FABB Blog

 

New tool to request Fairfax County ped safety improvements needs bike component

Fairfax County recently released a new tool to allow residents "show us where you think pedestrian safety can be improved. This tool is an extension of our existing process that allows residents to e-mail FCDOT and request sidewalk and trail connections, curb ramps, improved signage, and other strategies to improve pedestrian safety." This is a great tool, showing current projects and allowing residents to relatively easily request new facilities. However, bicycle safety requests need to be incorporated into the application.

One of the options is to use an interactive map to draw the location of a new trail connection. By turning on the map layer showing existing pedestrian projects, you can see if a project is already underway at a particular location. Projects requested by others will also be displayed.

The image above shows the planned Vesper trail leading to the Spring Hill Metro station (shown as a dashed blue line). Also shown are planned paved bike shoulders on Old Courthouse Road (also a dashed blue line at Freedom Hill Park).

See the Pedestrian Infrastructure Requests page to view instructions on adding a feature, and a link to the interactive map.

We plan to ask county staff to modify the tool to include bicycle safety improvements. It would be relatively easy to add the ability to indicate where sharrows, bike lanes, paved shoulders, cycle tracks, climbing lanes, and other on-road bike facilities are needed.

Labels: bicycle safety, pedestrian improvement requests, pedestrian safety

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:52 AM permalink