CommuterPageBlog

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.

Where You Live Influences How Thin You Are

Here's some not-so-surprising news recently posted on USA TODAY's Better Life blog.  According to a study by the Active Living Research Program at San Diego State University, if you live in a neighborhood where you can easily walk to nearby shops, you are likely to be more active and thinner than if you live in a place where you have to drive everywhere! This is true no matter what income level the neighborhood.

Researchers looked at 32 neighborhoods in Seattle and Baltimore, based on income and walkability factors. About 2,200 people, ages 20 to 65, wore accelerometers to track physical activity. Findings indicated that people did 40 to 50 minutes more physical activity per week if they lived in neighborhoods designed for pedestrians. Participants were also less likely to be overweight or obese if they live in places that are walk-friendly.

Meanwhile, the same blog covers an appeal by more than 30 leading fitness and medical groups urging President Obama to promote the importance of physical activity to combat health problems and cost in the U.S. This USA TODAY Better Life blog post notes that even brisk walking can boost weight loss while trimming body fat.

Perhaps the President was doing some research on nearby walk-friendly neighborhoods, if not weight loss, when he and Vice President Biden traveled to Arlington last month for lunch at Ray's Hellburger, smack dab in the middle of the walkable Rosslyn-Courthouse metro corridor. Next time, maybe they'll ditch the limo and walk off their meal afterward!

Lauren Hassel handles outreach and promotions for WALKArlington, part of Arlington County Commuter Services in the Department of Environmental Services.

On Two Wheels or Two Feet

There is a website that bicycle riders might find useful or helpful or just plain interesting. It’s called bikewise and it’s run by the Cascade Bicycle Club out of Seattle, Washington. The basic premise, according to the "About Us" page on the site is the belief that "we can make biking safer and more fun by gathering good data on the things that sometimes go wrong." What could ever go wrong when riding a bike? Well, here, according to the site, are some of the categories they hope to track:

"Crashes: It's estimated that 75% or more of all crashes go unreported. We believe that by gathering detailed information on how and why crashes happen, we'll be able to ride smarter. Also, we hope that knowing where crash hotspots are will help us to identify issues with traffic behavior and road design.

"Hazards: How many times have you ridden past a dangerous sewer grate or overgrown vegetation and wished there were someplace to report it? Now there is. We aim to not only collect hazard reports, but to pass these on to the appropriate authorities. (Please note: we're still putting this part of the system in place.)

"Thefts: Tracking where and how bikes get stolen is a key part of making preventing thefts. We're currently working on other pieces of this system, so that if your bike does get stolen, you have a better chance of getting it back. More to come on that.”

As you can tell, the bikewise website is still very much a work in progress.  But they have lofty goals and some of their plans could encourage jurisdictions to change the way that they collect and manage data on bicycle-related incidents. And, yes, they do have sights outside of Seattle: "this site is meant to be useful anywhere in the world." Here is a listing of incidents reported to them across the United States.

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Now that the bridge trail is open is will be so easy to ride between Maryland and Virginia and to connect to so many really cool, scenic places along the Potomac. It will not however reduce commuter congestion across the Wilson Bridge as Channel 7 reported this past weekend... do those reporters think about what they are saying before they open their mouths? A five-foot high wall separates the trail from the cars and trucks on the beltway and there are several pull-off areas at which to take a break or just enjoy the view.

For those who want to give it a try there are some rules--actually several --that you need to be aware of:

• Hours of operation:  5:30 a.m. to midnight.
• Speed limit is 10 miles per hour.
• The trail is a multi-use facility for cyclists, runners and walkers.  Users must be considerate of others traveling at different speeds. Slower traffic should stay to the right. Cyclists must alert other trail users before passing.
• Trail users who stop must move to the side of the path to avoid impeding other trail traffic.
• A dashed yellow line separates directional traffic.
• The bridge drawspan may open periodically. Cyclists and pedestrians need to be pay attention to the lights, bells and signs near the bridge drawspan. The drawspan will not open until all traffic is a safe distance away.
• In an emergency, users should call 9-1-1. The closest and most appropriate responder from Maryland or Virginia will be dispatched. The Park Police Emergency Telephone Number is (301) 459-3232.
• The bridge trail and Maryland deckover are in close proximity to moving traffic.  It is illegal to throw debris or obstruct traffic in any way.
• Pets are allowed but must be on leashes and have proper licensing.
• Bicycle helmet laws will be enforced.
• Parking is available in designated areas only. No parking after dark.
  

