Author: uno000

Travel Website Reward Expert Lists its Top 10 US Cities to Explore by Bike

Popsicles (91 of 108)
The District ranks 5th among the 2017’s Best
Destinations to Explore by Bike
Image: Author

The District is considered one of the best places for tourists and other explorers to bike ride, according to a report by the travel site Reward Expert.

While most studies like this are more or less based on the feelings of the author, this one uses good a methodology that the District could use to evaluate its progress at the ward or community level.

The District’s Rank
The site compared 53 of the largest cities in the country and using 13 metrics across four categories to determine a full ranking of the most bike-friendly cities.

The District was ranked 5th with a score of 91.8, just edging out the former bicycling infrastructure leader, Portland which had a score of 90.6, and miles behind 4th place New York and Chicago, tied with a score of 93.3. The site notes that one of the main reasons for the District high rank is its Capital BikeShare program, one of the nation’s largest. The District also tied for first when it comes to safety as it averages 1.6 fatalities per 10,000 bike commuters annually.

Where the District struggles is with its bike infrastructure, where it is ranked 28 out of 53 other cities. This suggests that the year-over-year additions to bike facilies as well as the number of bike lanes is lower than the top 4 cities. Also, although BikeShare is expanding rapidly across the District with 463 bikes per 10,000 commuters in its fleet, the methodology dings us as it compares the number of actual bikes and the number of stations per capita equally.

A Thorough Methodology
Reward Expert used a fairly comprehensive methodology to create its ranking score using U.S. cities with more than 300,000 residents. As mentioned, the site grouped ‘Bikeability’ using four overall metrics or dimensions:

1) City Profile
2) Bike Safety
3) Biking Infrastructure
4) Bike-Share Programs

They identified 13 metrics or indicators in respective dimensions, weighting them accordingly. Each metric was given a value between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for travel and zero the least. Finally, they calculated the overall score for each city using the weighted average across all metrics and ranked the cities accordingly. The metrics are as follows:

City Profile – 20 Points

  • Bikeability: Full Weight (5.0%) 
  • Number of Pleasant Days Per Year: Half Weight (2.5%) 
  • Percent of Commuters who Bike: Half Weight (2.5%) 
  • Annualized Change of Commuters Who Bike To Work: Double Weight (10.0%)

Biking Infrastructure – 40 Points

  • Miles of Protected Bike Lanes: Weight 10.0% 
  • Miles of Unprotected Bike Lanes: Weight 5.0% 
  • Miles of Paved Biking Paths: Full Weight 3.0% 
  • Miles of Bike Lanes per Square Mile: Weight 2.0% 
  • Annualized Change of Bike Lanes per Square Mile: Weight 20.0%


Biking Share Index – 25 Points

  • Number of Bikes in Program Fleet per capita: Full Weight (12.5%) 
  • Number of Bike Stations per capita: Full Weight (12.5%)

Biking Safety – 15 Points

  • Pedestrian/Biker fatalities per 10,000 commuters: Weight 5.0% 
  • Annualized Change of pedestrian/Biker Fatalities per 10,000 commuters: Weight 10.0%

How DDOT Could Use a Ranking System
One of the shortcomings of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) with regard to the installation of bicycling facilities is that they do not appear to use – or at least share with the public – a methodology to determine an area’s needs. While they do occasionally share study information, those studies tends to focus on overall road throughput or safety instead of the strengths or weaknesses of a community’s bike facilities.

Another problem is that DDOT has added bike infrastructure where they could do so easily, not necessarily because it was needed. While there are advantages to this approach, the lack of any quantitative ranking mechanism makes it easier for some to reject projects that could be highly beneficial or providing more bike facilities to communities that are already great for bicycling.

By measuring District Wards or communities using score or a methodology similar to the Reward Expert study, DDOT could rank areas and bike needs so that all road users could understand how their areas stack up. Also, it would provide residents some idea of the bike inventory and why they should or should not receive additional bicycle facilities. Funds could then be redirected toward outreach and other resources of traditionally undeserved communities.

 The entire list of the top 53 cities, as well as the article, can be found here.

DDOT to Hold Public Meeting on the Reconstruction of Southern Avenue SE

Southern Avenue at Southview Drive
Image: Googe

The District Department of Transportation will hold a meeting Thursday, June 15, 2017, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm to discuss with the community the proposed reconstruction of Southern Avenue SE. The meeting will be held at the United Medical Center Hospital, 1310 Southern Avenue SE, Conference Room 2.

