Falls Church/ North Arlington Update

I guess somebody with a plow reads this blog:

All trail obstructions I discussed on Monday, including lingering ice/ snow patches, downed trees, etc, have been cleared. The trail between Gallows Rd in Vienna and S. Walter Reed Dr. in Arlington is completely clear and ready to use.  Thanks to whoever took it upon themselves to plow/ clear that stretch.

Also, the last of the construction equipment on the east end of the Rt. 7 bridge has been cleared and the bridge at Little Falls Rd has also been refurbished and is back in action.

The temp is going to get up to a down-right balmy 50 today and (dare I say it?) might even reach 60 tomorrow.  Light winds expected all weekend.  Welcome to Spring folks, now get out there and ride!

Route 7 overpass in Falls Church

The resurfacing has been completed and both the east and west bound lanes are open . However, some of the construction equipments still needs to be removed--most importantly is the dumpster that blocks part of the trail on the east side of the bridge.

Public Map of Icy Patches on W&OD

To put the following updates in context, there is a publicly editable map on google maps. Please feel free to update.

View Greater DC Trail Snow Conditions (2010) in a larger map

Falls Church/ North Arlington Update

The trail is starting to clear up but there are still some patches where shade has stymied the melting process.

Working east from Gallows Rd, the significant trouble areas are as follows:

 There's a tree down on the section of the trail between Idylwood Park and I-66 but it only covers about half the trail and there's more than enough room to get around.

The trail parallel to Virginia Ln is still essentially impassable with large mounds of snow still piled on the trail.  For cyclists, I would suggest just hopping on the road until the County Rd 703 intersection.

The paved section for about 100 yards past Chestnut St is covered to about 4 inches, there's a dirt path next to it that is clear.

It's pretty dicey between Great Falls St and Little Falls St.  It's only about 2-4 inches, but there are ice patches mixed in with the slush that can be hazardous.  If you're on your bike and feeling very adventurous, have fun.  People on foot shouldn't have too much trouble so long as they don't mind getting their feet a little wet.

After Little Falls St. the trail clears up significantly until just past Falls Church park.  The hill going up Brandymore Castle has a cleared path about a foot wide.  If you're on a bike, I would suggest walking the hill, especially if there are others there.  The chance for collision is just too great.

After Brandymore, the trail clears up at least as far as the Custis intersection where I turn off. 

All in all, the trail is in pretty good shape along this section.  I'd say another week of above-freezing temperatures should clear away most of the rest of the hold-outs.

Snow and downed trees in Reston area

The trail is still snow-covered in the Reston area as you can see in this photo taken at Buckthorn Lane looking west. Looking east from this same location, there are some big trees down across the unpaved trail. These will take a while to remove.

2/25/10. Snow Blankets W&OD

This photo shows the W&OD Trail from Maple Avenue looking east. The
Whole Foods store is on the left.

Temperatures are forcasted to hit highs in the 40s next week. This
will clear much of the sunny areas, but shady areas stay ice coated
for extended periods.

Progress in clearing snow

Karl Mohle reported (Tuesday, February 23) on the trail patrol Yahoo group "that...

Our maintenance crews have cleared the snow (mostly) off of the trail. We went from our office here in Ashburn (Smith Switch Road) out to the detour trail (Loudoun County 4H Fairground). This area is fairly clear of snow. Tomorrow we will head east and clear snow off the trail as well. As we go we are cutting down the broken tree limbs etc that we encounter (like what we did today heading west). We'll chip the limbs sometime next week...."

Snow Update: W&OD to be plowed this week

Great news trail users!

Paul McCray, Operations Director for NVRPA, just posted this comment yesterday to WashCycle:

The W&OD Trail staff will begin clearing snow during the week of February 22 to speed up the melting process. This is in line with our policies of the past which included leaving snow for cross country skiers and then clearing intersections and plowing deeper accumulations.

When we plow, we won't put the blades right on the pavement but will leave an inch or so which will melt off fairly quickly. If we were to scrape right down to the asphalt, we'd do just as much damage as road plows do on the streets and then the W&OD would have rough, patched sections throughout the year. We don't have the funds to pave the trail more often than every 15 years so it's important to preserve the surface any way we can.

 I for one will be sending a note of thanks to Mr. McCray for this action.  IF you'd like to do the same, his contact information is below:

Paul McCray
Park Operations Director - NVRPA
703-359-4614
pmccray@nvrpa.org

Trail conditions in Vienna (between Church and Maple)

Thanks to the mystery snow plow man, the trail is clear in Vienna between Church St and Maple Ave. A small crew spent a couple of hours Sunday morning clearing about a 4 foot wide path along this stretch. Some sections of the trail get much more use than others, and we think those sections should be cleared for trail users after a snowstorm. The infamous cross-country skiers, snowshoe users, and others who like a snow-covered trail can either use the other W&OD Trail that is unpaved, or in those few areas where there is no parallel trail, they can use the unplowed sections of the trail. We think local communities could be recruited to help with this plowing.

Trail Conditions in Arlington

 

  
Trail conditions in Arlington aren't much better than Vienna.  I tried taking the cyclocross out this afternoon to see if I could ride out to work and ended up carrying the thing most of the way. One bright spot: there is a half mile stretch of trail between N Patrick Henry Dr. and Madison Manor Park that is clear enough to ride on.  Of course, you have to carry your bike through a half mile of snow in either direction to get there.

Other than that, between the Custis Trail intersection at Bon Air Park in Arlington and Gallows Rd in Vienna, there's anywhere between 6 in to a foot of snow still on the trail. Basically, if you own a dogsled now is your time to shine.  For everyone else: see you in April.

