Thursday, December 2, 2010
County Fire and Rescue wants wider neighborhood streets
VDOT is now allowing narrower, context-sensitive streets in neighborhoods with low traffic volume. As county staff were responding to the VDOT proposal for narrower streets, County Fire and Rescue officials objected. They are concerned that many neighborhoods don't enforce fire lane restrictions and their large fire trucks may not be able to reach burning houses located on narrow streets. This is known as "design by fire truck."
Fire departments have yet to acknowledge that fire safety is but a small part of a much larger picture that others refer to as life safety. The biggest threat to life safety is not fires but car accidents, by a tremendous margin.
According to the Fairfax times article County considering new standards for neighborhood street widths, "county public works staff now recommend the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopt a wider minimum street width than the VDOT standards for streets where parking is allowed on both sides of the roadway." We think Providence District Supervisor Smyth is correct when she states that the proposal"flies in the face of urban design standards."
Noting the county has been asking VDOT for years to take the context of streets into consideration, Smyth said she does not want the county to then go with a wider standard. "I'm concerned about a mixed message to VDOT," she said.
While cyclists usually prefer extra pavement for bike lanes or wide curb lanes, these are not necessary in most neighborhood streets. There are many design solutions to allow fire trucks into neighborhoods with narrow streets; it takes some extra effort but it can be done. We urge the county to adopt the proposed VDOT street widths to allow for the design of liveable neighborhoods.Noting the county has been asking VDOT for years to take the context of streets into consideration, Smyth said she does not want the county to then go with a wider standard. "I'm concerned about a mixed message to VDOT," she said.
We'll post information about the public hearing to be held by the Board of Supervisors on the proposal.
Labels: street widths, vdot
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