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| The Greenbelt ends here near the 3 Mile Marker. Detour on the left. |
That time of year again. Day light becomes a scarce commodity. Evil North west Wind hits hard. Winter will be here soon with in 20 below zerex temps. Cities release the last of their coffers to tear up streets and trails. Yeah, that last one.
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| The board has rotted away on this rail crossing. |
Clive is repairing, repaving and rerouting the Greenbelt Trail. Yes it is a necessary pill to swallow. From about 108th to 114th. The trail surface was very busted up around a very curvy area. Some of the curves are blind which adds another element of danger. A funny thing about this is that the closure is not addressing the dangerous rail road crossing nor the section of trail that was washed out by Walnut Creek. The latter is being address and will be easy to avoid.
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| Walnut Creek's attempt to wash the trail away. |
The Greenbelt is an important route to my employment. I ride it to and fro work everyday. In the morning I can take streets if the trail is closed or incapacitated for some other reason--flood, too much snow and ice ect--but said streets are rather busy after work.Work was scheduled to begin on Monday October 9th. I rode the trail to work but took a different route home. The Jordan Creek Trail is the alternative trail home. But it is slightly longer and feels slightly slower and appears to be somewhat out of the way. JCT is not plowed during winter and its tunnels, heaven forbid if we allowed to go over the streets to cross an intersection, are quite susceptible to flooding and mud after rain.
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| The detour. trail closed between the top two pink circles. |
I met Jane on the trail Wednesday and we discussed the situation. She told me of the long awaited detour that was to be posted and also said that the trail is slated to reopen in the Spring. Damn, that's a long time from now. The detour is feasible, trail users must use neighborhood access trails and streets to get around the construction. I worry that said trail sections will not be plowed. Sure Chris, just take your fatbike. Nope, the trail gets cratered and icy from walkers ect and the surface becomes a slow miserable and dangerous experience for all until it is plowed or the sun melts it.
Ingersoll Ave holds a major bicycle lane in Des Moines. I sometimes take these lanes when the Bill Riley Trail is flood which is often and happens in winter as well. I also have taken Ingersoll when there is too much snow on the trail or there is construction such as the replacement of the rail bridge. I drove on Ingersoll yesterday. I do not want to drive or bicycle on that avenue again until construction is complete. They have take two lanes out, the bike lane and the sidewalk out on the north side for several blocks. Where will it end????
Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that the municipalities that I ride through fix their infrastructure but at times it seems a bit overwhelming.
I completely understand. Our waterfront trail is undergoing more repairs and expansion, so thus more miles are closed, necessitating less than desirable detours that include hills... fortunately it is not on my normal route to work, but I ride it often on weekends.
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