Alexandria bike/ped projects

Tonight's Alexandria Transportation Commission meeting was a short, quiet one, largely focusing on updates on several bike/ped projects in the city.

All 17 of the projects briefed are being funded via grants of some sort, whether CMAQ, Safe Routes to School, or some other sort of transportation grant. 14 of the 17 projects are fully funded. The remaining 3 (of which 2 are effectively the same project) are big-ticket, high dollar projects that don't currently have a funding source, although the city's consideration of the Commerical Add-On Tax (mentioned before on my blog) is one possible funding source. Grant funding totals just under $7.8 million, with about $8.3 million remaining unfunded for the three projects in question.

5 of the projects fall under Safe Routes To School, and improve sidewalks and/or pedestrian crossings in the vicinity of the selected schools, or provide bicycle parking at schools across the city.

4 more projects are related to pedestrian safety, with focus areas being on Duke St near Landmark Mall, the Edsall Rd/South Pickett St intersection, and near the King St Metro station.




This quick map shows the locations of the major bicycle-related projects being funded in whole or in part from the grants. Numbers on the map are simply for corresponding with my notes below and do not represent any particular priority:

1 - Holmes Run/Chambliss Crossing. This project will build a low-profile crossing of Holmes Run near the north end of the Holmes Run trail near Chambliss St. The crossing will connect to a similar trail in Fairfax County that continues north towards Columbia Pike. Final design is mostly done for the trail and the city hopes to begin construction this summer or fall.

2 - Holmes Run Trail There are two parts to this project, a study, and then construction. Both are partially funded (about $2 million for the construction part), but both will need additional funding to be completed. The study area emcompasses that part of the trail between North Ripley Street and the north side of I-395. This part of the trail is in poor condition and is effectively a storm outflow during periods of heavy precipitation. The study will identify recommended improvements to be made to this segment, which are expected to involve significant construction. Design is planned to begin next month.

3 - Eisenhower Ave Underpass This project was funded via ARRA (i.e. the stimulus) and is currently under construction. It's building a bike/ped connection underneath Eisenhower Ave at Holmes Run, connecting the Eisenhower Ave multi-use trail with the Holmes Run trail without having to cross Eisenhower Ave at-grade. The project is 85% complete and the city hopes to have it completed in the next few months.

4 - Old Cameron Run Study This "project" is actually a study, and will look at a possible bike/ped trail running along Old Cameron Run between the Eisenhower Ave/Mill Rd intersection and the southwest corner of the city's waterworks near the Beltway/Route 1 interchange. In conjunction with improvements along Payne St and Wilkes St (see below for the latter), construction of this trail will provide a bike/ped connection between the Eisenhower Ave trail and the Mt. Vernon Trail.

5 - Wilkes St Bikeway This project just began early design, and will provide a series of bicycle improvements along Wilkes St, between Payne St and Royal St, where it connects to a bike/ped tunnel which runs to Union St and the Mt. Vernon Trail. Possible improvements include bike lanes, sharrows, better curbs for the sidewalk segments between Route 1 and Columbus St, and also bicycle signals.

6 - Mt. Vernon Trail at East Abingdon This project will reconstruct the segment of the "Alternate" Mt. Vernon Trail that parallels the railroad spur between East Abingdon Drive and Royal St/Bashford Ln. It's possible that it will include the rest of this part of the trail all the way down to 1st Street. The reconstruction project will widen the trail to modern standards where right-of-way allows, but will try for a minimum of 8ft.

7 - Four Mile Run Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge This project is the other unfunded project, though funding exists for design work. This new bridge over Four Mile Run would be for bicycles and pedestrians, connecting Commonwealth Ave on the Alexandria side to Eads Street on the Arlington County side.

These projects will go a long way towards providing the "network connectivity" that is important for any successful bicycle route system. I look forwards to seeing future projects that expand on this connectivity.

Meetings galore...

Not one but two transportation-related meetings for me last night. With two more later in the week.

First up was a quick in-and-out at the Alexandria Pedestrian and Bicycle Citizens Group meeting (out quickly because I had to leave early for meeting #2), where I learned a few interesting tidbits:

- A planning study for the Holmes Run Trail tunnels near I-395 has begun.

