NPS Public Meeting on Hains Point Improvements. The National Mall and Memorial Parks is proposing transportation improvements on Ohio Drive in East Potomac Park to improve visitor safety and access to Hains Point, specifically a new bike/pedestrian lane. They are hosting an upcoming public meeting on Tuesday, April 19th @ 5-6:30PM.
Excerpt from the project description:
Under the current proposal, one vehicle travel lane on the one-way loop of Ohio Drive would be replaced with new bicycle and pedestrian lanes. One travel lane would remain open for vehicle access to Hains Point and parking lots. As part of the proposal, tour buses would be prohibited from entering Ohio Drive at the start of the one-way loop; school buses would still be allowed access to Hains Point.
The National Park Service will partner with the District Department of Transportation to implement improvements in the summer of 2022.
The project web site is a little light on specifics. There's nothing in the "document library." My concern is they'll violate the "first, do no harm" principle. What problem are they trying to solve? Ohio Drive (the one-way section) seems to work pretty well as is, and the conflicts are mostly from inattentive drivers backing out of angled parking spaces without looking, speeding cars and motorcycles, and other shenanigans. Most people seem to have figured out "slower traffic keep right," and it works well for the most part. I hope it doesn't become a lane separation scheme with flexi-bollards and less room for maneuver.
Last edited by arlcxrider; 04-07-2022 at 11:56 AM.
The documents likely won’t be posted until the meeting occurs. I saw a post on Twitter advertising the meeting which showed one of the lanes on the one way section becoming a bike/ped only lane and the other lane remains by a car lane with sparrows. The loop would also be closed to tour busses (which have been the cause of my worst experiences at HP)
My understanding is that this project is in response to two pedestrians being killed at HP.
The tour buses being eliminated would be the most welcome part of this for me, and in my opinion they need to be eliminated if one lane is allotted to bikes and pedestrians because there are sections where buses would damage trees if they have to stay on the left instead of going up the middle. It has been a pleasure with very few buses due to COVID the last two years, and I have been dreading them coming back in large numbers.
The documents likely won’t be posted until the meeting occurs. I saw a post on Twitter advertising the meeting which showed one of the lanes on the one way section becoming a bike/ped only lane and the other lane remains by a car lane with sparrows. The loop would also be closed to tour busses (which have been the cause of my worst experiences at HP)
My understanding is that this project is in response to two pedestrians being killed at HP.
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Thanks. I would hope they would at least post the presentation slide deck a few days prior to the public meeting. I'll try to tune in.
The slide deck from the meeting is available on the project web site. Seems innocuous for the most part, although there's really no good solution offered for the "angled" parking down at the south end. Other than getting rid of it, which isn't on the table.
Public comment period runs through May 19th.
Last edited by arlcxrider; 04-21-2022 at 02:27 PM.
Thanks greatly for posting that. I had to miss it due to a dentist appointment.
I was thinking this morning about the fact that school buses will still be allowed. For between 30 minutes and an hour, 30 or more Fairfax County school buses were parking in what will be bike/pedestrian territory on the Potomac River side of HP. I spoke to a Metro policeman there who told be they were there because they had driven students to the Kennedy Center and there was no other place for them to park. The first two times I passed them I had to breath their fumes. (There used to be No Idling signs.) The next time I passed was when they decided to leave and immediately go into the left lane cutting me and a couple of others off. At least of the proposal is approved, the buses won't be able to park there.
Thanks greatly for posting that. I had to miss it due to a dentist appointment.
I was thinking this morning about the fact that school buses will still be allowed. For between 30 minutes and an hour, 30 or more Fairfax County school buses were parking in what will be bike/pedestrian territory on the Potomac River side of HP. I spoke to a Metro policeman there who told be they were there because they had driven students to the Kennedy Center and there was no other place for them to park.
This happens often. Not the school buses specifically, but NPS treats the Ohio Drive loop as a "surplus" parking and staging area for any number of activities. Last week the gates were closed because the Park Police were doing some kind of training exercise down there. They didn't seem to mind my presence (or even notice, to be honest.)
The slide deck from the meeting is available on the project web site. Seems innocuous for the most part, although there's really no good solution offered for the "angled" parking down at the south end. Other than getting rid of it, which isn't on the table.
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Hains Point Public Meeting on 4/19
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Originally Posted by Judd
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