March 2023 Road and Trail Conditions

[Steve O]

Effective 3/25 traffic on Ohio Drive will flow counter-clockwise around Hains Point. Claim those KOM/QOMs while you can.

It's hard to tell from the tweet if this is permanent or temporary.

[arlcxrider]

It's hard to tell from the tweet if this is permanent or temporary.

Extremely short-lived, apparently. Back to normal operations (clockwise) last evening.

I did not go down there to experience the insanity over the weekend. NPS seems to making it up as they go along this year.

I hope there is some after-action reckoning, in light of Sunday's debacle. The environs need to be completely closed to motorized traffic, with perhaps an exemption for disability placards. There needs to be no expectation that one can drive and find parking. Free shuttle buses should be provided to multiple Metro stations--Smithsonian was completely overwhelmed.

[Starduster]

Extremely short-lived, apparently. Back to normal operations (clockwise) last evening.

I did not go down there to experience the insanity over the weekend. NPS seems to making it up as they go along this year.

I hope there is some after-action reckoning, in light of Sunday's debacle. The environs need to be completely closed to motorized traffic, with perhaps an exemption for disability placards. There needs to be no expectation that one can drive and find parking. Free shuttle buses should be provided to multiple Metro stations--Smithsonian was completely overwhelmed.

I guess we should ask, "Why???"

I support greatly restricted motor vehicle traffic here, but I also want to be respectful of the locals who picnic and fish there.

[DrP]

Extremely short-lived, apparently. Back to normal operations (clockwise) last evening.

I did not go down there to experience the insanity over the weekend. NPS seems to making it up as they go along this year.

I hope there is some after-action reckoning, in light of Sunday's debacle. The environs need to be completely closed to motorized traffic, with perhaps an exemption for disability placards. There needs to be no expectation that one can drive and find parking. Free shuttle buses should be provided to multiple Metro stations--Smithsonian was completely overwhelmed.

I hope there is an after-action/lessons learned or the like. It was a COMPLETE mess Sunday morning - I was not expecting it at all. I biked down early Sunday morning to see the trees like I do every year and expected to do a couple of laps. It took an hour to get through one and out of there. People were trying to enter by car the way they normally would (wharf side) and were turned around and there was no planning, it seems, by park police. They could have closed off a lane for bikes and peds, but instead all had to weave through traffic, which was not always possible or safe.

[arlcxrider]

I guess we should ask, "Why???"

I support greatly restricted motor vehicle traffic here, but I also want to be respectful of the locals who picnic and fish there.

The "why" is self-evident it seems to me, but I agree the "how" has some nuances. Still, it's only one weekend per year. The golfers, picnickers, and fisherdudes can cope, just like they do for the Fourth of July shutdown that closes off motor vehicle access.

[Starduster]

My ride through the cherry blossoms today was quite easy...


...but encountered a problem. Potomac & Half St SW. This is not a help.