- The Royal Netherlands Embassy will be hosting a 2-day bike workshop, titled the ThinkBike Workshops, on November 15-16. The workshop, in partnership with DDOT and MWCOG, will discuss all sorts of issues related to bicycle travel, discuss Dutch bicycle infrastructure and "best practices", and will include recommendations for improving bicycling in the DC area. The public is invited to the "closing session" on the evening of the 16th at Union Station. For more info, click on the links.

- MWCOG has shared some info from the Census American Community Survey, namely a comparison of bike commuting share for member jurisdictions from 1994 to 2007/08. Of note is Alexandria's bike commuting share during those 14 years, which skyrocketed from 0.7% in 1994 to 2.7% in 2007/08. While DC's share is larger overall (3.5% in 2007/08), Alexandria by far had the biggest percentage increase during the timeframe in question. Surprisingly, Arlington only posted a 0.3% increase, to 1.4% in 2007/08...though this might be explained in part due to development patterns. Much of Arlington's growth over the past 15 years has been along the Rosslyn-Ballson corridor, and it's reasonable to assume that those residents are commuting via Metro instead of by bike. Not surprisingly, Prince William County remained flat...zero percent. Most other area jurisdictions had modest increases.

- Thought the region didn't win the TIGER 2 grant to expand Capitol Bikeshare, the city of Alexandria is looking at a smaller grant application (through MWCOG) that would allow for a limited expansion of CaBi into the city....enough to put a few stations in the Potomac Yards area (where the city would concentrate first).

After that, it was a quick trip to the transportation committee meeting for the Mount Vernon Council of Citizen's Associations. Recently, I became the alternate member on the committee for the Huntington Community Assocation, my neighborhood civic association. This represents my first real foray into the Fairfax County side of the house. While I'm officially a county resident, I've been attending the various Alexandria transportation-related meetings since I transferred here...something which I intend to continue.

This meeting started off with a recap by the committee chair of a forum she recently attended. On October 14, there apparently was a "Transportation and Traffic Solutions Forum" in DC, with guest speaker Ian Lockwood, a nationally known expert on traffic calming whose resume includes traffic calming projects on Route 50 in western Loudoun County and a stint as head of the West Palm Beach, FL Transportation Planning Division. The chair was quite impressed with some of the topics discussed at the forum by Mr. Lockwood, namely that widening of arterials may result in death of a business district (as apparently happened in West Palm Beach). Other items of interest included walkability and a roadway grid network.

This sparked a good bit of discussion at the meeting. Meeting attendees were mostly receptive to the walkability aspects, with several complaints about how Route 1/Richmond Hwy *ISN'T* pedestrian friendly. Discussion got less consensual when it came to the other aspects like road narrowing or a parallel grid. Many of the meeting attendees have been supporting (if not outright fighting for) a long-promised widening of Route 1 to 6 lanes, especially recently in light of BRAC changes at Ft. Belvoir and the expected congestion that will result from all the jobs moving to Ft. Belvoir and the Engineering Proving Ground. At the same time, it appears that both businesses along Route 1 and the neighborhoods immediately adjoining Route 1 are opposed to a wider corridor footprint. How to widen Route 1 while minimizing the footprint/impact has long been debated in this part of the county, with some residents and meeting members complaining that corridor businesses and even elected officials have been playing obstructionist to Route 1 improvements.

While a parallel grid was generally supported (from my viewpoint), there were concerns about right-of-way and redevelopment needs/impacts in order to shoehorn such a grid in along the Route 1 corridor.

During the meeting, a resolution was passed requesting the county, CTB, VDOT, and area officials secure funding for something else long-promised: a transit study along the Route 1/Richmond Hwy corridor. There was a definitive preference among committee members that the study be on RAIL transit. I took this as meaning that area residents (as represented by committee members...all from area neighborhood associations) are supported of rail transit along Richmond Hwy but would be opposed to bus lanes or some sort of BRT.

Concerns were also raised about the Fairfax County Trnasportation Bond Referendum (presumably on today's ballot). The question to voters was whether the county should raise $120 million in bonds to pay for transportation improvements. While the fact sheet associated with the referendum points out that the county's intent is to use this bond money for the county's share of WMATA's capital program, the main concern was with the wording of the referendum, which didn't specify this...leading some to speculate that the money would be used elsewhere if other money "was found" to cover the WMATA obligation.

