Snow Stopper: Arlington County's Trail Clearing Efforts Fall Short
Lots of Arlington cyclists ride right through the winter, but they're not getting enough help from Arlington County in dealing with the snow and ice.
As many of Arlington’s cyclists were reminded on Tuesday morning, snow and ice can make things far more complicated for the rider on a bike than the driver in a car. With just two points of contact with the ground, a slippery patch doesn’t just threaten the cyclist’s steering – it can take the bike right out from under her. For this reason, clear roads and trails are especially important to cyclists trying to navigate Arlington in the winter.
Unfortunately, the plow truck drivers clearing the streets usually seem as if they don’t think about cyclists at all. Bike lanes are often ignored or - worse - used as a convenient place to deposit plowed snow. This, at least, leaves cyclists with the option of simply riding in the cleared lane.
Cyclists who rely on the trails, however, face more challenges than those on the roads. While Arlington County does make some efforts to clear the trails, they’re prioritized well behind streets in terms of resources allocated. Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services is in charge of clearing County-controlled streets, and has a force of 150 workers to clear them. In contrast, the Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources has a single trail crew that is responsible for almost all of the trails within the County borders.
The trail crew focuses first on clearing routes to schools, then on paths to Metro stations, and finally on the remainder of the trails. In practice, this usually means that temperatures have cleared the trails by the time there’s available manpower to address the issue. Cyclists can't always rely on naturally rising temperatures, though. During last year’s multi-storm winter, some sections of the W&OD trail were iced over for weeks, forcing all but the most well-equipped riders to get off and walk (or avoid the trail entirely). Arlington hasn’t experienced the same crippling waves of storms this year, but many cyclists have reported dangerously icy trail sections long after recent snows. This isn't the fault of the existing trail crew - it's the fault of there only being one.
The lack of resources dedicated to ensuring clear and safe routes for cyclists is frustrating to many in Arlington. Further, it serves to undercut Arlington County’s oft-repeated claim that it treats cycling as a form of transportation on par with cars. In the end, the best approach for Arlington’s cyclists is to first take responsibility for their own ability to get around safely (e.g., ride on cleared roads, use tires appropriate to the conditions, and leave plenty of time for trips). After that, riders should let Arlington County know that it needs to allocate enough manpower and equipment to make its streets and trails passable for all users. Drivers aren’t the only citizens who deserve safe transportation routes.
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You can report trail problems by writing to trails [at] arlingtonva.us. Writers should take care to be as specific about the location as possible.
Arlington’s new snow reporting tool can’t address trail problems (yet), but you can use it to report issues on streets.
You can reach all of the Arlington County Board members at countyboard (at) arlingtonva.us.
Do you think Arlington does enough to keep the streets and trails safe for cyclists in the winter?
Tell us in the comments.
Geof Gee
12:26 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Generally I have mixed feelings about Arlington's treatment of multi-use paths. On one hand, I think that the county does much more than other jurisdictions. On the other hand, I think that we are still at the point where a little bit more effort would pay high returns.
Pedestrians and cyclists would have both benefited from a little de-icing treatment -- to this layperson, this means salt, but I suspect that the chemical treatment has moved beyond this for roads -- at several places. Luckilly, I'm using studded tires which give much better traction than ordinary tires or walking on ice. But we picked up the boss from the Metro station since the path was so icy and the walking alternative is much long.
Geof Gee
12:45 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sorry if this is a duplicate. My comment seems to have disappeared.
Generally I have mixed feelings regarding Arlington County's treatment of multi-user paths and other pedestrian/cycling facilities. On one hand, I think that they do much more than neighboring jurisdictions and, based on my limited interaction with them, I'm confident that staff cares. Some sections of the Custis Trail were definitely plowed or had snow removed. But the ice during the evening commute was trecherous at the few places I used the Custis Trail. On the other hand, we're still at a point where a little more effort can give relatively large returns. In this case, treating the MUPs at a few locations against ice build-up would have been a big plus. We actually picked the boss up from the Metro station since the convenient pedestrian connections were completely iced up and the alternative routes are much longer; I actually rode over the same route but the studded tires were very effective at dealing with the ice.
Allan Reiter
1:25 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Good & timely report. But, how can Arlington tout its bike ways as an viable transportation alternative when snow and ice are allowed to accumulate until the sun and weather remove them. They have not invested in a single piece of appropriate snow removal equipment for bike paths or allocated a single dedicated employee to address this problem in a timely manner.
Will ensuing road accidents for residents trying to get to work when dangerous bike paths are neglected embarrass the county to take a meaningful first step?
Allan Reiter
Tim (BikeArlington)
2:28 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"After that, riders should let Arlington County know that it needs to allocate enough manpower and equipment to make its streets and trails passable for all users."
Please feel free to send BikeArlington an email at info@bikearlington.com. We'd love to pass along residents' well worded and thoughtful remarks to the decision makers.
Mark Blacknell
11:26 am on Thursday, January 20, 2011
Geof-we're in a similar place with our thoughts about how Arlington handles this (and many other issues). Honestly, Arlington's - by far - the best jurisdiction in the area in terms of the time and effort it puts into making it a better place for cyclists. When I talk to other advocates in the region, I'm sometimes embarrassed to talk about our challenges in Arlington. But then I'm reminded that the problem isn't how much gets done here, but how little gets done elsewhere. Arlington County deserves much praise for its efforts here - and then it immediately needs to be pressed to do more. Because we're a long long way away from where we need to be. Where we *can* be.
Allan - yes, Arlington does need to dedicate more resources. And when compared to what gets appropriated for the benefit of cars on roads, it's a tiny tiny sliver of the whole.
Tim - Thank you. I hope your inbox fills, but something tells me . . .
Mark Blacknell
9:14 am on Friday, January 21, 2011
Great post by David Cranor analyzing some of Arlington's automatic trail counter numbers, which show the effect of the lack of plowing - http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/8909/cold-weather-lack-of-plowing-affects-bike-commuting/ (these numbers came out after this article was posted)