Friday, April 27, 2007
 

Another Tysons tour article

The Times Community papers published an article on the recenty Tysons bicycle tour, A cyclist's view of Tysons. It includes a good quote from John Brunow about the importance of riding on the road vs. on a sidepath: “When you are on the road, you are seen as vehicular traffic, that's better than switching back and forth [between on-road and off-road],” Brunow said.

We were quoted as saying that “In rush hour, there's no way to get across Route 7, by bike or foot.” I don't think that's quite what I said. It's not that difficult to cross Route 7 by bike during rush hour if one rides in the road and waits for the traffic signal to change on a cross street. It's a different story for pedestrians. At the intersection where I made the comment there are no crosswalks nor pedestrian lights. Pedestrians usually run across even when there is a green light for the cross traffic.

The article sums up our main point, that “most destinations in Tysons are a five- to 10-minute bike ride from one of the four planned Metrorail stations.“, and that even though we need to plan for better bicycle access in the future, it is feasible now to ride in Tysons.
(0) comments
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
 

Tour of Tysons photos

Here are some photos from the FABB Tour of Tysons. Click on the photos for a larger image.

Discussion of planned bike lanes at Towers Crescent development.Road around Tysons Corner Center Mall; future multiuse trail to left.Future Tysons Central 123 Metro station location in distance.
Crossing Westpark bridge. Site of future bike lanes, trail, and sidewalk.Tree-lined and wide Jones Branch Dr.Returning to Kilmer Middle School along Gallows Rd, site of planned on-road bike lanes.

(0) comments
Sunday, April 22, 2007
 

FABB bike tour of Tysons

We had an excellent tour of Tysons on Saturday, April 21, 2007. About 20 of the invited guests showed up on a beautiful, mild morning. Providence District Supervisor Smyth and Providence District Planning Commissioner Ken Lawrence stopped by on their way to a citizens meeting to great the cyclists and put in a pitch for the upcoming Fairfax County Transportation Bond that includes funds for on-road bike routes and pedestrian projects. Planning Commissioners Nancy Hopkins (Dranesville) and Walter Alcorn (At-Large) both rode with the group as did Tysons Corner Task Force Chairman Clark Tyler. Fairfax County Transporatation head Kathy Ichter and her husband Larry rode their tandem. Charlie Strunk, the Fairfax County Bicycle Program Manager was also there with his wife. Several Fairfax County staff also rode with the group.

The article that appeared in today's Post contained some good information about efforts underway in the county to promote bicycling. We had hoped to show the group that bicycle access from Vienna is actually very good. There are 5 or 6 roads and a few trails that lead into Tysons from the south but we were not able to ride or view them all, and the article implies that Vienna is cut off from Tysons which is defintely not the case.

We even saw two others riding along Boone Blvd on sturdy mountain bikes and they seemed startled to see 20 cyclists streaming by. With hard work and a vision of a bicycle-friendly Tysons, it's possible that we'll have a future in which people have the choice of using the most efficient, non-polluting mode of transporation ever invented.

I'll post some photos of the tour soon.
(1) comments
Thursday, April 19, 2007
 

Robert Cervero speaks about the future of Tysons

On April 17 world-renowned transit-oriented development expert Dr. Robert Cervero spoke to a large audience about what needs to be done to make Tysons work. Dr. Cervero is working with the design consultant team to develop alternative growth models for Tysons.

He spoke very eloquently about the need to provide transportation choices to the future residents of Tysons, including safe bicycle facilities. At one time he considered bicycling to be a fringe activity, but he now realizes that it is about creating choices. (See his article Travel Choices in Pedestrian Versus Automobile Oriented Neighborhoods).

While some options may not appeal to a majority of people, each option contributes to a reduction in congestion. Some options such as regular shuttles and bicycle commuting, add to the predictability of our trips. One appeal of bike commuting is while it may take longer to travel in some cases, the travel time is almost always more predictable than driving.

A plan for bicycle facilities needs to be created now so that as Tysons develops, there is right-of-way available for bike lanes, wide curb lanes, and other bicycle facilities. FABB is working with the task force, area developers, and the county to help create that plan.
(0) comments
 

Tysons bicycle tour in Washington Post

There was a brief mention of the upcoming FABB bicycle tour of Tysons in today's Post. There has been a good response to the invitations sent out to local officials, county staff, and members of the Tysons Task Force. The weather looks good and we're hoping for a good turnout on Saturday. We'll post a summary of the event with some photos, so stay tuned.
(2) comments
Thursday, April 12, 2007
 

Employee bike parking

This is an example of the bike parking that is provided for 99.9% of employees in Fairfax. This photo was taken behind the Chipotle in Vienna on Maple Avenue. Many people ride bikes to work, and they have no choice but to lock them to utility pipes, trees, fences, etc. There is almost no bicycle parking in Vienna and the rest of Fairfax, mostly because there are very few county requirements for bike parking. That will hopefully change soon as Charlie Strunk, the new Fairfax County Bicycle Program Manager, implements parking requirements and standards. Both Arlington County and DC have them and it's time we did.
(0) comments
Monday, April 9, 2007
 

Tour of Tysons

FABB is hosting a small, informal tour of Tysons on Saturday April 21 for local politicians, developers, county staff, and members of the Tysons Land Use Task Force. We want to show people that there are currently many bicycle routes into Tysons from the surrounding neighborhoods, especially from the south. When most people think about cycling in Tysons they only think about the bumper to bumper traffic on Routes 7 and 123. However there are many low traffic streets and a few trails that lead into Tysons. Within Tysons there are some relatively wide, tree-lined streets such as Jones Branch Dr that are very bicycle-friendly.

We'll also show that neighborhoods like Pimmit Hills and McLean have little or no direct bicycle access to Tysons without cycling on Route 123 or Route 7. We'll review access to the planned Metro stations and discuss needed facilities. We may sponsor a tour for a larger group in the future.

Here are some photos of a Tysons trip that some FABB members took in 2005.
(0) comments
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
 

Website update

We've just updated the events page on the FABB web site with info on several upcoming functions. GMU will be holding several Earth Week events during the week of April 16-20 and FABB will be present on the 16th to discuss bicycling as a viable transportation option for students, faculty, and staff. We're also frantically trying to prepare for a tour of Tysons on April 21 for people involved in future development of that area. In a related event, there will be a new Bike to Work Day pit stop in Tysons this year, in front of Booz Allen Hamilton. If you haven't registered, visit the WABA web site and support bike commuting as a transportation alternative, and get a free t-shirt to boot.
(0) comments
Contact FABB via email: info@fabb-bikes.org

Subscribe to the
FABB e-newsletter


Subscribe to posts:
[Atom 1.0] or [RSS 2.0]





  Bike to Work Day 2015 at Wiehle Station

  Transportation choices

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Archives

  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007