Lastly, there's another forum featuring Ian Lockwood on the calendar. The Coalition for Smarter Growth is sponsoring a Future of Fairfax Forum, with Mr. Lockwood as one of the guest speakers. The forum will be on Wednesday evening, the 17th, in Mclean. Click on the link for more info and to RSVP.


More meetings later in the week, including the Alexandria Transportation Commission. Stay tuned.

BikeWalk Alexandria meeting and Chambliss Crossing update

Just got back from the semi-monthly meeting of BikeWalk Alexandria, a fairly informal affair held at a local coffee shop in Del Ray. Was my first attendence of these meetings...was mainly there to "get my feet wet", though I'd met a few of the attendees (including Dave Levy and Elizabeth Wright) on previous occasions. Also met fellow WashCycle commenter Jonathan Krall.

The main gist of the meeting was going over upcoming bicycling events (including and in particular the President's Day events in Old Town), discussion on holding a Bike Rodeo with a local school (the desire being something that could be done for both Alexandria and neighboring parts of Fairfax County), ongoing legislation in the Virginia General Assembly (namely a bill, SB566, which would increase Virginia's "x feet to pass" from the current 2 feet to 3 feet), and the recently released Benchmarking Report comparing the states on various bicycle aspects.

Of note on that last one is how Virginia is ranked second-to-last dead last amongst the states for per-capita funding for bicycle/pedestrian transportation. As I have elsewhere, I've made note that such a statistic is going to be skewed against the higher-populated states...for example, of those states with 5 million or more in population, the highest-ranked one (Tennessee) is #11. Still, even taking that population skewing into account, it doesn't say much about Virginia's bicycle/pedestrian funding.

One specific item mentioned from Dave Levy is a Chambliss Crossing update...this is the project that would build a crossing across Holmes Run near Chambliss St, connecting the Holmes Run Trail in Alexandria to another trail in Fairfax County. According to Dave, VDOT's Northern Virginia District is recommending that a waiver be approved, allowing the planned "low profile crossing" to be built without requiring the bridge railing VDOT originally wanted. The waiver still needs to be approved by Richmond, but this is potentially promising news for this much-wanted crossing.

Will post meeting minutes once they're drafted by another of the attendees.

Alexandria Pedestrian and Bicycle Citizens Group Meeting - January 11, 2010.

Last night was the year's first meeting of the Alexandria Pedestrian and Bicycle Citizens Group. This is an informal meeting held every other month by which city staff can provide information on city projects and plans and solicit input and comment from Alexandria citizens regarding walking and bicycling. These meetings are headed by Yon Lambert, one of the city's Transporation Planners and part of the city's Transportation & Environmental Services Department.

This was my first time attending the group's meeting, having been invited by Dave Levy (vice-president of BikeWalk Alexandria), whom I'd met the week before at an Alexandria Transportation Commission meeting. Also in attendence was Bruce Dwyer, one of WABA's volunteers and an Alexandria resident.

There were a large number of people in attendence. From what I gathered, typically these meetings have about 5-10 citizens attending. Last night's meeting had over 20. Too early to tell whether this is a sign of the resurgence in bicycling or simply an anomaly.

In part because of the large number of attendees, the meeting started off with an introduction about the group and its purpose and also a brief "2009 Year in Review" regarding city bicycle and pedestrian accomplishments in 2009. The year in review is still in draft format, but will be posted to the city's LocalMotion website once finalized. Here are a few of the highlights:

- Although there was a slight increase in bicycle crashes over 2008 (21 vs. 19), there was a decrease in pedestrian crashes (49 vs 57), and for the second year in a row there were zero fatalities.
- Opening of the Active Transportation Lane on the Wilson Bridge on June 6, an event that I also participated in.
- A "road diet" and inclusion of a climbing lane on West Braddock Rd.
- Rehabilitation and resurfacing of the Holmes Run Trail between Duke St and North Ripley.


A brief mention was also made of the previous meeting, a joint meeting with Arlington's Bicycle Advisory Group back in September, but Alexandria staff felt it was very data heavy and so did not go into a lot of detail on it. Minutes of this meeting are posted on TheWashCycle.


