Bicycling
Cold weather, lack of plowing affects bike commuting
Automated trail counters have given Arlington an accurate count of the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists on various trails by time of day.
Below is the aggregated data from a counter located at the Custis Trail's 3.5 mile marker, at the top of the hill, just west of Rosslyn:
There are three interesting things this chart shows.
The winter effect: Winter does cause a sizable drop off in cycling. It's around 70%, as I eyeball it. It's impossible to say if these are evenly dispersed among commuters and recreational cyclists or if the people left in the winter are dedicated commuters, but regardless, there is less biking in the winter.
The period of reduced cycling seems to be the 4 months from about mid-November to mid-March. That happens to correspond pretty closely with Daylight Saving Time, so it may be that people just don't want to bike home in the dark.
The summer effect: There isn't one. Next time you hear someone say that it gets too hot in the summer to bike in DC, show them this.
Snow plowing matters. The big drop off in trail use in February is during Snowmaggeddon and the resulting lack of snow clearing. Snow was done falling on 2/11/10 but it wasn't until the first week in March that things got back to normal.
Some of the drop off would have occurred even if the trail had been cleared by the 12th because so many offices were closed, but clearly the lack of snow clearing on the trail made it almost unusable for about three weeks. During that time there were maybe 15,000-20,000 fewer trips on the trail than there might have been had it been cleared.
Some of those trips probably moved elsewhere, but not all of them. It's worth asking how much those trips were worth and how much it would have cost to make them possible.
As Mark Blacknell points out, there isn't enough manpower now to clear them, but that's because of who is assigned to do it. Arlington's Department of Environmental Services has 150 employees to clear roads. But trail clearing is assigned to the Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources, which has a single crew who has to clear routes to schools, paths to Metro stations and trails, in that order. By the time they get to trails, Mother Nature has done the work for them.
It appears that in the winter, they can count on about 5,000 bike and pedestrian trips per week Cyclists and pedestrians make up more than 0% of commuters. They deserve more than 0% of the plowing resources.
Cross-posted at TheWashcycle.
David Cranor is an operations engineer with NASA. A former Peace Corps Volunteer and former Texan (where he wrote for the Daily Texan), he's lived in the DC area since 1997. David is a cycling advocate and also writes the WashCycle. 
Comments
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Obviously, the storms last winter were far more severe than usual, and all plowing resources were overtaxed. Given a typical winter (like this one so far) I'm not sure you would see the same patterns.
Where that marker is located is a particularly bad area in winter -- microclimate with the sound walls, grass, and trees. Lots of shade and snows lasts longer there than usual. I know because I walk through it everyday! Again, that might explain some of the problems from last winter.
Finally, it is not so much plowing as salting. Ice is far more dangerous to pedestrians than snow. Salting is far easier to do (golf cart with an attachment). Not sure what ARL policy is on that, but just a thought.
by charlie on Jan 21, 2011 9:00 am • link • report
I like Charlie's suggestion of a golf cart and salt. That would make a huge difference for not much manpower.
by guest on Jan 21, 2011 9:04 am • link • report
Second, there is a minimum cost to plowing. I'd bet that you could clear the way for a lot more people if that minimum was spent clearing a road rather than a bike lane.
Third, all bikers are not as die-hard as you. Maybe the drop off was because people decided they did not want to bike in the SLUSH.
by beatbox on Jan 21, 2011 9:08 am • link • report
Driving and snow don't work well together either but people still have to work.
by Canaan on Jan 21, 2011 9:29 am • link • report
I'd bet that you could clear the way for a lot more people if that minimum was spent clearing a road rather than a bike lane. Alright, how much does it cost per user to clear a road as compared to a trail? Consider this "in the winter of 2007/2008 Arlington [MA] plowed its 3.5-mile section of the Minuteman Bikeway at a cost of only $34 per mile per storm. That year the Minuteman Bikeway plowing constituted only 0.2 percent of Arlington’s total snow removal budget"
Maybe the drop off was because people decided they did not want to bike in the SLUSH. Maybe. But why would there be slush if the trail were cleared?
by David C on Jan 21, 2011 9:32 am • link • report
a snow fall of a foot or more is an outlier, and hard to plan for in any respect.
by dano on Jan 21, 2011 9:45 am • link • report
by Nate on Jan 21, 2011 9:48 am • link • report
by Nate on Jan 21, 2011 10:04 am • link • report
But as a pedestrian, I'd rather deal with salt and slush than ice. And temperatures below 20 are rare in this area -- a few night we get that cold (tonight?) but not regular occurrence.
On a related note, why is the scott st. bridge sidewalks over 66 not salted? VDOT instead of arlington?
by charlie on Jan 21, 2011 10:14 am • link • report
Also, cool data!
by lily on Jan 21, 2011 10:47 am • link • report
During the recent snow/ice storms, based on my morning commute, Arlington County staff did plow/clear parts of the Custis Trail. From posts on the Bike Arlington Committee, other MUPs were plowed and apparently salted. But I did not personally observe any de-icing treatment and in fact experienced long tracks of hard ice. Given that lack of snow, my guess is that pedestrians and cyclists would have been much better off with some de-icing treatment.
by Geof Gee on Jan 21, 2011 11:21 am • link • report
by Lance on Jan 21, 2011 11:33 am • link • report
by Fred on Jan 21, 2011 11:44 am • link • report
by beat on Jan 21, 2011 11:48 am • link • report
There are situations in which a car is advantageous. This post - and in fact this blog - doesn't make any claim to the contrary. Still, if you would like to count this as a "win" for you and your ideas - I can't stop you from feeling what you want to feel.
by David C on Jan 21, 2011 11:55 am • link • report
by Lance on Jan 21, 2011 12:26 pm • link • report
As for bike commuting, for many people headign to downtown DC from within the District and closer-in burbs, or those who live 1-4 miles from work, it's quicker than driving or mass transit. And it's perfectly doable in 95% of the weather we get here. One of the big sticking points, however, is that currently, the methods used to address adverse weather conditions (esp snow) are focused on keeping cars moving, rather than people. So, for example, we see roads getting plowed in a manner than eliminates the shoulder, making biking difficult. And cities don't generally plow sidewalks (and I'm not necessarily advocating they should), but leave it to property owners to shovel, and then don't enforce the requirement. Or cities plow, but don't clear bus stops of snow. Or the NPS neglects to clear sidewalks adjacent to parks.
