Potomac Avenue bridge now open to cars (between Arlington and Alexandria)

[PotomacCyclist]

Potomac Avenue connects Arlington and Alexandria in the Potomac Yard area. The bridge and the road have been available for cyclists and pedestrians for several months. Now cars will be allowed on the bridge and road. It was nice being able to ride on a wide, smooth road for a mile and a half without having to worry about cars. Many drivers will use the new road to go to the shopping center and movie theater.

But all is not lost. The bike/pedestrian trail has also been available for several months. It runs the entire length of Potomac Avenue although it crosses over from one side of the road to the other at one point. Depending on the car traffic patterns and speeds on the road, many cyclists may simply choose to stay on the road. The posted speed limit is 25 mph. The straight route is broken up by several intersections and a traffic light, so I don’t think most drivers will zoom along at 45 mph the way they do on the nearby GW Parkway.

Google Maps hasn’t been updated to show the entire road yet, although you can sort of make out the location of the road based on the areas where the grass and trees have been cleared out.

The road and trail offer a nice alternative for cyclists traveling from Crystal City to Alexandria. Potomac Avenue is well lit, unlike the Mt. Vernon Trail. This makes Potomac Ave. the better option for winter and nighttime riding. Another plus: the road/trail doesn’t have the blind turns that the MVT has near the Washington Marina. After crossing the Monroe Ave. bridge past the south end of Potomac Ave., you do have to wind your way around a few local streets to get over to the on-road section of the MVT. But that’s a minor problem.

[americancyclo]

Excellent timing! I need to go to Potomac Yards on my way from DC to West Falls Church. Is there any access from the north, or 4 mile run? Am I better off just going on Rte 1?

[baiskeli]

@americancyclo 9772 wrote:

Excellent timing! I need to go to Potomac Yards on my way from DC to West Falls Church. Is there any access from the north, or 4 mile run? Am I better off just going on Rte 1?

It connects Potomac Ave in Crystal City, which intersects with Crystal Drive, with the new Potomac Avenue south of 4 Mile Run. From DC, you could take the Mt. Vernon Trail to the tunnel that connects to Crystal City, then go south on Crystal Drive and turn left onto Potomac.

[txgoonie]

I think the easiest way to Potomac Yards is still MVT to 4 Mile Run. Take the ramp up to Rte. 1 and you’re right there.

I was actually intending to start a thread about this when the road opened a few days ago, so PotomacCyclist, thank you for the chance to hijack;) I’ve had a few gripes about the Crystal City situation overall for a while now. I’m not sure a ton of thought was put into making Potomac Avenue into the traffic/bike connector that it no doubt will become.

– This was an existing problem that will only get worse as more people chose to ride on Potomac Ave. Even though it’s only a couple of blocks long, there’s no really slick way to get from 23rd St. southbound to Potomac Ave. You can take the Service Road from ~20th St. down to 26th, cross over Crystal Drive, T/L onto S. Clark St. and travel along one of the worst bike lanes I’ve ever seen (between the potholes and grates it’s almost impassable), and then switch lanes hoping not to get flattened by a cab coming out of the Hyatt to T/L onto Potomac. Or you can do what most people seem to do and either salmon down the Northbound bike lane on Crystal Drive or ride the sidewalk, and both of those options are not ideal.

– The bike lane on Potomac Ave. is violated all day every day at the Renaissance hotel by limos, cabs, and delivery vehicles. Sometimes they even put the sandwich board for the parking garage smack dab in the middle of the it. Might as well not even be there.

– There is no sidewalk between the hotel and Glebe Road, so pedestrians clog the bike lane for foot travel. They have to – there’s nowhere else for them to walk.

– The bike lane does not continue from Glebe Road South through Potomac Yards – why not? There’s the paved path/sidewalk PotomacCyclist mentioned, which was nice until they erected a chain link fence with posts driven into the asphalt taking away 18″ of travel lane. And manhole covers literally every 30 feet!? C’mon. Lame. I got yelled at riding on the path/sidewalk by someone walking their dog, too. “This is a sidewaaaaaalk!” If they intend for that to be the “bike path,” i.e. a multi-use trail, then they really ought to mark it as such.

– Word has not gotten out about the lanes being open just yet, so traffic is light. However, the car traffic that presently travels back there is too fast!. I know people are super-jazzed to have a traffic-light-free way to avoid Rte. 1, but it’s not the autobahn. It’s a 25 MPH zone, and it travels along pedestrian-heavy commerce and residence areas. The limit needs to be strictly enforced.

Aaaaaaaaand, scene. [Bow] Thank you very much:)

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