DDOT – Page 7 – bikeSpecific

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.

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.

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.

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.

NoMa Bicycle Network Workshop Hopes to Connect the City

At least 95 Theses were posted describing the
problems and potential of the NoMa corridor
Image: Author

The NoMa Bicycle Network Study workshop allowed the public to determine how the cyclists (and pedestrians) will cross the NoMa corridor, which includes several major intersections, a railway viaduct, and an interstate freeway. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) would like public input from now until May 31, 2017 on its interactive website.

As interest in the NoMa section of the District has increased over the last dozen or so years, as has bicycling to and through it. From the installation of the First Street to M Street to the Metropolitan Branch Trail cycle track to the new REI Flagship store, the area has drawn cyclists of all types and abilities.

In its first public workshop focusing exclusively on this corridor, DDOT planners, along with consultants, allowed the public to pitch ideas about what future of cycling should look like based on its pre-existing condition. DDOT presented initial concept board of the corridor showing the current bike infrastructure conditions and comparing it concepts and long-term plans discussed in the MoveDC Bicycle Element and other DDOT plans currently in design or under consideration. This included the long-planned New Jersey Avenue protected bike lanes, a potential New York Avenue trail that extend from the west of Sixth Street NE to infinity and beyond also known as the Arboretum, and an apparent bike / pedestrian bridge over the Center Leg Freeway at L Street.


That blue diagonal line is a “New York Avenue Trail”. Image: Author

While the MoveDC initiative proposed expansive, it did appear to leave a gap in the bicycling network in NoMa. Part of the problem was that few people envisioned that the area would be a destination, a travel corridor and one of the District’s fastest growing neighborhoods. Containing New York Avenue, which sees an average of at least 80,000 vehicles per day, bicycling across this area isn’t great for young families, experienced bicyclists, plant life, or most carbon-based lifeforms.

According to the study website, DDOT’s objectives include developing recommendations for a bicycle network to connect NoMA to Downtown DC, Eckington, Truxton Circle, and the H Street Corridor, with an emphasis on separated facilities. Darren Buck, Bicycle Program Specialist and manager of this project hopes for a “low-stress and direct east-west cycling connection”. BikeSpecific made a nifty interactive map pointing out some of the current connections.

If stickies aren’t your thing, DDOT also has an interactive map that you may use to post your ideas.
Image: Author

DDOT has developed an online map that allows users to input preferred cycling routes through the study area. Site visitors can also help identify existing barriers or locations that limit safe and convenient bicycle mobility across the study area. The map is open to public input from May 1 through May 31, 2017. DDOT would like residents, cyclists, and employees of the NoMa area to participate. DDOT also has a Mobile Interactive Map for those who refuse to be tied to a desk.

DDOT will use this information to identify potential routes for bicycle travel in the NoMa study area. This information will also help identify which roads and intersections may need to be improved for bicyclist and pedestrian safety and how these changes could affect the overall bike network outside the study area.

DCBAC Sees Preliminary Design for the Georgetown Protected Bike Lane

Image: Author

At the May 3 D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council meeting, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Bicycle Program Manager and the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) Transportation Director discussed the Georgetown K and Water Street Corridor Bicycle – Pedestrian Connectivity Enhancements plan and displayed the concept design to BAC members.

As part of the Georgetown 2028 Plan, which hopes to bring more people to Georgetown through improvements to the neighborhood’s infrastructure, the protected lane would create a connection between the Capital Crescent and Rock Creek Parkway trails along the K and Water Street corridor beneath the Whitehurst Freeway. As reported in April, DDOT and the BID met with the Georgetown ANC, which approved the draft concept.

The concept plan shown below and with permission from DDOT, is at 30 percent of full design. It illustrates the general outline of the lanes and contains basic measurements and location of certain structures. The plan identifies how the lanes could interact with vehicle travel lanes, vehicle parking, and pedestrian structures. The plan also shows new bicycle lanes at the foot of Wisconsin Avenue. The lanes provide protection for cyclists climbing this hill and end at the Wisconsin Avenue bridge over the C&O Canal, one of the oldest bridges in the District.

Construction of the lanes could start as early as this year along much of the corridor after Pepco utility work in the area is completed. Temporary work would include the addition of bollards and lane striping. More permanent structures, which could include protective planters and sidewalk modifications, would happen over the next few years.

The plans presented do not show a specific connection to the Capitol Crescent Trail. The National Park Service is currently rehabilitating the Key Bridge, which repairs will not be completed until 2018 or 2019. The BID and DDOT will workThe plans also do not show connections to the Rock Creek Parkway trail, the L or M Street protected bike lanes, or to the K Street ramp that leads to 27th Street as that area lies outside of the project scope. The presenters also discussed potential connections to the Rock Creek Trail that could include changes to the sidewalk or bridges, although they could be funded through some other means.

NoMa Bicycle Network Study Public Workshop

Leaving Los NoMa
Image: Author

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host its first public workshop for the NoMa Bicycle Network Study, Thursday, May 4 between 6 pm and 8 pm.

The purpose of this workshop is for participants to provide feedback on existing conditions for cycling through and from the study area. The workshop will be held at 1200 First Street NE, main lobby.

The project study area is approximately 2.9 miles in length, from 6th Street NW to 6th Street NE as limits on the west and east sides, respectively, with N Street NW to K Street NW as the northern and southern boundaries respectively.

Priority corridors within the study area for consideration include K, L, and M Streets; 4th and 6th Streets NW/NE; and New Jersey Avenue. These streets provide connections to current, as well as links to planned bike infrastructure.

The map below contains information about the priority corridors by clicking on streets.

The NoMa Bicycle Network Study will include two public workshops, the first in Spring 2017 and the second in late Summer 2017.

The study has three primary objectives:

Examine the recommendations for the NoMa area in moveDC
Create a new refined and feasible bicycle facility plan for NoMa provide schematic options for a separated bicycle network facilitating direct, low-stress travel between NoMa and the eastern part of downtown DC
Identify logical connections between current and future planned bicycle projects, both inside and outside the study are.

For more information about the study, please contact DDOT Project Manager, Darren Buck.

A version of this post originally ran on DDOT’s website.