There were two guest speakers at the meeting. The first was John Kamoroske, a longtime Alexandria resident (over 50 years) and the chair of the Alexandria Planning Commission. He gave a brief overview of the Planning Commission and its function, how citizens can provide input to improve small area plans (including Potomac Yards and the Waterfront...but studies that are underway), and also spoke about Transportation Management Plans (TMP's) and how they are a potential source, albeit a small source (only about $3 million citywide in 2009), of funding for bike/ped improvements in the vicinity of a given TMP.

The second guest speaker was Jayme Blakesly. By day, he is a lawyer with the Federal Transit Administration and a bicycle commuter. By evening, he is an Alexandria resident and is the vice-chair and one of the citizen representatives of the Alexandria Transportation Commission, which advises the City Countil on transportation issues. Jayme gave a brief overview of the Transportation Commission, including the Long Range Plan and CIP planning process and prioritization criteria, along with showing several slides from the Transportation Commission meeting from last week (which I also attended).

Mr. Blakesly touched on two goals of the city's draft Strategic Plan:

- Goal 2. The City Respects, Protects and Enhances the Health of its Citizens and the Quality of its Natural Environment. And Initiative 3G in particular, which specifically addresses Pedestrian and Bicyclist Travel.

- Goal 3. There is an Integrated, Multimodal Transportation System that Efficiently and Effectively Gets People from Point "A" to Point "B." A multimodal transportation network that supports sustainable land use and provides internal mobility and regional connectivity for Alexandria.


He also spoke passionately about Complete Streets, which also got discussed at last week's Transportation Commission meeting, and rehashed several points about Complete Streets made at that meeting. Besides questions about how to retrofit Complete Streets into the existing street network or incorporate it into the street design manual (the latter of which being something that New York City has apparently done), Mr. Blakesly believes that Complete Streets shouldn't just be implemented as city policy but should be codified within the city's municipal code.


The next subject was on bike/ped counts on the Mount Vernon Trail. Besides the generally year-round counts that NPS does (and also posts some typical information online), the city conducted volume counts in September, not just on the Mount Vernon Trail, but also on Four Mile Run near Commonwealth Ave and on Holmes Run just north of Duke St. Naturally, these other two locations had fairly low volumes overall. The Mount Vernon numbers were significantly higher...I don't remember the specifics offhand but want to say that it's in the range of 2-4K north of Pendleton St. Another thing that struck me (and verified by the NPS graph on the above link) was the much higher usage on weekends, especially on good weather weekends. The Mount Vernon Trail sees a fair bit of commuters during the morning and evening peak, but nothing like what it sees during the middle of a weekend day, where bicycle volumes can approach 450 an hour.

I asked if city staff or NPS has taken these numbers and calculated out the Bike Level of Service (LOS) for the trail. Mr. Lambert did not have an easy answer for me, but thought that NPS did. I may try to contact NPS to see if they have that data, or I may try to get the city's counts from Mr. Lambert and do my own calculations...I have the 2000 HCM at home, which includes the methodology for calculating Bicycle LOS.


Next was discussion on the planned Holmes Run/Chambliss Crossing, which is in the final stages of planning. The crossing has long been desired by the city due to the lack of nearby stream crossings, and would connect into a trail on the Fairfax County side that extends up to Columbia Pike. At first just a crossing project, the project will now include bank stabilization and stream restoration, in part to save money by doing two separate projects at once and in part to address concerns by the local neighborhood, including their opposition to any trail crossing that would have a negative impact on the stream and its flooding potential.

TheWashCycle previously covered the adopted plan to build a Low Profile Crossing. According to city staff, this type of crossing has been deemed acceptable by the local neighborhood. The main hangup right now is with VDOT. Because of safety/ADA concerns, VDOT wants railings included on the low-profile crossing. Understandable from a safety standpoint, but it would significantly change the profile of the crossing and would also introduce potential jamming points for debris to logjam during a flood, which would impact flooding in the neighborhood, while leaving out the railings reduces this logjam/additional flooding potential. The city is in discussion with VDOT to hopefully resolve this issue.


