FABB Blog

 

VDOT public meeting on I-495 Ped/Bike Improvements

As part of the 495 Express Lane Project VDOT is building new connections across I-495 for bicyclists and pedestrians. VDOT is holding a design public hearing to give an overview of the planned facilities and to receive comments from residents. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 11 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Fairhill Elementary School, 3001 Chichester Lane, Fairfax, VA 22031. There will be a presentation at 7:00 p.m.

Cyclists are encouraged to attend to learn about the project and provide comments. If you plan to ride, plan your route well. The meeting location is not bike-friendly, requiring cyclists coming from the W&OD Trail to travel on Cedar Lane, a narrow, busy commuter route.

From the I-495 Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail Improvements website:
While we are encouraged that work is being proposed to overcome longstanding barriers for cyclists, we think the plans need to be improved.

The project will cost $6,000,000. The 10-foot shared-use trail on the south side of Chain Bridge Road/Route 123 will cross four high speed entrance/exit ramps at grade. In several locations bicyclists would be facing forward with traffic approaching from the rear. In our opinion the crossings will be dangerous. A better option would be to separate the trail from the road by having trail users pass over the ramps similar to crossings on the Custis Trail in Arlington and those planned on Route 7 in Tysons.

Route 123 will be widened to have 14 foot outside lanes to the left of a ramp merge lane. Will cyclists feel safe riding in this wider lane with high speed traffic adjacent to a high speed merge lane? I think only the most experienced cyclists would use the lane to navigate through the interchange. Why not use the money required to widen Route 123 and create safer crossings for the shared-use trail by bridging the ramps? What do you think?

On Idylwood the "bicycle" improvement is a 5-foot wide sidewalk. The eastbound lane will be widened to 12 feet which is still not wide enough for a bicyclist and motor vehicle to share safely. A 10-foot shared use path is needed instead of this narrow sidewalk. In our opinion, keeping the lane narrow and using those funds to widen the trail would be a better investment.

Comments are being accepted until June 26. Send them to meeting_comments@vdot.virginia.gov with the subject "I-495 Bicycle-Pedestrian Trail Improvements."

Example of at-grade ramp crossings on Chain Bridge Rd at Westpark bridge

Labels: 495 express lanes, vdot

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:59 PM permalink

 

New Route 7 trail connection in Tysons

Back in October I wrote about the new trails on each side of the Route 7 bridge over I-495. Wide sidepaths were added to each side of Route 7 on this bridge when it was rebuilt as part of the I-495 Express Lanes/HOT Lanes project. At that time if you were headed west into Tysons from the Pimmit Hills area, the trail on the north side of the bridge came to an abrupt end at the Beltway exit ramp. See the photo on the right.

Today on the way back from a meeting near Tysons I rode across the bridge to check out this section and much to my surprise a new trail has been built that connects the bridge trail to a service road parallel to Route 7. The photo on the left is what it looks like now. I'm checking to find out who built the trail so I can thank them. This is a much-needed connection that is used by many people to travel to and from Tysons.

Earlier in the day on my way to the meeting I used the trail on the south side and met two cyclists. One of them looked as if he needed bike lights so I gave him a set of front/rear lights, a FABB legband, and a card explaining why we are handing out the lights. The card has a few of the rules of the road printed on the back. He was very grateful. A cyclist was killed in this area in 2008 while riding at night without lights, which is the main reason we started our light giveaway campaign.

Labels: 495 express lanes, beltway, bike lights, route 7

posted by Bruce Wright at 9:25 PM permalink

 

Ribbon-cutting for Beltway bridge bike facilities

FABB members at Oak St Bridge

Today some FABB members rode to the Oak St. bridge over the Beltway to participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new bike facilities on that and many of the other 50 bridges that were rebuilt as part of the 495 Express Lanes project, formerly known as the HOT lanes.

The Oak St. bike lanes have been in place for some time but several of the other bridges are just now opening, including the new sidepaths on the Route 7, Westpark Dr, and Lee Hwy bridges. While many of the bike facilities are not ideal, in most cases this is the first time there has ever been a bike facility on those bridges. Starting in 2007 FABB fought hard to ensure some facilities were included in the project.

We initially planned to use the sidepaths on the Lee Hwy bridge, but the side paths were too narrow and aren't really a bike facility. Instead there are supposed to be wide curb lanes on that bridge and it wasn't safe to try to simulate a ribbon-cutting there. The outside lane isn't really wide; there is a painted stripe 3 feet from the curb making it an 11-foot lane with a 3 foot shoulder which isn't very useful for cyclists. I'd prefer to see the lane without the stripe.

After the ribbon-cutting we rode to the new Mosaic District (that I wrote about earlier) to attend the grand opening of Fresh Bikes. We met the manager Stacey and dropped off some FABB rack cards. It's a very nice shop, with many fine bike-oriented details including a bike chain used as edging on the front counter and bike chains used to support sections of the ceiling structure. We especially liked the automatic double-door entrance. We didn't see many transportation bikes; Fresh Bikes is a bike store for the "performance-minded." Some of their hybrids and cross bikes could be used for commuting. We wish them well and we hope to work with them in the future.

