Category: Construction

Replacement of the Monroe Street Bridge is a Lost Opportunity for #BikeDC

The Brookland Homecoming Bridge
Image: Author

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) held a meeting at the Luke C. Moore High School in NE regarding the replacement of the Monroe Street Bridge over the Baltimore and Ohio railway and Metrorail Red line in August.The meeting gave about 30 members of the public an opportunity to comment on the structure and the improvements that will be made.

By improvements, the bridge will look identical to how it now appears, maybe less colorful with wider sidewalks, relatively unchanged from the plan presented about a year ago.

This bridge could have been more. The District had the opportunity to build a better bridge that served multiple users and allowed for safer access to the Metropolitan Branch Trail and the Brookland and Edgewood communities. It could have been an attractive structure that provides a symbol of its the past and connects a budding arts district with its future. Unfortunately, what we will have a bridge that crosses tracks, that lacks character and potentially doesn’t make crossing it any easier or safer – for the next 75 years.
History
The bridge connects to Historic District neighborhoods Brookland and Edgewood NE. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873 created the Metropolitan Branch, which connected Point of Rocks, MD with the District, and the physical barrier that separates Brookland from Edgewood today. Monroe Street connects the old commercial strip of  12th Street NE, Brooks Mansion, and ‘downtown’ Brookland with the Catholic University of America, Dance Place and the newer residences and businesses and just over the bridge. Between them, the Red line’s Brookland Station helps get people around the region, when it runs.

Rendering of New Old Monroe Street Bridge
Image: DDOT
Many in the community see the bridge as a focal point as residents worked with artists to paint and adorn it with artwork. Also, Monroe Street is one of only six streets along a 3.3-mile corridor that provides an east/west connection north of New York Avenue and south of Riggs Road NE, making it important to bicyclists and motorists.
The Monroe Street
Image: Author

The “What Could Have Been” 
Several years ago, DDOT and Toole Design proposed an alternative alignment of the Metropolitan  Branch Trail. Then, the Edgewood side of the bridge was largely undeveloped, consisting of a vacant lot. The planned assumed that when the Monroe Street Bridge was replaced, an opening would be made in the bridge abutment allowing the trail to continue under Monroe in a tunnel, as the rendering below  illustrates.
The “What Could Have Been Trail” tunnel
Image: Toole Design
According to Katie Harris of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), the tunnel option was excluded from consideration. Last year, the DDOT engineering team assigned to the bridge rehabilitation stated that the District neglected to acquire the right-of-way on the south side of the bridge. When design option show above was presented in 2004, the lot at the corner of 8th Street and Monroe Street on the south side of the bridge was unimproved. The Edgewood Art Center now sits too close to the bridge abutment, making it expensive and technically difficult to construct a tunnel.
Planned Replacement
The DDOT states that the existing Monroe Street Bridge was built in 1931 and underwent a major rehabilitation in 1974 and emergency repairs in 2014 and 2015. However, with the bridge’s current condition, DDOT states reconstructing the superstructure and partial substructure of the bridge is more cost effective than repair it or completely replacing it. The replacement bridge will cost approximately $12.7 million and include the major elements above as well as other minor improvements. These include the placement power lines underground, new steel mesh fencing, and improved curb cuts and other streetscape changes.
Figure 1.
Image DDOT
Figure 1 illustrates the typical orientation of the bridge during reconstruction. The reconstruction should begin in August of 2017 and last just under 2 years, ending in March of 2019. The bridge will be replaced in halves, with at least two travel lanes in each direction remaining open at all times. Sidewalk access should be available but alternate on the north and south sides accordingly. DDOT will have personnel to maintain traffic flow.
DDOT proposes that bicyclists share the travel lanes with cars and buses, placing signage along the bridge to inform motorists that bicyclists may use the full lane”. Without turning lanes, access to the Metropolitan Branch Trail and 8th Street from or across Monroe could be challenging, especially during rush hour and when buses turn in the the Brookland CUA Metrorail station. Additionally, non-motorist traveling from or to Monroe Market or the Arts’ walk may see that during contraction, most of the north side of the street blocked. This would force pedestrians and bicyclists to share the west side crosswalk. As the parking lane would be converted to a travel lane and without a signal, crossing could be difficult.
Figure 2
Image: DDOT
Figure 2 shows that the rebuilt bridge will have a configuration similar to the current bridge, each bike lane will be 5 feet wide, sidewalks 6 feet wide, and vehicular travel lanes 11 feet wide.
While most concluded that the replacement of the bridge was needed, the community voiced concerns regarding something not directly part of the bridge reconstruction, the addition of a traffic signal at 8th and Monroe Street. Motorists were concerned that a signal at that location would create gridlock during rush hour. Bicyclists were also concerned that the when starting from a standing stop, the sharp incline at the foot of the budget at 8th Street be difficult for most bike users traveling eastbound. During construction, the problem would be exacerbated as there would be no stop sign at 8th so motorists would be encouraged to travel at speed through the constriction zone. On the bridge, bicyclists would have curb to the right, on coming traffic to the left, and cars and buses behind them.
DDOT says that after construction, it will evaluate traffic patterns and make a change to signal timing if necessary. The signal will be timed, based on standard rush hour intervals, and will be monitored so that if backups occur, the signal can be controlled manually. There was discussion regarding alternative traffic control methods like a HAWK signal or stop signs; however, the DDOT representative stated that traffic studies recommended a signal. 
The community was also concerned about the planned bridge aesthetics. Currently, a mural exists on the the edges of the bridge, Made by local artists, the community was concerned that this would be removed with nothing created in its place. DDOT stated that the current mural would not be maintained but that the community should contact the Commission on Arts and Humanities to determine if or how some artistic element could be reflected.

