Over the next 8 years, the Long Bridge project will dramatically improve transportation across the Potomac River, by doubling rail capacity and building a brand new connection for bikes & pedestrians from Long Bridge Park in Arlington to East Potomac Park in DC.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but the current plan for the design of the bike & pedestrian bridge reflects short-term thinking. The proposed design is 14' wide with vertical barriers for safety on each side. While 14' would be a good width for a well-used trail across a park, the barriers on either side narrow the effective width of the trail. Trail users, especially those on bikes and scooters have a natural aversion to riding too close to vertical barriers. VDOT's trail guidelines recognize this and require a 3' buffer between a trail and any vertical barrier.
Effectively removing 3' of usable space on each side of a 14' trail leaves only 8' of usable space, which is insufficient for the expected number of trail users immediately on completion, let alone what that traffic may grow to over time. Unlike a trail through a park which is relatively easy to widen later, it is our understanding that the width of a truss bridge is extremely difficult to change after construction.
Include some variation of the following for Question #5 of the VPRA Feedback Form
The proposed 14' wide bike/ped bridge is too narrow. Given the presence of vertical barriers on each side, the usable width will be only 8-10', too narrow for the likely bike/ped traffic when it opens, let alone what it will grow to over the useful life of the bridge.
Given the difficulty and expense of widening a bridge, it is common and wise to "build for the future". For example, the recently-built W&OD Trail Bridge over Langston Blvd features a 20' clear width despite the rest of the W&OD trail being significantly narrower.
Given the length of the bridge, getting emergency services to the site of a bike/ped crash on the bridge will be difficult and slow. The bridge width should recognize this and strive to minimize bike/ped conflict by ensuring sufficient width for likely future traffic growth.
Page 22-12 of the Draft Long Bridge EIS indicated that "The materials and dimensions of the bridge would be confirmed in a final design phase following completion of the EIS". If now is not the time for public comments that this bridge must be wider, then when?