TheWashCycle

NW Branch Trail Repaved

 

Photo by JeffL

In October they closed a section of the NW Branch trail just east of Route 1 in Hyattsville as part of an effort to change a basketball court into a skateboard park. Lat week they repaved that section and reopened it.

Sunday Video - NE Branch Trail detour

Saturday Morning Ride - a thrilling rite of passage

Good morning

• The Corcoran will have a pop-up bike clinic on June 23 from 11am to 3pm.
• "The pinnacle of Tour de Fat is the ceremonious car-for-bike swap. At each of the 15 Tour de Fat stops, one person will become the center of the show as he or she gets up on stage, hands over their car keys, and pledges to live one year car-free. Tour de Fat is now seeking volunteers in Washington, DC to accept the swapper challenge. Each car-for-bike swapper will choose a local bike shop to help turn a $2,250 budget into an ultimate car-replacement commuter bike. Vehicles for Charity will auction the cars, with proceeds benefiting local cycling organizations." Click here to find out how to apply. 
• I missed reporting on this. There was a meeting this past week on the Parkside bike/pedestrian bridge. This project will replace a bridge over DC-295 and tunnel under the railroad tracks with one more direct bridge. "Currently under design, the bridge will be 400-feet-long with three spans, arches at each end, a metal roof, and a 10-foot-wide concrete deck. Sides of the bridge will be enclosed with fencing to prevent the throwing of objects onto the roadway or tracks below."
• "The board and members will meet in Elm Street Park in Bethesda at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 11th for the Annual Meeting of the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail. All CCCT supporters are invited, and food and beverage will be provided."
• I'm with this letter writer on the headphones, but rearview mirrors have never worked for me.
• Explore Ocean City by bicycle.
• More on the Pettigrew verdict: Littleford testified in court she was driving down southbound Route 202 from a friend’s home after a cabaret when something struck her Cadillac Escalade. “Why wouldn’t she stop if she knew?” Vallario said. “[She had] no impairment, no drinking, no problems.” “I pulled over to stop,” Littleford said. “I looked outside my vehicle. I didn’t feel anything.”
• I think I've ridden far enough today....
• The recent story of the bike that was recovered after 43 years led NPR to link to this story, which reminds me of this advertisement. [My ad/jingle writing best friend from college asked me recently to quickly name the best ad I'd ever seen, and I blurted out this one.]

Dangerous New Detour at Wilson Bridge

Photo by Rootchopper who writes "The crew working on the renovation of Jones Point Park chose Bike to Work Day to install a new detour at the southern end of the Wilson Bridge underpass on the Mount Vernon Trail. The "S" curve and dirt and gravel transitions at the bottom of a hill were a particularly thoughtful."

Friday Afternoon Commute - situational awareness

Good afternoon

• Tales from the Sharrows explains why biking is not allowed on the Navy Yard Promenade. There is a narrow bridge at one point and "Employees exiting through turnstiles onto the Riverwalk will not have immediate situational awareness of their surroundings, and may not see oncoming vehicular traffic in time to avoid a collision....This is an obvious safety concern as collisions would be unavoidable." This is followed by a pretty hilarious take down, including the notation that on the other side of the fence is a parking lot. "A parking lot. With cars driving. Apparently disoriented Navy employees are well equipped to deal with the potential hazards of motorized, multi-ton vehicles."
• Can we make BTWD more diverse?
• The President was nearly hit by a cyclist speeding down 15th Street, but escaped unharmed. Later the cyclist was arrested for not having a bell. 
• Bethesda thief, riding stolen bike, arrested. 
• OK, now that I see the photos, I do believe it was her bike. 

Littleford guilty in Pettigrew hit and run

Litttleford testified yesterday in her trial related to the Nancy Pettigrew crash.

Littleford testified that she was coming back from a friend’s home that morning when something seemed to strike her vehicle, so she pulled over and looked out her window.

When she did not see anything, she resumed driving, Littleford testified. She said she stopped once more because her SUV was stalling, but she never got out of the vehicle or called 911. She said she knew that she had been in a crash, but she did not know with what. “I didn’t see anything,” she said.

But the jury was not convinced and it didn't take them long to reach a verdict

After deliberating for about 90 minutes, jurors in Prince George’s County Circuit Court convicted Littleford of the four most serious charges. They found her not guilty of a minor traffic charge for failing to control her speed at the time of the crash.