Bikes and walking (and public transit) can be fine options for bad-weather commuting. But youre' right to suggest that, since we've built an extensive infrastructure around cars and spend tons of money catering to their needs, it's hardly surprising that there will be times when it's easier to get somewhere by car.
by Paula Product on Jan 21, 2011 12:57 pm • link • report
Actually now that I think about it, this chart doesn't answer that question at all. There is no guarantee that the 7000 cyclists who go away in the winter are transporational cyclists. It may be that those are all recreational cyclists who come home, find it dark and decide to go to the gym instead. If any of those 7000 are transportational cyclists there is no guarantee that they have instead decided to get into a car. Many, I suspect, hop on the Orange line or a bus; and still others probably just stay home (some trips go away). So, no, I am discovering why bikes lost the contest with the automobile.
One of the main reasons why cycling lost that contest was that we were totally ignorant about what over-reliance on driving would do to us. We were under the mistaken belief that gasoline was extremely cheap because we did not accurately accounting for the costs (pollution, land use, military expenses, health, etc...). We were further ignorant as to the impact on global climate that widespread driving would have. So, I totally understand why driving won out - and don't need this chart to understand it. The reason is that when the decisions were being made, we were incredibly ignorant.
A better question is, knowing what we know now, would we do things the same way?
by David C on Jan 21, 2011 1:00 pm • link • report
DDOT was fairly responsive and pointed out within hours, that DDOT has no jurisdiction on Key Bridge. I should contact NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Association). I did. Within hours again, they replied that they only handle national issues (seat belts, airbags). DC is in Region 3, so please contact the local office of Region 3. Done. No answer so far.
Thanks government, for wasting not only my time, but also DDOTs and NHTSAs.
by Jasper on Jan 21, 2011 1:09 pm • link • report
by jcm on Jan 21, 2011 1:23 pm • link • report
by charlie on Jan 21, 2011 1:30 pm • link • report
by Lance on Jan 21, 2011 1:55 pm • link • report
Maybe NPS?
by charlie on Jan 21, 2011 2:12 pm • link • report
Are you sure these "many reasons" aren't the same ones that caused the lowly garden salad to lose the contest with the McAngus Double Cheesy Thickburger to become the standard as "America's Lunchtime Fare"?
by oboe on Jan 21, 2011 2:17 pm • link • report
Dunno. The only thing I can think of is that Key Bridge has no other road signage than US-29. Could it be that for some reason DDOT does not need to take care of US routes in the District? Just like the NPS "takes care" of much of the green space and some roads (Clara Barton, Rock Creek, GW Parkway (yes that goes through DC).
Would be interesting. Quite some crucial roads in DC have US signage. US-29 is Key Bridge, Whitehurst, K St, 11th, RI Ave, GA Ave. US-1 is 14th St to NY Ave, 6th, and RI Ave. US-50 come in over the Roosevelt Bridge (I-66) and continues on Constitution Ave, 6th and NY Ave.
Here's the e-mail I got after sending my message to DDOT:
Thank you for your concerns regarding the snow and ice removal on the Key Bridge. Your concerns are very important to us; however, the District of Columbia does not have jurisdiction in this matter.
We encourage you to share your concerns with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which oversees all operations and policies conducted along Key Bridge. You may contact them by phone at 1-888-327-4236, by writing NHTSA Headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Washington, DC 20590 or you can visit their website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/.
Thank you again for expressing your comments with us.
Sincerely,
The Mayor's Correspondence Unit
by Jasper on Jan 21, 2011 6:29 pm • link • report
Meanwhile we have the new white concrete underpass under I-395 from Shirlington to Glebe. Because much of it is raised but also vibrant white concrete, it develops ice quickly and the ice dissipates far more slowly than the asphalt trails. This raises a number of thoughts ~
-- The problem often for bike commuters isn't the entire route, it is the worst section (or sections) of the whole thing that renders the exercise sufficiently unworkable that they opt to use mass transit (or whatever) until the "choke points" (bad spots) are better. I think a little attention spent identifying these points and focusing on them could result in a quicker return of people to commuting. Unfortunately they fall under many jurisdictions around here. The 14th St bridge pedestrian/bike path for example, must be 1/3 mile long and can be quite a problem and nothing is ever done to clear or treat it.
-- If Arlington is going to have this hazardous locations, such as the the I-395 underpass, at least they could post "bridge freezes before trail" as the Park Service does on the GW Parkway trail. In the last ten days that one small stretch has been quite slick when the rest of the miles of trails I have ridden have been fine. Better lighting would also be helpful. The lighting under I-395 is kind of a sad joke.
Last Tuesday morning, the miles of bike paths in Arlington I rode on were solid ice. Since i have these studded mtn bike tires I rode to work, but I wouldn't for a second imagine many people would do that (or should). The preceding Thursday, there were three raised white concrete areas on my commute and those were like skating rinks but I had skipped on the bike with studded tires and 9.9 miles were fine and .1 was terrible. With a little input I think the various jurisdictions could improve things a lot even if they only treat a small percentage of the trails.
by Michael N on Jan 25, 2011 9:20 pm • link • report
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