New York Avenue Streetscape Project Meeting Shows Draft Concepts and A Lot of Potential

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) held a public meeting on Thursday, June 29, 2017, 6 pm through 8 pm to discuss the New York Avenue Streetscape and Trail Project draft final concepts. The ideas that DDOT proposes could be the catalyst need to create not only a transportation link to Ivy City and the Arboretum but, potentially a linear park in an area that has few public amenities.

Overview
The purpose of the meeting in the atrium of REI was to solicit public feedback regarding the development of design solutions for the proposed revitalization of New York Avenue and to comply with Vision Zero elements of safety enhancement and improved the aesthetic character along the corridor. The meeting was an open house format with a brief presentation given by DDOT staff or project contractors.

The presentation boards covered a lot of material, most of which is used only to illustrate what amenities and structures under consideration by DDOT. To be clear, not everything displayed on the boards will happen initially (or at all)  but show what could be built if funding and community support materialize. When viewing this post, also view the recent post regarding the VRE Midday Train Storage Facility. To build its facility, VRE will acquire at least three properties along the New York Avenue Trail route and work with DDOT and its partners to create a trail and a barrier.

DDOT displayed about 10 presentation boards, with a couple over 10 feet long, showing the project’s length along New York Avenue from Florida to 16th Street NE. While I tried to get good photos of every board, I didn’t. DDOT stated that meeting documents, including the presentation boards, will be available the week of July 4 on the project website. Once they are, I may revisit some proposals not discussed in this post. As such, let’s discuss some of the major changes from prior meetings, of which there are quite a few.

Routing Highlights
While the previous public meeting held April 25, 2017 showed generalized conceptual drawings, the presentation boards at this meeting provided more detail regarding the proposed route along New York Avenue, streets that connect to it, and how DDOT envisions its aesthetics. Where the prior plans showed directions, the most recent meeting contain designations for bike trails, streetscape elements, some pedestrian elements, or shared use paths. The meeting was billed as a final design but the presentation boards were illustrative and not necessarily how the it will appear. Nevertheless, the illustrations provided a fair amount of detail regarding planting, lighting, and potential facilities.

The current trail travels from its east end at Bladensburg Road, NE; crosses the complicated West Virginia, Montana, and New York Avenue Circle; and turns in a southerly direction on West Virginia Avenue to 16th Street NE. The trail travels a couple block up 16th Street, reconnecting to New York Avenue where it crosses to the north side of the street until it reaches the Florida Avenue NE. Unless otherwise noted, all images are courtesy of DDOT.