According to DDOT, the purpose of the project is to improve vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian safety by enhancing the existing road condition along Southern Avenue. This section of Southern Avenue is used as a connector between the South Capitol and East Capital Streets and tends to have vehicles traveling above the posted speed limits. Southern Avenue and Southview Drive, on the border of the District and and Oxon Hill, is number 2 of the top twenty-five most dangerous interesections. 

The total approximately 1.4 mile project will have two phases: The first phase is from South Capitol Street to Barnaby Road SE, and the second is from Barnaby Road to United Medical Center on Southern Avenue. Also include in the project is the replacement of a vehicular bridge at the intersection of South Capitol Street SE over Winkle Doodle Branch.

DDOT Proposes its 2017 Bike Projects – Well – Some of Them

Planning for More
Image: Author

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) unveiled its 2017 proposed bike projects for this calendar year.  The plan includes the creation of approximately seven miles of new bicycle lanes that could be installed in 2017. These include extensions of the 1st and M Street, NE, cycle tracks, filling gaps in existing lanes and a neighborhood bikeway in Ward 4.

The plan does not include all proposed DDOT certain trail improvements like the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail or DDOT’s current studies like a potential new north-south cycle track in the eastern downtown area or projects in the early planning stages like the NoMa bicycle study.

The map below and the accompanying list shows the those projects that are most likely to occur at this time but is not an exhaustive list and doesn’t include all current facilities or the re-stripping of current lanes. If you have questions or would like DDOT to consider additional facility improvements contact Mike Goodno, the DDOT Bicycle Program Manager.

DDOT Planning Study of New York Avenue/South Dakota Avenue Interchange Underway

An intersection that is (almost) impossible for ped and bikes to
use gets a look.
Image: Author

The District Department of Transportation issued a scope of work document that will consider the rebuilding of the New York Avenue/South Dakota Avenue Interchange in the Fort Lincoln and Gateway sections of the District. An area long neglected, this could be an opportunity to create a bicycle and pedestrian connection from Fort Lincoln and Gateway to the National Arboretum, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, Deanwood, and the completed Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and connect with other proposed trails and other improvements along the New York Avenue corridor.

In its early planning stages, the South Dakota Avenue and New York Avenue NE Interchange Improvement Study will look at the current conditions and propose what a funded project would correct. The initial document, under development by the design firm of STV Incorporated and its partners, will propose the scope of services for development and preparation of a comprehensive interchange study.

The study area is separated into two sections – the primary interchange and the adjacent secondary road, railway, street, and trail structures.

Project Area
Image: STV Scope of Work Document

The primary study, which focuses almost exclusively on the interchange and includes New York Avenue and its connection to South Dakota, Fort Lincoln Drive and a small part of V Street, is outlined in red and includes the following:

  • New York Avenue/South Dakota Avenue interchange
  • V Street/South Dakota Avenue and the New York Avenue off-ramp intersection
  • South Dakota Avenue/33rd Place NE intersection
  • South Dakota between New York Avenue and 33rd Place NE

The secondary study area is outlined in blue is bounded by the following:

  • The intersection of Bladensburg Road, NE and South Dakota Avenue, NE
  • The intersection of Bladensburg Road, NE and New York Avenue, NE
  • The development and roadways that serve the development surrounding 33rd Place, NE
  • The entrance and exit ramps for New York Avenue, NE from I-295 and John Hanson Highway
  • The railroad running adjacent to New York Avenue, NE between Bladensburg Road, NE and the entrance and exit ramps for New York Avenue, NE from I-295 and John Hanson Highway

Conditions

According to the Washington Post, dozens of town homes, and senior apartments developments have been built there since 1971. The area has the largest senior community in the District. With the arrival of the Shops at Dakota Crossing, hundreds of new residential units along with new retail will bring more people. Although there is a trail that runs along South Dakota Avenue from Bladensburg Road, most people get around by car.

When people say “you can’t get there from here”, they are talking about the man-made and natural barriers that prevent people from walking or biking from Fort Lincoln in Ward 5 to Deanwood in Ward 7. Generally, walking around Fort Lincoln isn’t particularly good as the combined Woodridge-Fort Lincoln walk score appears to be a rather generous 57 and a bike score of 49 with Deanwood a little worse at 55 and 47, respectively. Only cars using the often congested interchange New York Avenue connection with the Baltimore-Washington Parkway can travel there as there is also no Metrobus route that makes this connection. Some have resorted to using the highway shoulder, but that’s not a particularly safe or pleasant way to go, which is unfortunate given the needs of both communities.

