Friday, January 21, 2011
Connection article about FABB
Promoting 'Bike-Friendly' Initiatives: Local bicycling advocacy group drives plans to make county more "bike-friendly." is the title of an article in the Connection newspaper by Victoria Ross about FABB.
Bruce Wright and his wife, Kerie Hitt of Reston, also use their bikes instead of a car for many trips. For nearly 20 years, they bike-commuted to work on a daily basis.
As active members of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB), all three hope to make it easier for the other 200,000 bicycle-owners in Fairfax County to get out of their cars and onto the seats of their two-wheelers in the coming year.
"We often hear 'I wish I could ride my bike to work or to school but it's just not safe enough around here,'" said Wright, chairman and co-founder of FABB, which has a core membership of about 30 residents and an email list of 850 area cyclists.
"Since 2006, Fairfax County has become more bike friendly with the adoption of the county-wide bicycle initiative, but cyclists still need better-connected bike routes, secure bicycle parking and education programs to help them travel comfortably and safely," Wright said.
He must not have ridden on the John F. (Jack) Herrity Parkway trail lately (also known as the Fairfax Co Parkway). It disappears in several locations with no signs indicating the detour, and in some sections there are wide cracks with protruding grass. The photo on the right was taken in 2008 just south of where the trail disappears at Lee Hwy/Rt 236.
We complained to Supervisor Herrity's office about the trail in August of last year and received no response, and to our knowledge, the trail still looks like this. We're currently trying to get a wide crack in the trail near the Dulles Toll Rd fixed. A friend recently hit a protruding utillity cover on the trail, crashed, and was injured, luckily not seriously. Yes, we need a connected trail system and we need it maintained. We also need a connected on-road bicycle network; the two go hand in hand. Fortunately we have a bike coordinator who is developing a bicycle master plan for the county so we may get both in the future.
Labels: connection newspaper, FABB, herrity, supervisor foust, supervisor hudgins, supervisor penny gross
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