In the segment above near the project’s endpoint at Bladensburg Avenue, NE, the proposal calls for the rebuilding of the sidewalks along both the north and south sides of the street. The northern side contains a typical sidewalk while the southern side contains a shared use trail. DDOT has stated that the southern side of the street will be a trail constructed as part of NewCityDC, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project. In the lower right corner, 17th Street NW would have a bi-directional protected bike lane that connects Montana Avenue and a reconstructed T Place NE with West Virginia Avenue, perhaps to avoid the intersection below.

DDOT has provided more detail regarding how pedestrians and bicyclists will cross this complex circle at Montana, West Virginia, and New York Avenues. The image above shows that a bike path and sidewalk are on the southern side of the circle, which also contains trees, bushes, and other streetscape elements. Instead of using the 1600 block of New York Avenue as a trail, the design instead places a shared use path along West Virginia Avenue for about two blocks. The path then turns onto 16th Street NE, passing Okie Street and the shops along it, returning back to New York.

The image above shows a straightforward connection to the 9th Street NE bridge in the form of a ramp and stair. This would replace the communal paths made by users attempting to reach New York Avenue without walking a extra half of a mile along the sidewalk on the street that connects the two.  What the proposed improvements apparently do not do is widen the sidewalk on the south side of New York Avenue below 9th Street, which is only around three feet wide.

The presentation also made connections from the trail to the Arboretum. The plan calls for shared lanes from the rebuilt T Place NE, along 24th Street, and then to the R Street entrance.

Potential Future Connections
The plan proposes several connections to the trail that were not articulated in prior meetings. These additions should be considered alternatives and will not necessarily appear in the final design.

The most intriguing potential future addition listed in the proposal is the construction of a separate bike and pedestrian tunnel below New York Avenue near 4th Street NE. This would be a brand new tunnel, separate for the currently abandoned tunnel integral to the Virginia Railway Express’ (VRE) Midday Storage Yard plan. This new connection with the Union Market area would extend the trail along Penn and 4th Street NE to connect with the current 6th Street trail near Gallaudet University and proposed improvements on Florida Avenue, NE.

The tunnel would likely use the “cut and cover” method, which would dig a trench across New York Avenue, roughly parallel with the existing VRE tunnel. While costs were not included in the presentation, planners estimated that the total cost of the tunnel alone would exceed $13 million.

At the New York Avenue Bridge, which runs over the southern sections of the Ivy City Yard and Metro’s Red Line, the proposal calls for the widening of the sidewalks on the north side of the bridge. After narrowing some of the travel lanes, unidirectional protected bike lanes would be added in north and south of the bridge to include a protected bike lane in each direction and vantage point to see the tracks and potentially, once built, NoMa Green below.

On the north side of the bridge, a proposed ramp connection allows users to reach the Metropolitan Branch Trail. On the south side, there is a stair connection to the trail, different than the current stairs the lead to the Elevation apartments or the Washington Gateway project’s bike lobby proposal. The stairs would contain a bike ramp to help users carry their bikes.

What it’s missing
DDOT look is working to create a new trail that connects a long neglected area with the rest of the city. What’s missing is something for those who currently live their. This isn’t necessarily the new arrivals in the Hecht District but the people who have lived in Ivy City for decades and for the families in ad hoc homeless shelters in New York Avenue hotels.  While the underused Arboretum and an adjacent recreation center are nearby, the trail should include something to draw area residents and visitors to it, not just through it.

This could include artwork similar to what was shown in the VRE Midday Trail Storage facility as well as exercise stations and children play areas. Bio-retention, solar arrays, and small shelter for events could be added, as well as the customary benches and bike parking. This would require coordination with other District agencies like the Department of Energy and the Environment and the Department of Parks and Recreation, and potentially an area business Improvement District to help maintain and produce programming for it, but it could be accomplished with not much more effort.

What do you think should be added? Post your thoughts in the comments section below or send a message at @BikeSpecific.

Below are additional images taken at the meeting.

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.

