Arlington’s first significant protected bike lane quietly popped up last week in Pentagon City. It runs on South Hayes Street from 15th Street to Fern Street, next to Virginia Highlands Park.

South Hayes Street cycletrack. Photo by Darren Buck.

There are actually two cycletracks. There’s a grassy median in the middle of Hayes Street, so in order to serve bicyclists going both directions, each side of the street has its own one-way cycletrack next to the curb.

The cycletrack connects to the new green-painted bike lanes on Hayes Street further north, forming a spine for cycling through Pentagon City.

Technically speaking this is Arlington’s second cycletrack. The first one, in Rosslyn, is so short that it hardly counts. Hayes Street is the first significant one.

It’s great to see such high quality bike infrastructure appearing in more jurisdictions. Who will be next? Maybe Montgomery County?

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.