Thursday, May 12, 2016
May-June 2016 FABB News
May-June 2016 FABB News
A bi-monthly publication of Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling
Get Ready! May Bike Weekend is Almost Here
Celebrate bike month with three exciting bike events in May! Bike to Work Day, Tour de Fat, and DC Bike Ride are all falling on the same weekend of May 20-22 creating a fun-filled spring weekend to celebrate bicycling.
Events kick off Friday, May 20 with Bike to Work Day, a celebration of biking as a clean, fun, and healthy way to get to work. This year Fairfax is hosting 14 Bike to Work Day pit stops and FABB will be at most of them greeting riders and talking about local bike advocacy efforts. Join the festivities and bike to work. Register today! Participants receive a free 2016 Bike to Work Day T-shirt. FABB still needs volunteers at a couple of pit stops. If you can help, please sign up on Volunteer Spot.
On Saturday, May 21, the Tour de Fat bicycle festival will be at Yards Park (next to Nationals Stadium). The all-day bike party offers tasty beers along with games, art, and music by the river. It is sponsored by New Belgium Brewery and helps raise funds for bike advocacy in the DC area. FABB still needs volunteers to help check IDs. Sign up to volunteer today! Enter 'FABB' as the password to be directed to our volunteer page.
Then Sunday, the inaugural DC Bike Ride will open up 17 miles of D.C. streets for a car-free ride through our nation’s capital. See the sites by bike at your own pace. Then enjoy the Finish Festival with musical performances by Questlove and White Ford Bronco. Join the ride today at DCBikeRide. Receive a $10 discount by entering user code ‘FABB’ when registering. Online registration ends May 18.
Support Better Bicycling – Donate to FABB
It’s official! FABB received its 501(c)3 nonprofit status earlier this year. We need your help to start us off on the right foot. Will you make a donation to FABB today?
FABB is already off and running in 2016. We’ve held community meetings in the Mount Vernon and Mason districts meeting new cyclists and learning about the most pressing local needs, advocated for new bike lanes as part of VDOT’s summer repaving program and are pushing for a parallel trail along I-66 outside the Beltway.
FABB is developing an advocacy leadership workshop that will train and empower a community of advocates and grow our movement for a bike-friendly Fairfax. We also plan to update our website to help provide a fresh public interface for local bike news and reach new supporters. Your donation today will help support these initiatives.
I-66 Outside the Beltway - Support the Parallel Trail
Bike facilities are included in current plans for I-66 Outside the Beltway, across the rebuilt bridges over I-66 and a new parallel trail that would be an extension of the Custis Trail that is located inside the Beltway. VDOT is planning public meetings in May to present the complete set of draft Request for Proposals (RFP) documents for the project. Cyclists are asked to attend one of the meetings and support bike facilities as part of the project.
May 23, 2016 (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
Oakton High School - Cafeteria
2900 Sutton Road, Vienna
May 24, 2016 (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
VDOT Northern Virginia District Office
4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax
May 25, 2016 (6:30-8:30 p.m.)
Piney Branch Elementary School - Cafeteria/Gym
8301 Linton Hall Road, Bristow
See the FABB I-66 Info Page for supporting documents.
National Bike To School Day Wrap-Up
Last week students, teachers, and supporters of more active lifestyles for children participated in this year’s Bike to School Day in Fairfax County. On May 4th, more than 60 Fairfax County elementary and middle schools participated in the event. Kids on scooters, skateboards, and on their own two feet braved the overcast skies to join their fellow students in promoting fitness as part of their daily routine.
Fairfax County Public Schools encouraged increased ridership by handing out backpack tags to participants at the elementary schools and cinch sacks at the middle schools. The Fairfax County Police Department also lent its support throughout the county. FCPD bike patrol officers led three bike trains to WolfTrap Elementary in Hunter Mill District. The FCPD also assisted at Hunter Woods and Sunrise Valley Elementary Schools in Reston, escorting kids and ensuring their safety.
Highlights of the day included:
- Chesterbrook Elementary in McLean had more than 200 students plus family and other community members join in the fun. Check out this great video Chesterbrook’s Bike to School event here.
- All eight of Reston’s elementary schools participated with initial reports of 116 riders at Armstrong, 46 at Dogwood, 40 at Forest Edge, 110 at Lake Anne and 70 at Sunrise Valley. Aldrin reported a total of 118 bikers and walkers.
- At Dogwood Elementary, riders received assistance from the Reston Bike Club with minor maintenance and helmet fit. The club also provided helmets to those without them.
- Cunningham Park had twice as many bicyclists than on a normal day and Louise Archer’s cyclists opted to walk with rain threatening.
FABB supports biking to school every day. We are ready to assist interested groups with planning and sponsoring activities and with identifying safe routes to encourage children to bike and walk to school
FABB’s Springfield District Bike Meeting, May 18
Join FABB in Springfield to talk bicycling and learn about upcoming county bike plans in the Springfield area. This will be our third district meeting as FABB continues to meet around the county in an effort to hear from local residents about their bicycling needs. The meeting will be held at 7:30pm, May 18, at the West Springfield Government Center Community Room.
The following month, FABB will be meeting in the Lee District at the Richard Byrd Library in Springfield on June 15th. Check out a recent FABB blog post Future FABB Meetings Around the County for more information about our district meetings and the upcoming schedule.
Herndon W&OD Trail Lighting Meeting
The proposed second phase W&OD Trail lighting project in Herndon will be presented Thursday, May 12, at 7 pm at Herndon Council Chambers (765 Lynn Street, Herndon). In addition to hearing about the project, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer feedback on the project. Under the proposal, another 2,400 feet of the 2.4 mile section of the trail in the town will be lit. The 22 new light posts will cover the section of the trail between Ferndale Avenue and Crestview Drive.
Little River Turnpike Bike Study Meeting next Tuesday
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is holding a public meeting to discuss ways to improve bicycling along the Little River Turnpike. The meeting will be held at 6:30pm, May 17, at Annandale Terrace E.S. in Annandale. FCDOT is seeking public input as part of its bicycle access study of the Little River Turnpike corridor from Fairfax to Alexandria. For more information on the study check out FCDOT's website.
FABB at SpringFest
FABB was at Fairfax County’s premier spring event celebrating the environment. SpringFest was held on April 30 at the Workhouse in Lorton and FABB was there together with DC Bike Ride representatives. We discussed Safe Routes to Schools with interested parents, promoted Bike to Work Day and entertained hundreds of youngsters with prizes and a game designed to spark interest in bicycling.
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If you don't already, please Like us on Facebook and follow our Twitter feed. If you have news about bicycling in Fairfax to share with our readers, please submit brief articles to news@fabb-bikes.org.
- May 17 - 6:30 pm, Little River Turnpike Bicycle Study - Community Meeting, Annandale Terrace E.S. 7604 Herald St. Annandale, VA
- May 18 - 7:30 pm, FABB Springfield District Meeting, West Springfield Government Center, 6140 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA 22152
- May 20 - Bike to Work Day - Registration is open for the 14 events in Fairfax County.
- May 21 - Tour de Fat - Join FABB at this fun bike party in DC. To volunteer contact us.
- May 22 - DC Bike Ride - Ride on car-free DC streets, use code “FABB” for $10 discount!
- June 15 - DoD Health Agency Transportation Commuter Expo
- June 15 - 7:30 pm, FABB Lee District Meeting, Richard Byrd Library Meeting Room 1/2, Springfield
- July 20 - 7:30 pm, FABB Braddock District Meeting, Braddock Government Center, 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA 22015
- August 17 - 7:30 pm, FABB Monthly Meeting - Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA 22180
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