Littleford was found guilty of: Failure to remain at the scene of an accident that resulted in bodily harm; failure to remain at the scene of an accident that resulted in death; failure to render assistance and negligent driving. She was found not guilty of failure to control her speed to avoid a collision

Littleford is scheduled to be sentenced in August and could face up to ten years in prison.

Friday Morning Commute - unless you pedal like the mayor. Then it’s more like 15 minutes.

Good morning

• New signs on H Street warn cyclists about streetcar tracks. I wonder if that is enough. 
• "Federal Highway Administration is studying the widening of Route 1 from Telegraph Road to Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway. Current plans include wide outside lanes for use by bicyclists. There is opposition to the project that will impact Woodlawn National Historic Site."
• Alexandria City Council voted to use unspent transportation improvement funds to cover the first-year operation costs of CaBi after the Federal Highway Administration announced in April that certain federal funds could not be used for operating expenses associated with bike-share programs. This led to a discussion about station placement - cluster them or spread them out? Some wondered if a station in Del Ray made sense.
• Central Avenue in Capitol Heights could become bike friendly. "Long-term solutions with no projected start date include turning Central Avenue into a “complete street” that would reduce the three lanes on both sides to two, add bicycle lanes and landscaping, said Carol Kachadoorian of Silver Spring-based Toole Design Group."
• Bike lanes might complement Bethesda Trolley Trail along Woodglen Drive. 
• It's a great story, but I suspect it isn't really her bike. Not that she's lying, just that she is misidentifying it [I know, where's my sense of wonder.]
• Michigan senior prank brings attention that safely biking to that high school is basically impossible. Complete streets and Safe Routes to Schools could help. 

Thursday Afternoon Commute - helmeting

Good afternoon

• The Pettigrew trial continues. "The prosecution will be calling Maryland State Police officers who were at the scene"
• Heloise has advice for helmeting your child. 

11th Street Bridge not finished, but still a big improvement

I rode across the new 11th Street local bridge today, using the temporary Active Transportation Lane, and even though it isn't the final facility that cyclists and pedestrians will use, it's still a big improvement.

For starters the new bridge ends at O Street on the north/west side of the river instead of at N. For those who are getting on to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail this takes a couple blocks off the trip and for those heading north on 11th it is no change. 

In addition, the new bridge has a more gradual climb and, what appears to be a lower peak. This makes it easier to climb. And instead of a low railing that one could theoretically fall over (though I've never heard of this happening), it's separated by a more substantial jersey wall.

But most importantly, it's so much wider. The old sidewalk (which is closed now as seen below) was so narrow that two pedestrians had to stand sideways to pass. 

A possible downside is that the new bridge connects lets out on Good Hope Road at MLK Drive instead of in Anacostia Park. But that's only bad if you would have turned right on Good Hope and I'm not even sure how much of a detour it involves.  If, on the old bridge you turned left at Good Hope, this is a better connection.

An interesting part of the new bridge is that it is only about 80% finished. On the downstream side of the bike path you can see the metal frame and the unfinished roadbed. It looks like they need to remove some of the old bridge to finish the new bridge. 

Finally, for anyone who loves to look at construction and highway projects, or who has a fetish for photos of such things (I'm talking about you JDLand) the new ATL provides a great opportunity to gawk at the project under work. 

Trial begins in Pettigrew hit and run case

Former Green Party Senate nominee Natasha Pettigrew was struck by a car and killed on Route 202 in Largo, Md., in the early morning hours of Sept. 19, 2010. The 30-year-old college student was training for a triathlon. The driver, Christy Littleford, did not stop.

Now Littleford is on trial for felony hit and run and several other crimes, as well as being sued by the victim's mother.

Joseph Vallario, Littleford’s lawyer, said she did stop – twice – but continued home thinking she had struck a deer. At home, her husband discovered Pettigrew’s bike lodged in the undercarriage of Littleford’s Cadillac Escalade.

The couple drove back to the scene in a different car to find out what happened, Vallario. From there they went to the hospital where Pettigrew was being treated, then to a police station to report the incident.

For me, driving away with a flat tire is what makes me doubt her story. That is not normal. That's what one would do when they are panicked and running away from something. Soon we'll find out what the jury thinks.  TV coverage below the fold.