Mosaic District bike racks

Some of us then stopped at a nearby coffee shop for snacks and drinks. When we left we rode around the streets that are open and only saw one set of bike racks. They were nice racks that were like a U rack but with some style. There should be many more racks in place for visitors and we'll check no future plans for racks.

Finally, as we were leaving the development we decided to use Eskridge Rd to travel north where it turns into Merrilee Dr. We were in the straight through lane with no cars behind us and we waited through 2 full cycles before a car finally appeared. Under VA law we are allowed to go through the light after 2 cycles, but there should be a bicycle-sensitive sensor present. Traffic is so heavy on Lee Hwy that legally running the red light was not an option.

By the way, Eskridge Rd will soon be open south toward Route 50. That means that from Dunn Loring Metro station it will be possible to ride a route parallel to Gallows Rd all the way south to Woodburn Rd using Merrilee Dr to continue on Eskridge Rd to Williams Dr across Route 50 to Willow Oaks Corporate Dr to a new road that leads south past the Ronald McDonald House to Inova Hospital and on to Woodburn Rd.

Labels: 495 express lanes, fresh bikes, hot lanes, merrifield, mosaic district

posted by Bruce Wright at 9:42 PM permalink

 

New bike lanes on Westpark Dr in Tysons

As part of the 495 Express Lanes (aka HOT lanes) project, the bridge on Westpark Dr over Route 123, that leads from Tysons Corner Center to Galleria Dr, was rebuilt. The bridge now has bike lanes and wide sidewalks giving cyclists and pedestrians much better access in that area.

We discovered the new bike lanes today after teaching a bike maintenance class at PwC, a major employer located on Tysons Blvd., within sight of the Westpark bridge. Our contact there uses the bridge on her commute to work and she pointed out the new lanes. We knew they were planned but they hadn't been stripped the last time we rode there.

Westpark Dr. bike lanes

As you can see from the photo on the left, there is a transition from the sidepath to the bike lane. This is on the north side. I didn't see any transition for those cyclists on the south side approaching the sidepath from the other direction. I assume they would cross at the crosswalk and somehow enter the trail.

Unfortunately the trail comes to an abrupt end not far away. It is planned to extend all the way to the bike lanes adjacent to the Towers Crescent (Shopping Bag) building, but probably not until there is more construction on the mixed use development planned for this area.

Sidepath on Tysons Ring Road

Tysons is slowing becoming more bike-friendly. As we mentioned earlier this week, there are now bike facilities on the Route 7 bridge over the Beltway, also a result of the 495 Express Lanes construction. Many more people will ride in this area if conditions continue to improve.

Labels: 495 express lanes, Tysons, westpark bridge

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:49 PM permalink

 

Major paved trail on Route 7 bridge across Beltway

New Route 7 wide sidewalk across Betlway

Today I had a chance to check out the new major paved trail parallel to Route 7 on the bridge across the Beltway. There is an approximately 10 foot wide concrete trail on each side of the bridge that will connect the Pimmit Hills area just east of Tysons with the greater Tysons area.

This bridge has never had adequate pedestrian facilities, much less bike facilities. As I recall, there was a very narrow concrete ledge that some people used to walk across the bridge. Those cyclists who dared to try to cross, rode in the travel lanes, with high speed exit and entrance ramps onto the Beltway. One reason that FABB started doing bike light giveaways was after a cyclists was killed while riding across the Beltway on Route 7 in Tysons.

Since 2007 a major goal of FABB has been to ensure that bike facilities are included on the bridges across the Beltway. Most Beltway bridges between I-95 and the American Legion Bridge were reconstructed as part of the HOT lanes project, now called the 495 Express Lanes. See the many blog postings on our HOT lanes advocacy. We attended public meetings, wrote a Post Outlook section article, and met with county and VDOT staff to ask that the facilities that are indicated on the county Trails Plan be included in the project.

With support from county DOT and VDOT, those facilities are close to becoming a reality. While they are far from perfect, in most cases they provide the first accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists on the Beltway bridges. As you can see from the photo above, there is still some work to be done but we expect the facilities to be open in the near future.

Trail over Beltway on Route 7 ends at exit ramp

Now that many of the bridges accommodate bikes, Fairfax Co and VDOT need to have a concerted effort to connect those facilities with bike routes on either side of the bridges. The photo on the right shows where the trail on the north side of Route 7 ends, at an exit ramp from the Beltway onto westbound Route 7, with no trail connection to the service road or sidewalk. Connecting this trail should be a high priority for Fairfax DOT and VDOT.

Labels: 495 express lanes, hot lanes, route 7

posted by Bruce Wright at 5:20 PM permalink