DDOT – Page 5 – bikeSpecific

A Closer Look at the FY 2018 – 2022 DDOT STIP

The DDOT STIP is a 4-year Transporation Plan.
Photo: Author

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented its draft Fiscal Year 2018 – 2022 State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), Monday, October 2 at the Shaw Public Library. The plan includes several important projects like the continued rehabilitation of Rock Creek and Capital Bikeshare maintenance and expansion, but there were a few missing.

The $1.1 billion Draft Fiscal Year 2018-2022 STIP is a District-wide, long-range funding plan that prioritized transportation projects that are eligible for federal grant funding. The projects listed are consistent with the District’s statewide transportation plan, also known as moveDC, which differs from STIP as it doesn’t allocate funding.

The STIP tracks federally funded and regionally-significant projects that directly address the transportation needs of the District. The STIP is produced every two years and is a cooperative effort that requires the input of District stakeholders, regional partners, and the public. The STIP does not include projects that are funded exclusively through local resources, which would include elements of the District’s Streetcar or Circulator projects. The full list of projects can be seen here.

The plan contains 117 projects and while many are allocated by ward, the majority deal with District-wide operational or administrative needs. The STIP has nine project categories that include Major Multimodal improvements, which build key transportation corridors, typically addressing travel by a mix of modes (including transit, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian), operations, safety, curbside uses, and public space quality; to Asset Management, which maintains and upgrades transportation assets including roadway pavement, streetlights, traffic signals, and signal systems.

Of the total number of projects, about 14 specifically state having a bike component or are designated as one of the nine project categories as Bicycling and Pedestrian initiatives. Projects that focus solely on expanding or maintaining bike infrastructure represents about 3.9 percent of total STIP spending or about $45 million over 4 years. Adding in the projects that contain bike components, like Safe Routes to School, the total stated investment in bicycling is approximately 13.6 percent or $159 million of STIP planned spending.

DDOT is conducting a short online survey to gather public comments and determine how the STIP is perceived and what should be the District’s top transportation priorities. Additionally, the survey asks general questions regarding how residents use the District’s transportation network. The survey also has a section that allows you to add what you believe is missing from the STIP. The comment period ends October 25, 2017. The DDOT STIP management team will also accept feedback by email.

Below is a table listing all projects that have a bicycling component or are bicycling specific. Certain projects like bridge replacement and equipment purchases may make the roads safer for bicycling but is not included in this list.

While the STIP has many improvements for bicycling and pedestrians, there are a few missing projects or projects that descriptions that don’t specify bicycling improvements. The New York Avenue corridor contains several planned projects but is not shown in the STIP. DDOT staff stated that projects that are in the early planning stages or do not have a funding stream attached are not included. Irving Street (at North Capitol Street), the Metropolitan Branch Trail extension, and the reconstruction Southeast Boulevard are also absent. Although the rebuilding of New Jersey Avenue between Massachusetts and N Streets NW and the replacement of the Fredrick Douglass / South Capitol Street Bridge projects should include protected infrastructure, it was not stated in the draft plan so it was excluded from this list.

The Draft Plan October 2 meeting. Photo: Author

The STIPs included improvements help link the District’s Wards and maintain the current infrastructure in a state of good repair. The Arboretum Bridge and Trail project would provide a much-needed link from Ward 7 to Wards 5 and 6. Currently, the neared pedestrian crossing is Benning Road, which is poor given its focus on moving vehicular traffic. And because of its current inhospitable state, the replacement of the Benning Road Bridge over Kenilworth Avenue in northeast will greatly improve the ability of pedestrians and bicyclists to cross the Anacostia safely.

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.

DDOT and the NoMa BID Ask the MBT: What’s Your Sign?

DDOT asks how do people use the trail
Image: Author

Thursday, July 13, The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) held a public meeting at the Wunder Garten to view potential wayfinding signage for the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT). DDOT and the BID want your ideas on how that signage should look and what it should say.

According to the BID, the purpose of this meeting was to engage trail users in developing a plan for additional wayfinding signage on and near the MBT between Union Station and Michigan Avenue. The team asked participants how they connected to the trail – using it to travel to and from work, for recreation, for errands, or all of the above.

Currently, the MBT and the First and M Street NE protected bike lanes contain several types of signage – some of it different from the run-of-the-mill bike lanes signs, some of it MBT-specific – to provide wayfinding information to its users. Early in the trail’s planning, DDOT adopted the familiar “mbt” white, burgundy-ish, green signs that dot the area. Later, DDOT and developers near the trail used different signs to show where users were on the trail and where they may want to go.