A few miscellaneous items:

- The city's "Confident City Cycling" classes will continue. Last year, these were sponsored through WABA. Unfortunately, I missed writing down the dates that they will be held this upcoming spring.
- The city has come up with specifications for bicycle parking lockers and parking shelters. The latter looked like bike racks with an overhang similar to a bus shelter open on one side.
- There was mention of the new HAWK signal that was installed last year on Van Dorn St.
- The next BikeDC event is tentatively planned for Sunday, May 9. City staff are working with BikeDC and other organizations to see about getting one of the bike routes extended into Alexandria.


The city is in the process of installing four "Rapid Flash Beacons" at various, mid-block pedestrian crosswalks (I didn't catch the specific locations). The beacon is basically a specialized Pedestrian Crossing warning sign that, when activated, has LED lights that flash at a fast rate, bringing the motorists attention to pedestrians in the crosswalk area. The first one was installed in St. Petersburg, FL in 2004, and evidence suggests that it greatly increases vehicle compliance rates (for stopping for peds in a crosswalk), upwards of 60%. Portland, OR installed their first Rapid Flash Beacon a few months ago and has plans for more. Alexandria is pursuing them because initial results elsewhere are positive and because they cost considerably less than a HAWK signal...around $18K for the RFB vice $100K for a HAWK.


The city has preliminary designs for new bicycle/pedestrian Wayfinding signage. These signs, which will stand about 7ft high or so, would be implemented along the city's three core trail corridors: Mt Vernon, Holmes Run, and Four Mile Run. Signage along on-street facilities will continue to be in the already-existing format, which will keep it in line with recent changes to the Federal MUTCD. The city's Wayfinding Stakeholder Advisory Group is having its next meeting on January 26 at City Hall (unfortunately, a mid-morning meeting).


According to city staff, four 40 design teams have submitted proposals for the planned Four Mile Run Pedestrian-Cyclist Bridge design competition. This is the planned bike/ped bridge across Four Mile Run that will connect Commonwealth Ave to Eads St. The winner will be announced on March 27.


There was some discussion on the long-planned intersection improvements at King St and Beauregard St/Walter Reed Dr intersection. A large wall map at the meeting highlighted the latest planned design. From what I saw, the main improvements focused on better channelization, medians, and dual left turn lanes for two of the intersection legs. But one notable feature is that the plan includes bike/ped paths or sidewalks on both sides of both streets approaching the intersection. Also of note was how there has been negative pushback from the neighborhood on adding bike/ped paths to the project...the most common argument being "nobody bikes here, so why include them?".


The last main topic of disussion involved Eisenhower Ave and the two projects related to it. The first project is expected to be let to bid next month, and involves building a bicycle/pedestrian trail underneath Eisenhower Ave where it crosses Cameron Run. The trail will tie seamlessly into the Holmes Run trail to the north, and the Eisenhower Ave trail to the east, enabling bikes and pedestrians to connect between the two without having to cross Eisenhower Ave at-grade.

The second project is a much larger project, what the city is calling the Eisenhower Avenue Widening Project, though that isn't completely accurate itself given the current plans, of which there was a big map posted on the wall at the meeting. Originally a project to widen Eisenhower Ave between Stovall St and Holland Ln from 4 to 6 lanes, the project has since morphed into a "Complete Streets" project with several features:

- Landscapped median and curbs.
- Sidewalk bulb-outs at many intersections.
- The traffic circle at Holland Ln will be replaced by a standard T-intersection.
- Bike lanes on both sides of Eisenhower.
- Wider sidewalks.
- A wide combination sidewalk/shared use path along the south side of Eisenhower between Stovall St and Mill Rd. This would be an extension of the existing path to the west, would connect to the under-construction path over the Beltway at Telegraph Rd, and would also connect to a future city path to the east (more on that later).
- The "third lane" westbound is a strange part of the project. It would be interrupted by the sidewalk bulb-outs at Mill Rd, Mill Race Ln, and Swamp Fox Rd. Between Mill Rd and Mill Race Ln would be permanent on-steet parking. West of Mill Race Ln, approaching both Swamp Fox Rd and Stovall St, the lane will be a right-turn-only lane during peak hours, and on-street parking during off-peak hours.
- Between Holland Ln and Mill Rd is where the "third" lane westbound is most unique. Along this stretch, the lane would be continuous and 16ft (15ft plus 1ft gutter) wide. During peak hours, the lane would function as a general traffic lane with a 5ft bicycle lane curbside. During off-peak hours, though, the lane becomes a parallel-parking lane, with a 7-8ft bicycle lane next to the travel lane and the parking lane being curbside. Presumably, striping would allow the delination between the two configurations, but there is a very real concern about how right-turning traffic at Mill Rd would weave with through bicycle traffic. Mr. Lambert noted that this is only a preliminary configuration and is subject to change pending further refinement and/or input.