DDOT Eyes Section of MLK Avenue SE for Revitalization

Current conditions near MLK and Milwaukee Pl SE
Image: Google

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will hold a public meeting concerning the revitalization of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Avenue SE in Congress Heights. The meeting will be held at the R.I.S.E Demonstration Center, 2730 MLK Jr. Avenue SE, on Wednesday, May 31, 2017, from 6:30p to 8:00p.

This 1.1 mile revitalization project could be the first step in improving the bicycle network in this area: allowing youth to get to schools along MLK Avenue by bike; people to travel to and from the commercial corridor and the current and planned improvements at the St. Elizabeths site; and bike commuters who use MLK to connect to downtown by bike.

The aim of this initial meeting is to gather community comments about the street and present alternative revitalization options. Specifically, the project hopes to comply with elements of the #VisionZero initiative by improving the transportation network, reduce interactions between pedestrians and vehicles, and enhance the corridor’s aesthetics with street and sidewalk modifications.

The project corridor is one of the few streets that allow cyclists to connect with the rest of the District from its most southern sections to downtown. The #MoveDC bicycle plan proposed bike lanes for this section of MLK Avenue, from Alabama Avenue south until it meets with South Capitol Street. Those lanes were added in 2015 and travel mostly in a residential section of the corridor, starting just south of 4th Street SE. The area north of Alabama Avenue contains no bike lanes and contains the neighborhood’s commercial corridor. The project corridor contains at least 5 schools within two blocks of MLK Avenue.

As more people use bicycling as a transportation alternative, the need for bike lanes on major corridors has also increased. The project corridor contains one 10-dock Capital Bikeshare station located at Alabama and MLK Avenue SE. Two other Bikeshare stations lie outside of the project corridor at Atlantic and South Capitol Streets and near the Congress Heights Metrorail Station. Some residents and those who work near or along the corridor use bike share as the “last mile” connection to the Metrorail Green Line stations at Congress Heights, while some continue to the Anacostia Station or beyond.

Public Meeting for Pennsylvania & Potomac Avenues SE Intersection Improvement Project

DDOT will once again discuss alternatives for
this complex intersection
Image: DDOT

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) invites you to attend an informational meeting about the Pennsylvania Avenue SE and Potomac Avenue SE intersection improvement project. The meeting will be Thursday, June 1 from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Hill Center (Abraham Lincoln Hall, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

According to DDOT, the meeting will allow residents, visitors, and those in between the opportunity to learn about, and comment on, the proposed design concepts associated with this intersection. Specifically, the project will look at how pedestrians can successfully cross as many as 8 lanes of vehicular traffic. This intersection is a hub for Metrobus, containing at about 9 routes as this location feeds the Silver, Orange, and Blue lines at the Potomac Avenue Metrorail station. Given the increasing transportation share of bicycling, DDOT may also include bicycling facilities, which were absent from earlier conceptual drawings.

Like so many projects, this isn’t the first time DDOT has looks at this particular intersection. After a series of community meetings, the initial scoping meeting was held in January of 2013 where DDOT and the public discussed problems associated with the area. This was followed by a November 2014, and a January 2015 meeting. The Final Environmental Assessment and Project Decision was to be issued in the Spring/Summer of 2016. While previous alternatives did not specifically include bicycling infrastructure, the public did. They included adding bikeshare stations, creating separate bike lanes through the intersection, additional bike parking, and adding wayfinding signage.

In 2014, Greater Greater Washington contributors Veronica (O) Davis and Brian (@gearprudence) McEntee discussed the three designs DDOT proposed: a oval, a square, or a parallelogram, otherwise known as an ellipse. The ellipse, they determined, created the most green space and reduces the number of bus stops from five to 4.

The Davis/McEntee perferred Alternative
Image: DDOT

The project is a part of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) Program, which hopes to transform the shores of the Anacostia River into world-class waterfront. This means that the control of this intersection isn’t under the complete control of DDOT but must also include feedback from the National Park Service, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, National Capital Planning Commission, State Historic Preservation Office, and the defenders of historic viewsheds, the Commission of Fine Arts.

If you can attend, please tell what happened or what you hope to see.