Last Thursday our area was hit by strong thunderstorms. South of Alexandria, microbursts hit the Belle Haven and Belle View areas of Fairfax County and Dyke Marsh especially hard. The Mount Vernon Trail in this area was closed as was the adjacent George Washington Memorial Parkway. Within a day and a half the trail and the Parkway were cleared of obstructions.
This tree came down across the Mount Vernon Trail in the same storm. Unfortunately, for trail users, this tree fell in Jones Point Park just south of Old Town in the city of Alexandria.
The League of American Bicyclists (of which I am a member) designated Alexandria as a bicycle friendly city at the silver level in 2013. You’d think that getting silver level status would mean that the city regards the users of the Mount Vernon Trail with respect. Not so much,
The failure to remove this downed tree is testimony to what’s wrong with the awards. Alexandria tolerates cyclists. I have to wonder whether Alexandria would even merit bronze status without the Mount Vernon Trail, a federal government trail.
If the city thinks I’m being harsh, prove me wrong. Remove the tree. And the next time this happens don’t wait days and days until trail users call you out on your inaction.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
The MVT and Jones Point Park are the property of the National Park Service, not the City of Alexandria.
As far as I can tell within Alexandria City they are maintained by the city. The blockage was cleared this morning. The only crew nearby was a city crew clearing debris from a park on Union St. The Park Service was using heavy equipment to clean up Belle Haven Park at the time.
BOO! When I find stuff in the trail or on the sidewalk as I did in our ‘hood on Sunday afternoon, I am really tempted to drag it back into the street. The multiple lanes streets where the damn tree wouldn’t even be an issue. Grr.
There is a huge branch covering the sidewalk on the steep incline on Beacon Hill. It was moved there from the street. What’s annoying is that Fairfax County crews WERE there the day after the storm working across the street. Sometimes, I swear.