Besides that special lane and the weaving impact, there was concern from a few of the bicyclists present about how the bulb outs would affect the bicycle lane and bike traffic. However, looking closely at the map, it appears that enough street width will be provided at the bulb-out intersections to allow for a continuous bike lane without requiring bikes to merge into the right traffic lane at the bulb-outs.

[Edit...additional item I forgot] The city has a plan to build a shared use trail running southeast from the Mill Rd/Eisenhower Ave intersection. This trail would follow an easement along the old Cameron Run channel and then around the south side of the city's waterworks to connect to the south end of Payne St. By utilizing Payne St and the Franklin/Gibbon St combo, this would give bicyclists another way to get between Eisenhower Ave and the south side of Old Town and the WWB trail.

The last item of the meeting involved an upcoming support facility. An owner of one of the area bicycle courier companies (didn't catch the name) was present with handouts for the planned VeloCity Bicycle Co-op. The coop will be a non-profit organization located at 204 South Union St (along the Old Town waterfront) offering bicycle-related youth programs, do-it-yourself maintenance, training workshops, and other events. The goal is to have the Co-op open by April.

Cross-posted at TheWashCycle.

A Christmas Wish-List for the Huntington bicyclist...

Christmas is a few months away, and Santa Claus will be coming with presents for all. The big kid bicyclist in me has a Christmas wish list he'd like to share, with the Huntington (and Alexandria too) bicyclist in mind, in hopes that Santa (and the politicians) take notice...

1. Wayfinding/guide signage

If roads and highways can have decent guide signage (like the big green signs on the Interstates and freeways), why can't we have the same for bicyclists and pedestrians? Especially along popular regional trails and routes!


2. Reconstruction of deficient trails

While several trails and routes around the DC area are in fairly good condition, there are several that are narrow, have poor pavement condition, or have tree ruts sticking up under the pavement. These segments should be reconstructed as soon as possible. Examples include much of Holmes Run Trail in Alexandria, part of the Mount Vernon Trail in Old Town Alexandria, and the eastern part of Four Mile Run (generally everything east of the West Glebe Rd crossing).


3. Separate paths for bicycles and pedestrians

Taking a cue from my hometown of Minneapolis, MN, the more popular trails should have separate paths for bicycles and pedestrians. Call me biased (having grown up with them), but I think it's just safer that way, especially for busy trails. Mt. Vernon Trail north of Old Town in particular. At the very least, the busier trails should have a wider surface.


4. A better way through Old Town

Right now, it doesn't matter whether you're a car or a bike...you're stopping at EVERY BLOCK going through eastern Old Town. There's gotta be a better way to get bikes through Old Town and connect the two halves of the Mt. Vernon Trail. Adopting some version of the "Idaho Stop" may help somewhat, but would still require cyclists to slow down at the end of every block. And if there's vehicle traffic at the intersection (as there usually is in Old Town), it would render the "Idaho Stop" a moot point anyway.

One idea would be to create some sort of "cycle track", which is basically a separated bicycle lane within the street. Although it would require eliminating a parking lane (while parking is already in short supply in Old Town), or going to a one-way street (which probably would be opposed by businesses and residents), a few potential candidates would include Union St, Lee St, or Fairfax St. A one-way pair, with northbound bikes on one street and southbound bikes on another street, is also an option, and might be able to be squeezed onto existing streets without going to a one-way street or eliminating a parking lane. Regardless of the option/street chosen, this idea for a "cycle track" would allow bikes to have the right-of-way at least every other block, if not more often, while cars would stop and yield to bikes at those intersections. This would reduce the number of stops bicycles would have to make to travel through Old Town, which may encourage bicycling.

For example, a 2-way cycle track could be implemented along Fairfax St, from Green St (connecting to the Mt Vernon Trail via Royal St, underneath the Woodrow Wilson Bridge) all the way up to Third St, where it would connect to the two legs of the Mt Vernon Trail that pass on either side of the Alexandria Power Plant area.