The BID and DDOT are considering streamlining the hodgepodge of signage or adding to it. Potentially, the signage could lead to a “branding” or designated the MBT route on maps and on connecting streets with bike infrastructure. This would allow current and new MBT users to easily identify the location of the trail and where it goes.

The images below show the variations in signage along the trail.

The original sign scheme – labeled #1 – was one of the popular signs as it identifies the trail, shows direction and distance to points of interest, and looks appealing. Signs #2 and #3 are consistent with current DDOT standards for most on-street trails and provide direction and identify that users are on a bike route. One of the least picks signs was #4, located at the Elevation residential development that abuts the trail just south of New York Avenue NE. Participants noted that it was relatively low-standing and easily missed and doesn’t provide much in the way of information. Sign #5 acts as a trailhead or starting point while #6, which is similar in design to the traditional signage but provides distance travel from the start of the trail.

If you missed the meeting – and the beer – the NoMa BID created a survey to help the team determine the best approach. The short survey asks participants to rate the usefulness of signs along the MBT corridor. Further, it how people travel along the corridor and their starting and ending points. Please take a moment to take the survey and make sure to add your comments on potential directional improvements on it.

You’ll have to get your own beer…

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.

VRE Storage Plans Along New York Avenue Corridor Provide Space for Bikes and Pedestrians

Project Location
Image: VRE

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) held a meeting Tuesday, June 27 to discuss preliminary plans for its Midday Storage Facility project. The VRE plans displayed at this meeting now include space for District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) proposal, which potentially allows for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure along the emerging New York Avenue corridor.

The meeting provided a project update and allowed the public to comment on the proposed plan, which is at 30 percent of design. It also was an opportunity to view new sample renderings of “urban design options”. Now in the preliminary design phase of the project, the planners use the information gathered at this meeting to work with DDOT, Amtrak, other stake holders and the community to complete an environmental analysis, develop a cost estimate, and adopt a prefered alternative.

Specifically, the project includes planning, designing, and constructing a permanent midday storage facility for VRE trains that travel to the District. The proposed facility will be used to store commuter trains on weekdays between the inbound morning commute and the outbound afternoon commute. The project would replace the current storage space leased from Amtrak at its Ivy City Yard, allowing for longer trains and eventually, an increase in service.

Last year, the initial proposal was unclear with regard to how it would impact plans proposed by DDOT, which had proposed a bike and pedestrian trail adjacent to the yard. VRE plan appeared to use of the entire Amtrak-right-of-way for train storage, leaving little room for pedestrian and bike improvements.

A DDOT alternative for the rehabilitation of New York Avenue, from an urban freeway to a city street. Plans call for creating a bike and pedestrian amenities along this section of the street with alternatives on the “southern” side that runs along the new Hecht Company Warehouse development and the “northern” side, which is adjacent to the proposed VRE yard. A trail on the northern side would allow for a continuous bike route from the West Virginia Avenue circle to 4th Street NE, where DDOT’s early plans proposed connecting the trail with an abandoned 1500-foot tunnel that empties near Union Market.

While VRE still plans to use the Union Market tunnel to connect to the yard, VRE clarified its preliminary design regarding the relationship between the yard and New York Avenue by apparently reducing the required space. The image below shows what would likely be a wall or fence separating the yard from the street in areas where the yard is at ground level to the street, generally between Fairview Avenue NE (just east of 9th Street) and the Quality Inn hotel (near 16th Street NE).

The area available for a multi-use trail is listed nominally at 30 feet wide from the curb to Amtrak’s property. This could be reduced as it approaches the 9th Street Bridge. Below are artistic renderings of how the yard wall could appear along New York Avenue.

Image: VRE

VRE also provided examples of buffering along the New York Avenue corridor, which could include vegetation fencing, artwork or other decorative barrier. A wall was suggested as both a safety measure to reduce the potential for vandalism or attempts trespass, and a way to reduce sound and pollution from rail operations.

Image: VRE

For the area west of the Ninth Street Bridge, the grade of New York Avenue begins to gradually increase. In this section, the wall is eliminated.

While the total costs of this proposal was not specified, the VRE System Plan 2040 allocates $3 million (in 2013 dollars) for near term improvements (those made between 2014 to 2020), and do not include land acquisition costs. These costs do not include improvements to be made by DDOT as it relates to its project. Long-term improvements (made between 2031-2040) could total over $40 million and include a deck to allow for the construction of buildings over the area west of 9th street.