Wilson Bridge photo: City of Alexandria's LocalMotion

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Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.

Events Highlight Walkable Rosslyn, Shirlington

Two events later this week highlight two great walkable neighborhoods in Rosslyn and Shirlington. 

Rosslyn Walkabout

On Friday, June 5 at 6:00 pm the Rosslyn BID and WALKArlington join forces to host the newest Walkabout (there are now 16 in all) - a one-mile walking tour of Arlington's gateway community. This one-hour guided tour takes walkers above, below, and through Rosslyn, returning in time to kick off the second month of Rosslyn's free Outdoor Film Festival"I Love the 80s" with a screening of "Weird Science." County Board Member Jay Fisette and BID Executive Director Cecilia Cassidy will lead the tour.

Attractions highlighted along the ten-stop Walkabout route include the green space of Gateway Park, head-turning public art, some of the region's tallest buildings, the world's third steepest elevator, and other superlatives at street level! The Rosslyn Walkabout is open to the public (all ages) and will take place rain or shine!  If you'd like to join the Walkabout, come to Gateway Park, between the east- and west-bound lanes of Lee Highway at the intersection of North Moore Street, by 5:45 p.m. on Friday, June 5. Participants will gather by the fountain in the Park and will head out promptly at 6:00 p.m.

 Walking Tour: Life Beyond the Orange Line in Shirlington

On Saturday, June 6 at 10:00 am the Coalition for Smarter Growth is sponsoring a tour given by County Board Member Chris Zimmerman. The discussion for the tour will center on the question: Is it possible to create a walkable, mixed-use community without Metro? Shirlington leaders and Mr. Zimmerman say yes and will use the tour to prove it. The tour will showcase a walkable, mixed-use community with culture, recreation and retail galore in a community served by a state of the art bus transit center and not rail.

RSVP by June 5 at 4:00 pm by calling Lauren at the Coalition for Smarter Growth at 202-244-4408 x125 or lauren@smartergrowth.net.

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter ServicesChief 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.

America's Fittest Cities: How You Get To Work Can Make a Difference; DC Area #1

From Forbes Magazine we find that the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area is America's fittest (America's Fittest Cities, May 26, 3009, by Rebecca Ruiz). According to Forbes the America's FIttest Cities List is sponsored by the WellPoint Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the health benefits company WellPoint. The index ranks 45 MSAs that include the city and surrounding suburban area on 30 indicators including parkland, death rate from cardiovascular disease, the number of primary care physicians per capita, health insurance coverage, smoking and diabetes rates and the percent of residents who bike or walk to work.

According to the American Fitness Index website, the Washington, D.C. region scores great on 24 of the 30 indicators compared to other cities including a "higher percent using public transportation to work" and a "higher percent bicycling and walking to work." While I realize that Washington would do good on this kind of scale because of it's great economy it is interesting to note that the AFI index takes how people get to work into account in its index and that of course our region scores well on these. It's also interesting to compare the top cities, where there is good public transit, versus the bottom of the list where driving seems to predominate.

There's certainly been an emerging consensus in recent scientific literature that correlates health and fitness with the use of public transit, biking and walking as a transportation mode. And this should be another incentive for people who drive alone to try something different for some of their trips. Want to find out yourself how many additional calories you can burn by switching drive alone trips to bike, walk or transit? Try the Calculator at CarFreeDiet.com.

America's Fittest Cities List

1. Washington, D.C.

2. Minneapolis-St. Paul

3. Denver

4. Boston

5. San Francisco

6. Seattle

7. Portland, OR

8. San Diego

9. Austin

10. Virginia Beach

...

