FABB Blog

 

Pohick Stream Valley Trail ribbon-cutting ceremony

FABB members Alan Young and Kerie Hitt on the left begin the ride to the bridge.

Several FABB members attended the official opening of the Pohick Stream Valley Trail that connects the Burke VRE station with Burke Lake Road and the Burke Village Shopping Center. It also connects several Park Authority and Burke Centre Conservancy trails. It will provide access to and from the VRE station for many residents in the area.

 A group of cyclists rode from the VRE station to the new bridge at Burke Lake Road where a group was gathered to hear speakers including Fairfax Co Board Chairman Sharon Bulova and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook. The speakers pointed out the importance of providing residents with opportunities to get out of their cars for making short trips by bike.

Chairman Bulova, Supervisor Cook, and others cut the ribbon.

One of the stream crossings along the trail is a fair weather crossing. Even though the weather was fair, the heavy rains yesterday meant that streams in the area were very high; so high that the fair weather crossing was impassable. As a result the bike convoy detoured along narrow asphalt trails leading into the surrounding neighborhoods.
We crossed one very slick wooden bridge and a couple of riders took a spill.

Not so fair weather crossing.

The project was the result of cooperation between Fairfax Co DOT, Fairfax Co Park Authority, and Burke Centre Conservancy. The Park Authority has a good reputation for building trail bridges quickly and at a reasonable cost. A similar cooperative project was responsible for the Wolftrap Rd bridge that is now used heavily but the community including kids riding to Kilmer Middle School. Congratulations to everyone who helped make the trail a reality.

Labels: burke centre conservancy, chairman bulova, pohick stream valley trail, supervisor cook, vre

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:23 PM permalink