything they already know.  How can they make that experience simpler and the information clear and useful to that brand-new user?

For more on transportation on Staten Island, they have their own blog here.

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Steve Offutt, Arlington (and now a veteran of the Staten Island Ferry)

Fitting the Pieces Together

The efforts of the transportation professionals working to make it easier and easier to get around this region are working, as demonstrated by this experience I had recently.

Not long ago I purchased my new "toodler" bike, for toodling around.  It's an old, rehabilitated 3-speed with a basket on front that I use to run errands and make short trips.  I had a doctor's appointment in Falls Church the other morning, which is about a 10-12 minute toodle on the bike.  I left early to go to the post office and mail a package.  While at the post office, the weather took a turn for the worse and it started to rain pretty steadily.  I didn't mind riding in the very light drizzle I encountered going to the post office, but this was a lot harder.  It would be a real drag to ride all the way to the Dr.'s in this rain.  What to do?

My first thought was to lock up my bike and catch a bus (if one was coming); I could pick up my bike later.  But when was the bus?  Well, as it turns out, I had bookmarked the mobile services site on my Blackberry a month or two ago .  It's a great service for your handheld device, and it's free.  It tells you when the next bus is coming based on what time it is right now (it doesn't know where you are yet; you have to enter that yourself).  Next bus, 6 minutes.  That would get me to the Dr. right on time.

And then--BING!-- I remembered that all the Metrobuses have bike racks mounted on them.  I could take my bike with me.  If it stopped raining, then I could ride home; if not, I'd figure out something else.  I was a bit anxious, because I had never used the bike racks before.  It turned out to be a cinch, even without any experience.  The instructions were right on the rack, and I loaded my bike in about 5 seconds.  I also have a SmarTrip card, so I didn't have to worry about exact change or fumbling for money.

When I was done, it was still raining.  I did the same exercise in reverse: checked the schedule on my Blackberry, caught the bus, loaded my bike, touched my SmarTrip and got most of the way home.  I still had to ride a few blocks from the closest stop to my house, but that was a lot more pleasant than if I had had to ride the entire two miles in the rain.

So all the pieces fit together to make this trip work: Mobile information, bike racks on buses, SmarTrip.  Thanks, everyone.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington bike toodler
Here's a video on how to use the bike racks.  I couldn't find a WMATA one, but this is the same type of rack

If We Can Move All Those People For The Inaugural, Why Can't We Do Better During A Regular Workday?

Because too many people still drive alone. That's why. At least that's what David Alpert over at the always smart and thought-provoking Greater Greater Washington blog seems to be saying (Over Four Times the People and No Traffic, January 23, 2009). David says:

"If our region is to grow, we need to help more people reach their jobs. One approach is to add traffic lanes and parking garages at enormous cost, both financial and in lost urban vitality. The other solution is to move people as we did on Tuesday."

David also shares a great editorial on WAMU with Cheryl Cort of the Coalition for Smarter Growth who said: "The inauguration showed us how we can grow our economy without growing traffic," she said. Yet our federal and local policies keep moving us in the wrong direction..Many of [the 160,000 daily auto] commuters could be coaxed onto trains, buses and even bicycles if we make smooth, convenient, and safe trips a priority. But we don't. Instead, we are cutting transit service while letting bicycle improvements languish."

David ends the post with this money quote: "If we could get 1.8 million people in and out of downtown DC without any traffic, we can get 500, 600, or 700,000 people in and out every day smoothly with better transit, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. All that's holding us back is our elected leadership and our ability to envision a better region."

David is right. We need to invest in more transit, ped and bike infrastructure. And let's hope that the coming Stimulus package tilts more towards these kinds of long-term investments rather than roads. But we can also get better efficiency out of the existing system almost immediately. Put some of that Stimulus into TDM (Time for Plan B for Northern Virginia Traffic. Invest More in TDM, July 16, 2008). Since TDM is about operations it can be ramped up quickly with a quick return on investment. We need to get leaders to understand this too.

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County in the Transportation Division of the Department of Environmental Services, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.