5. A Cameron Run trail

This one has its basis in a report done by the Huntington Community Association back in 2001. The proposal is for a bike/hike trail along the south edge of Cameron Run, running from the Route 1-WWB trail connection west to Telegraph Rd (and the now-under-construction bike/trail connection across the Beltway there).

That in itself is a good proposal, since Huntington Ave is too narrow and too busy to do anything useful with, plus it would provide a grade-separated crossing of Route 1. Via the Telegraph Rd trail over the Beltway, it'd provide connectivity with the trail along Eisenhower Ave.

'Course, I'd take a Cameron Run trail one step further and continue it west of Telegraph Rd, along the north side of Cameron Run and running underneath both Telegraph Rd and the Beltway, connecting more directly to the trail along the south side of Eisenhower.


6. A South Capitol trail

This idea of mine would address what is currently an acute lack of connectivity on the Maryland side of the Wilson Bridge trail, plus provide a regional connection to the planned trails along the Anacostia River. IMO, the southern portion of this should have been built as part of the Wilson Bridge construction, which would have given this trail a decent head-start.

The trail begins at the east end of the Wilson Bridge, before the Wilson Bridge trail begins up the ramp to cross over the Beltway. My trail idea hugs the edge of the ramp from SB 295 to the Inner Loop, then continues along the west edge of 295 to north of Oxon Cove. Along the edge of Blue Plains, it basically runs between I-295 and Perimeter Rd E, up to the Laboratory Rd/Overlook Ave SW intersection (in front of NRL). The trail then runs along the west side of Overlook Ave SW and South Capitol St (including the ramps at Malcolm X) up to Firth Stirling Ave, where it would tie into the existing trail to the Douglas Bridge and the planned trails along the Anacostia River.

As an "interim phase", the trail could be built as I propose north of the Bolling Visitors Gate, then a bike route could be signed along Overlook Ave SW, Shepherd Pkwy SW, and through DC Village to the trail that runs through Oxon Hill Farm. This idea would require improvements to the trail within Oxon Hill Farm as well as improvements to the sidewalk along Oxon Hill Rd between the farm entrance and the Wilson Bridge trail at Harborview Ave. But it could be a first phase that would at least provide a trail connection between the Wilson Bridge and the Anacostia bridges, if not the more preferred direct routing right to the Wilson Bridge.


7. The Holmes Run/Chambliss Crossing

At least this one is being studied. This would provide a bike/ped connection across Holmes Run (via a recommended "low profile crossing") near the end of the Holmes Run trail, tying into another trail on the Fairfax County side that extends up to Columbia Pike near Lake Barcroft. This is another project that would provide connectivity. Alexandria and Fairfax County should build this.


8. Backlick Run trail

Currently, the city of Alexandria has a trail spur off of the Holmes Run Trail, running along the north side of Backlick Run, but stopping short of Van Dorn St. Extending this trail to Van Dorn St, in addition to sidewalk/trail improvements along Van Dorn St, would provide a better non-motorized connection between the Van Dorn St Metro station and the multitudes of newer townhouses along the north side of the existing trail. Even better: extending the trail west of Van Dorn St to Bren Mar Dr/Indian Run Pkwy.


9. Potomac Yards trail

Currently, the city of Alexandria has a trail along the east side of Route 1 on the northern part of Potomac Yards...in front of the commercial development that includes Best Buy and Target. There's a "temporary trail" extending south of there, which isn't very good. A more permanent trail should be built along the east side of Route 1, extending south to the new Route 1 bridge over the CSX rail tracks and Metro's Yellow/Blue Lines. This would also easily tie into my #10 below:


10. Alexandria's Metro Linear Park

The city of Alexandria has what their map calls the "Metro Linear Park" between the King St and Braddock Rd Metro stations, which includes a bike/ped trail. Extending this trail north to Route 1 (connecting to my #9 above) and south to the Eisenhower and Telegraph Rd trails (and conversely my #5 above) would provide a continuous trail along the western edge of Old Town Alexandria, which in turn would provide an alternative to the "stop every block" of biking through Old Town (as mentioned in my #4 above).