Trail conditions in Vienna

Well, I'm guessing nobody is too surprised, but the trail isn't much good for bicycling these days. I haven't tried it with my studded tires yet, but given how chopped up the surface is, and how deep the snow is under the crust, it's probably not much fun. Here's a shot taken near North Side Park in Vienna.

Trail Patrol seeks new members

Any responsible adult of any physical ability who walks, runs, skates, skis, cycles, rides a wheelchair, sits astride a horse, pushes a carriage, or just strolls on the trail is welcome to become a trail patrol member. The Patrol operates under the sponsorship of the Friends of the W&OD, whose purpose is to support and enhance the Trail. The basic responsibilities of a patrol member are to:
Ø Promote the safe use of the Trail
Ø Provide information about the Trail to the public
Ø Assist Trail users when help is needed

Volunteers should be willing to commit a few hours each month to the Patrol's on-going effort to keep the W&OD Trail safe, to maintain and, hopefully augment the luster of this bright jewel of the region. Volunteers may choose to serve on the trail or behind the scenes in support of the patrol -- or both. Even a small contribution of your flexibly arranged time will be helpful, and the experience should be both rewarding and fun. If you wish to help in these capacities there is a role you can perform.

For further information please contact the W&OD Trail Office at (703) 729-0596 or WOD@nvrpa.org. To apply on line go to www.wodfriends.org and go to the trail patrol tab.

Update for Lights out on the trail in Arlington

The Trail Report received the following response from Arlington Country regarding the light situation between N. Sycamore St and N. Patrick Henry Dr:

Thank you for sharing your observations about the lights on the trail! Your observations reflect the monthly report that Arlington submits to Dominion for repairs. They are aware of the issue and are making efforts to repair the lights. They are laying new cable through this section. Dominion’s work order is 7273292. Unfortunately, I do not have information about how long the repair will take. If I receive additional information I will share it with you.

I'll follow up with Dominion on Monday about when they expect to have the work done.

Lights out on the trail in Arlington

"I wanted to let you know all of the street lights along the trail between N. Sycamore St and N. Patrick Henry Dr in Arlington are out and it gets really dark along that stretch at night. Anyone running or riding there definitely needs a light.  Incidentally, that's also the area where the flasher incidents occurred which you reported on Jan 18.  I thought that might warrant an update."


This message came from a bike commuter who travels from Ballston to Tysons Corner using the W&OD Trail.  This is good information to share.  That's a long stretch along the sound barrier next to I-66.  It is an area with lots of walkers and runners. I'll try to sign him up as a contributor because this is good information to know.


It's possible to contribute using a cell phone and sending an email message or a text message.  Think about how you could be a contributor.

W&OD Trail Photo Contest

This posting is about fun and creativity. We are going to have a photo contest focused on the W&OD Trail until the end of February. With so many people carrying phones with photographic capabilities this could be a hoot. To get the creative juices flowing I'm posting photos of our winner of the helmet decorating contest we held in conjunction with ViVa! Vienna! in 2008 which had a W&OD theme..
As you can see from these photos our winner was highly creative and had alot of fun with this contest.  Now apply this same creativity to photos relating to people, animals, and scenery along the W&OD Trail.  Many of the photos will be posted on this blog and on the bikes@vienna blog and Facebook Page.  The winner will receive a new helmet, one of our Nutcase models.

Send your entry as an attachment to an email message to john.brunow@draisin.us.  Please keep the size of the file smaller (under 100K).  I'm directing the entries to an email I have that has quite a bit of capacity, but lots of entries could swamp it.  Understand these photos will be used in multiple ways to promote the W&OD Trail and bikes@vienna.

Let the fun begin.  Let's see what we capture.

Route 7 overpass in Falls Church

The resurfacing of the east bound lane has been completed and opened. The west bound lane is now closed for its resurfacing.

Suggestion about incidents on the trail

The recent posting about the incidents on the W&OD brought a suggestion from a reader.

"Here’s a posting it would help to add since you mentioned the two incidents/attacks

on trail because it may show that ALL these attacks are linked as well as

help warn women who use the trail."

Washington Post August 4th article

In addition you will find a composite picture and a news release from the Vienna Police Department in this blog back in August of 2009.

Let's work together to make the Trail safer. Report suspicious activity to the police.

Trail Safety

From: Frantz Desamour >Date: Fri, Jan 15, 2010 at 4:02 PMSubject: ExposureTo:First District: There have been four recent incidents where a male has beenexposing himself to female joggers along the W&OD trail duringafternoon/evening hours. He is described as a White Male wearing a hood ormask with a protruding belly and pale legs. Since he is nude when theexposures occur he either lives nearby or stashes his clothing somewherealong the trail before the exposure. The latest incident occurred lastnight at 1950 hrs in the area of 1900 Sycamore St .As a reminder, please call the police non emergency 703-558-2222 should yousee the suspect or suspicious activity.ThanksCaptain Frantz DesamourArlington County Police Department1425 North Courthouse RoadArlington , Virginia 22201

Trail Information

The September 2006 issue of SPOKES contained an informative article on this trail. It can be found at http://yellowbiketales.blogspot.com/2008/02/washington-old-dominion-trail-in.html

Trail conditions in Reston

The trail is mostly clear in Reston. Where there is ice, there is usually a narrow asphalt section that can be ridden. Today we rode from Sunrise Valley Dr in Reston (around mile 15.5) to Sterling Blvd and we didn't need to walk the bikes. Didn't get a chance to check the stretch of trail just west of Hunter Mill Rd which is usually the last to be clear.