Cycling in Alexandria (Arlington, Mount Vernon, Fairfax: fit in, best cities, 2014)

[Sassypint]

I've been looking to relocate somewhere where alternative transportation is a safe and viable option to driving a car. So, the other day I googled best towns for cycling, and Alexandria popped up on one list for top five best middle-sized cities. Alexandria seems to have a good bus system, I like the climate and politics, diversity, etc, but just now I did a google street view of random streets, and I gotta say, why did it make that list? No bike lanes or trails, heck even the sidewalks look pretty puny. Did I just look at the rare couple of streets that had no bike infrastructure, or is that how it really is and that list is full of crap? TIA

[robbobobbo]

Many people bike in Alexandria for recreation and for commuting. This was true even before the addition of bike sharing programs (Alexandria has several bike docking stations, as well as the non-docked shared bikes).

Where were you looking on Google Street View? Plenty of streets don't show evidence of bike infrastructure, but that doesn't tell you much. Within the past 5 or so years, the city began changing some of the main streets that had two car lanes in each direction (or a car lane and a parking lane) and reduced them to one car lane per side, with bike lanes put in the freed-up space.

That said, more streets use "sharrows" than dedicated lanes.

Some of the main avenues with dedicated bike lanes are Commonwealth Ave, Braddock Rd in some spots, Janney's Lane in spots, King St west of Russell Rd in spots. These are painted bike lanes, but not physically separated from car lanes with any type of barrier.

Some of the bike paths (paths completely separated from car roads) often used for commuting in addition to recreation are the Mt Vernon trail alongside the GW Parkway, the Potomac Yard trail into Crystal City (Arlington), Four Mile Run trail (which connects to the W&OD outside of Alexandria). There's also the Holmes Run trail, I don't know if people use it for commuting but it's available. There's also a trail alongside Eisenhower Ave that connects to Holmes Run trail.

What were you expecting to see, and what do other "bike friendly" cities have?

Commuting aside, Alexandria is fantastic, IMO for recreational cycling. There are numerous paths and many of them connect to others in Arlington or Fairfax County. From my house I could ride to Pittsburgh, PA on nothing but trail/bike path except for the first less-than-mile (Potomac Yard trail, Mt. Vernon trail, cross Key Bridge on bike/pedestrian path, C&O Canal trail, GAP trail). Or ride to Bethesda on nothing but trail. Or Purcellville, Virginia.

[spencgr]

Please note, regardless of bike friendliness, this area is one of the top 5 most expensive areas in the country. You should never move here without first having a job....

[brooklynborndad]

We have a few good trails - the Mount Vernon Trail, the Holmes Run Trail, the Eisenhower Avenue trail. The Four Mile Run trail in Arlington serves many people in Alexandria though its not in the City (not to be confused with the shorter Four Mile Run trail that IS in Alexandria)

However you are correct, the City has hardly any good in street bike infra - a few buffered bike lanes, but no protected bike lanes. I don't think it really belongs on a list of the best cities, but I am not sure what it was up against (and whoever made the list may have been very focused on the trails).

If you do come to the City, you can join the folks pushing for more and better bike infra, and for safer streets in general.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

What were you expecting to see, and what do other "bike friendly" cities have?

Arlington County has protected bike lanes on Quincy, part of Wilson, part of Fairfax Drive, Vietch and Eads. It has a bunch of other buffered lanes (wider than the standard conventional (often door zone) bike lanes, but no physical protections beyond paint) as well.

City of Alexandria has no PBLs, and buffered lanes only on King (with gaps that deter usage) and Van Dorn.

Alexandria should aspire to at least be more like Arlington in this regard.

[Old Dominionite]

Alexandria is more car-dependent than it probably wants to admit. You can get by without a car in Old Town, Del Ray, parts of the West End, and Potomac Yards, but you’ll give up a notable amount of convenience. Frequency of transit options goes down outside of rush hour, and really goes down on weekends. And while the city has done some appreciable work to expand sharrows and bike lanes, its roadways (especially its main arteries) are still very much car-centric and car-dominated.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

Alexandria is more car-dependent than it probably wants to admit. You can get by without a car in Old Town, Del Ray, parts of the West End, and Potomac Yards, but you’ll give up a notable amount of convenience. Frequency of transit options goes down outside of rush hour, and really goes down on weekends. And while the city has done some appreciable work to expand sharrows and bike lanes, its roadways (especially its main arteries) are still very much car-centric and car-dominated.

https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/default.aspx?id=104193

[Old Dominionite]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/default.aspx?id=104193

Thanks for sharing. It looks like a promising (and expensive) multi-year effort.

[slowlane3]

Click on this link https://waba.org/resources/maps-and-documents

Then scroll down and click on "City of Alexandria (VA) bike maps" and enlarge the image, to see the recommended roads for biking there.

[Sassypint]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

Where were you looking on Google Street View? Plenty of streets don't show evidence of bike infrastructure, but that doesn't tell you much. Within the past 5 or so years, the city began changing some of the main streets that had two car lanes in each direction (or a car lane and a parking lane) and reduced them to one car lane per side, with bike lanes put in the freed-up space.

That said, more streets use "sharrows" than dedicated lanes.

Some of the main avenues with dedicated bike lanes are Commonwealth Ave, Braddock Rd in some spots, Janney's Lane in spots, King St west of Russell Rd in spots. These are painted bike lanes, but not physically separated from car lanes with any type of barrier.

Some of the bike paths (paths completely separated from car roads) often used for commuting in addition to recreation are the Mt Vernon trail alongside the GW Parkway, the Potomac Yard trail into Crystal City (Arlington), Four Mile Run trail (which connects to the W&OD outside of Alexandria). There's also the Holmes Run trail, I don't know if people use it for commuting but it's available. There's also a trail alongside Eisenhower Ave that connects to Holmes Run trail.

What were you expecting to see, and what do other "bike friendly" cities have?

I don't recall the exact street names, I just dropped the little street view guy at random places, like near the hospital, near the water (old town I think?), near shopping areas. I do remember the street view dates were from like 2014, so it's possible they've been updated since then.

As far as what I expect...well, ultimately something like what they have in the Netherlands is the goal, but that will never happen here in the states. Basically, something that you would trust sending your child out on alone with no worries. Cars physically separated from bikes separated from peds, with the more vulnerable road user getting right of way. I've never been to Portland, but from what I hear they have some of the best infra. Bike lanes that don't start and stop unexpectedly, lanes that go anywhere the roads go.

Sharrows are worthless, and honestly dangerous, IMO. Cars DGAF: you're in their way and they'll let you know it.

When I first moved to where I am now, Boise, the city bragged about their miles and miles of bike lanes. What they don't tell you is that about 85%-90% of these "bike lanes" are of substandard width; my handlebars don't fit into a lot of them. The agency that manages the roads thinks that sharrows are legit infra, they include the gutter pan in bike lane width, even though there is a 2 inch lip between the asphalt and the gutter. In addition to the bad infra, we've had a lot of newcomers come into the area the last several years, and they bring their aggressive driving habits. Long time residents are known for their kindness and friendliness towards bikes, for driving 5 MPH under the speed limit in both lanes. Nowadays, people speed and tailgate, pass too close, honk, cut you off. Every time I go out walking or on my bike, I have a close call; sometimes several. So for all this, I am very skeptical when a city says they are bike friendly.

I don't really care about recreational cycling. I just want to get around town, run errands, go to work etc, safely, without having to drive.