The following images show the current conditions and the absence of any bike or pedestrian connections.

Intersection of South Dakota and 33 Place NE
Image: Author

View of New York Avenue as it passes over South Dakota interchange
Image: Auther

South Dakota Avenue at V Street
Image: Author

New York Avenue and exit lane

Proposal

DDOT consultants will develop and evaluate interchange alternatives that accommodate current and projected demands, traffic operational and safety issues. The findings of this report will be the basis of subsequent environmental or other related reports and create the alternatives to be displayed at public meetings, if the project moves forward.

The study will consider MoveDC, Vision Zero and other transportation-related initiatives to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. This includes Maryland State Highway Administration plans for New York Avenue/US 50, Fort Lincoln redevelopment plans, the Lincoln Gateway Trail, and the DC State Rail Plan.The study will also assess the ease of access to key destinations in the area including shopping and community services, as well as anticipated desire lines for access to new development parcels.

The study will also identify gaps in connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists as the current intersection contains “hard” and “soft” barriers to travel. Hard barriers are railroads, waterways, and freeways or roads with pedestrian/bicycle prohibitions. Soft barriers are primarily streets that are difficult to cross. The project will attempt to locate the best potential routes and assess crosswalk widths using DDOT standards. This initial study and evaluation period is scheduled to conclude September 2017 and will be followed by initial community meetings.

The Wheels Keep Turning on the Long Bridge

Long Bridge Project Scope
Image: DDOT

At the most recent public meeting for the Long Bridge Study, the bazillion alternatives for the replacement of the two track span were reduced to seven. Of those seven options, a bicycle connection is included in three.

The Long Bridge project replaces, well, you guessed it, an aging long bridge. This bridge serves as primarily as a freight rail connector but also as a growing transportation corridor for Amtrak’s intercity passengers rail system and, the Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail (MARC) and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter rail services.

According to the Long Bridge Project site, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) are working cooperatively to complete a comprehensive study for the rehabilitation or replacement of the Long Bridge over the Potomac River, owned by CSX Transportation. The 3.2-mile study area begins in Arlington, Virginia and extends northeast, along the existing rail alignment in the District of Columbia, east of L’Enfant.

Untitled
The Long Bridge
Image: Author

Specifically, the project corridor begins just past the I-395/Center-Leg Freeway, along the Virginia Avenue, SW viaduct past L’Enfant Plaza, and across the Potomac River at Long Bridge Park near Roaches Run. The project seeks to build rail capacity for 2040, when freight and passenger rail traffic would likely doubled from the current average of 76 weekday trains. This is the only Potomac River rail bridge that connects the District with Virginia, with the next closest crossing of the Potomac between Maryland and Harper’s Ferry, WV.

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Long Bridge ‘Level 1 Concept Screening’
Image: Author

The objective of the May 16th “Level 1 Concept Screening” meeting was to receive public comment on the resulting concepts based on three screening criteria. The three criteria are Railroad Capacity, Network Connectivity, and resiliency and redundancy and contain several steps, conditions, and requirements. The criteria excluded tunnel options as they would be too costly or technical infeasible, options that included roads or street cars as those options do not appear on jurisdictional plans, or the selection of another crossing location as that would be impractical and wouldn’t serve the needs of passenger rail users and lacks connections for other modes.

The project considered 19 alternatives,
those highlighted in Green are the “Retained Concepts”
Image: Author

After the implementation of the criteria recommendations, the twelve alternatives were reduced to seven, with one being the required ‘no build’ alternative. The remaining six alternatives contain 3, 4 or 5 track-only options. Of those options, 3 included bike facilities. While there were no renderings at this presentation, crossing options for bikes could include spans that are connected or directly adjacent to the rail bridges or is an unconnected span several feet away. Bike infrastructure may exists beyond just the span over the Potomac. Planners state that bike connections and facilities could be included as part of the rebuilding of the viaduct and the L’Enfant VRE (potentially MARC) station; connections near the Tidal Basin and East Potomac Park; and direct bike connections to Crystal City or the Mount Vernon Trail.

Now in phase 3, the next steps include a Detailed Alternatives Screening from now until Winter 2018; a Draft EIS – Spring 2018 – Fall 2018; a Draft EIS Public Hearing – Fall 2018 – Winter 2019 (Public Comment) followed by a Record of Decision in the Spring of 2019. If you have comments on the alternatives use the comment form or email info@longbridgeproject.com.