19. Baltimore

...

41. Houston

42. Las Vegas

43. Birmingham

44. Detroit

45. Oklahoma City

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter ServicesChief 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.

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

America's Top 25 Walking Cities

We love these kind of lists. And Prevention Magazine brought together some very good experts to put together the latest list of the Top 25 Walking Cities in the U.S (Meet Our Walking Cities, May 12, 2009, Prevention Magazine). Washington, D.C. ranks #6 because its "extensive public transit system makes it easy to hoof it around the city and its nearby suburbs." The experts include:

• Dan Burden, who has examined walking, bicycling, and transportation conditions in 2,500 cities and founded Walkable Communities, Inc.
• David Levinger, a consultant who studies how transportation, health and community work together and who was Executive Director of Feet First, a pedestrian advocacy group.
• Reid Ewing, a research professor at the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland who recently authored "Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change."

And America's Top 25 Walking Cities are:

1. San Francisco
2. Boston
3. New York
4. Philadelphia
5. Chicago
6. Washington, D.C.
7. Seattle
8. Honolulu
9. Portland, OR
10. Pittsburgh
11. Oakland
12. Minneapolis
13. San Diego
14. Los Angeles
15. Milwaukee
16. Baltimore
17. Rochester
18. Santa Ana
19. San Jose
20. Denver
21. Columbus
22. New Orleans
23. Austin
24. Sacramento
25. Tucson

Chris Hamilton is the Commuter ServicesChief 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.

The Underground View of Beantown

I spent several days recently in Boston and it really made me appreciate what we have here. At the same time, I have to admit that the subway in Boston does have one or two advantages. First of all it has a one-fare payment system that makes it very easy for those not familiar with it to use. You pay two dollars whether you are going two stops or twenty. Watching the other touristy types gathered around the fare machines it was obvious that this was a much better system than the time and distance method we've been suffering with since 1976. No big charts were on the walls telling passengers what the fare was going to be to which stations during what time of day and none of them were arguing with each other about how much fare they needed on their cards. It was two dollars there and two dollars back and that was it. The other thing was that the blue line goes to a depot close to the airport. From there you hop on a free shuttle bus that takes you right to the ticketing area for your airline. Compared to a more than thirty dollar cab ride (including $7.50 for the tunnel and $2.75 for something else) the rail was a bargain and that doesn't even account for the lack of sitting in traffic that might be heavy or might be real heavy depending on the day and time.

On the down side, some of the trains on the Green Line of Boston's "T" are old warhorses that have a number of different levels and seating areas and are not very friendly to those with mobility limitations. It had rained one of the days that we were there and there were a number of areas that were blocked off by cones protecting buckets being used to catch the water dripping from the ceilings. One elevator door was practically blocked by a pile of rags and paper towels that someone had thrown down in an attempt to sop up the water that had gathered there. And this was not at some station out in the middle of nowhere; this was at the stop for the Prudential Center right in the heart of the city. I can't imagine crews from Washington's Metro allowing similar conditions to exist for that length of time at Farragut North. Admittedly, many of the stations in the system are being renovated and things will certainly be nicer by the end of the year. But in the meantime it does not leave a visitor with a very positive image of the city's transit operation.

The other thing that I found really annoying although it was unrelated to the transit system was the timing of the pedestrian countdown signals. Despite what they said in the movie "This is Spinal Tap" Boston really IS a college town with a young and vibrant population in many areas. But the countdown signals seemed timed more for the track teams at those colleges. One signal on Huntington Avenue started at 14 seconds for us to cross six lanes of roadway and the train tracks. It was nowhere near enough time and, more often than not, people would stop at the mid-point and wait for the next cycle to come around. It makes you wonder what they were thinking when the signals were first set up and whether or not they are ever updated to reflect actual needs.

On the positive side I have to say that those riding the trains in Boston are a lot friendlier than the folks here in Washington who plop themselves down and don't move until it's time to leave. I lost count of how many times passengers on both the green and the blue lines of Boston's T got up to offer their seats to others who appeared to be in need. These were not people sitting in the handicapped priority seats but rather those in regular seats in the middle of the cars. Young and old gave their seats to others who needed them. It really was heartening to see. Then I got home and watched elderly and those with crutches or canes have to stand while young and able-bodied people sat in their seats like a lion over a kill. I realize that as nice as our subway system is, we have a ways to go when it comes to being nice ourselves.

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Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.

Pedestrians and Cyclists Count

Arlington County transportation programs BikeArlington and WALKArlington are looking for volunteers to help count bicyclists and pedestrians in Arlington County on May 7th and 9th.  This regular data collection is fundamental research, part of a national project to document walking and cycling as modes of transportation.  Building long-term support for walking and cycling requires collecting regular, high-quality data on usage and demand.  More information about the national project can be found at http://bikepeddocumentation.org.  Think of them as traffic counts - without the traffic.

Observations are made at shared-use paths, along sidewalks, and at on-road bike lanes.  Many of the sites are easily accessible by Metro, and Arlington will provide materials and easy-to-follow training.  Shifts are two hours long, morning (7-9 AM) and evening (4-6 PM) on Thursday, May 7th, and noon to 2:00 PM on Saturday, May 9th. In addition to tracking cyclists and pedestrians, volunteers may choose to record additional observations, such as the percentage of cyclists wearing helmets, or those wearing "normal" clothes.

To express interest in helping with this study, email David Patton at bikearlington@arlingtonva.us.

David Patton is a Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner for Arlington County.

Progress of Sorts

A few weeks ago the District's Department of Transportation and its police department announced that they were initiating stiff new rules relative to drivers not allowing pedestrians the time or space needed to cross the street. At the time I was skeptical because the Metropolitan Police Department doesn't have the best record when it comes to enforcement of basic safety laws. Yesterday was an eye opener.

I was driving my car in the left lane as we approached a traffic signal for a one-way street that was going right to left in front of us. The queue was only about five or six vehicles waiting to make the left turn and there were a number of people in the crosswalk. Sure enough, some guy who was far too busy to wait for those five or six cars to make their turn, comes up in the center lane and started to make a left turn.  The problem was that he really couldn't see all of the pedestrians in the crosswalk and he ended up very close to them AND in the crosswalk itself. This is the definition of what city officials were trying to avoid when they passed these stiffer penalties. But this guy was in for a surprise.

Sitting in her police cruiser on M Street within full view of the intersection the officer saw everything. As the driver made if through the crosswalk (without striking anyone) she turned on her lights and bleeped her siren and told the driver via her PA system to pull over to the side of the road. At the time I though this was great but that she was probably going to do little more than give him a stern talking to and that would be the end of it. Nope. She pulled out her ticket book and proceeded to write him up. I really wanted to pull up next to her and thank her for the effort but figured that I'd just let it go.

Walking across the street shouldn't be a death-defying act.

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There is an interesting piece on the website of the Environmental Defense Fund called "The Case for Investing in Transit." The opening states that our transportation system is at a crossroads because car travel has started to decline and transit ridership has increased dramatically. As we knew from some recent studies this is not just a response to four dollar a gallon gasoline although the general economic downturn may have an impact. People are taking a serious look at where their money is going and are trying to figure out where they can make cuts in their budgets.

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Highway deaths are down. In fact, 43 states showed improvements in the number of fatalities they experienced on their roads. Here again, one might think that the high price of fuel last summer and the economy would be keeping people off the roads but, according to a study by the Governors Highway Safety Association, the number of vehicle miles traveled during 2008 declined less than the percentage decline in fatalities.

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Steve Eldridge is a long-time reporter, observer and commentator on the Washington region's transportation issues. You can contact him directly by writing to: Steve@SprawlandCrawl.com. Unless otherwise requested, letters or portions of letters can be used within future columns. Letter writers will be identified by their first name and city/neighborhood.