FABB Blog

 

Lee District Bike Meeting & FABB Meeting on Thursday

​FABB has decided to hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, 16 February after the FCDOT community meeting on proposed bike facilities in the Lee District near Route 1. Please join us at the Groveton Elementary School cafeteria at 6900 Harrison Lane, Alexandria, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for the FCDOT and FABB meetings. The FCDOT meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

FABB intended to focus its February meeting agenda on developments in the Lee and Mt. Vernon Districts and was scheduled to meet at the Mt. Vernon Government Center on Wed. Feb. 14. As it happens, FCDOT scheduled a meeting on plans for bicycling improvements in Lee District the next evening. So, FABB’s Board decided the best use of our members’ time would be to focus on supporting the proposed bicycling infrastructure improvements. Our intention is to hold a quick membership meeting after the FCDOT meeting ends.

We’ve done this type of thing in the past but generally don’t like to give up our monthly gatherings. We will return to our usual arrangements in March. Our general meeting will then be held on Wednesday, March 15, at the Oakton Public Library.

Regards
Jeff Anderson
President - Board
Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling

Labels: FABB meeting, lee district

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:12 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting is tonight in Vienna

FABB's monthly meeting is tonight, Wed, April 20, from 7:30pm – 9:00pm at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave E, Vienna (map). The library is located near the W&OD Trail. All are welcome. For more information contact president@fabb-bikes.org. We'll be discussing current county bike projects, new bike and ped program staff, collecting bike rack information using Rackspotter.com, and more.

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:56 AM permalink

 

FABB Monthly Meeting in Mason District on March 16

Poe Middle School (Photo courtesy FCPS)

FABB will be meeting in Mason District this month as part of its effort to better serve and represent cyclists and other supporters throughout the county. We encourage all FABB members and others interested in making bicycling better in Fairfax and in Mason District to join us at 7:30 pm on March 16, at the Poe Middle School Cafeteria at 7000 Cindy Lane in Annandale.

This meeting will provide a great opportunity to learn about current and future bicycle plans in the Mason District. We also plan to have a discussion of the Safe Routes to School program and ways to encourage children to ride bicycles. In addition, the meeting will be a forum to share your concerns about and suggestions for improving bicycling in the district and Fairfax County and to hear from local cyclists about nearby trails and routes.

During 2016 FABB plans to hold monthly meetings in all of the county’s districts. If you would like to assist in setting up the program for the meeting in your district, please contact Steve Ward at srward1057@gmail.com.

Labels: FABB meeting, mason district

posted by Steve Ward at 1:43 PM permalink

 

FABB Coming to Mt. Vernon District

Biking near Ft. Belvoir in Mt. Vernon District. (Photo courtesy of Ft. Belvoir)

Labels: adam lind, advocacy, FABB meeting, ft belvoir, mt. vernon

posted by Steve Ward at 3:00 PM permalink

 

Message to FABB Supporters

• Jeffrey Anderson - President
• Sonya Breehey - Vice President
• Steve Ward - Secretary
• Howard Albers - Treasurer
• Bruce Wright - At Large
• Alan Young - At Large
• Douglas Stewart - At Large

Labels: FABB, FABB meeting, jeff anderson

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:07 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting tonight at 7:30 in Vienna

Join us for tonight's FABB's meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Vienna at Patrick Henry Library near the W&OD Trail. We'll be discussing the two I-66 meetings held this week in Fairfax and the next steps for ensuring bike facilities are part of the multimodal project, including the extension of the Custis Trail outside the Beltway.

Adam Lind, the county Bike Coordinator, will give an update on other bike-related activities in the county. We'll also discuss the responses from the Board of Supervisor's Candidate Survey. All are welcome. Use the entrance to the far right of the building.

Labels: adam lind, FABB meeting, i-66

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:52 AM permalink

 

FABB meeting on Wednesday in Vienna

Everyone is invited to attend the next FABB meeting on Wednesday, July 15 starting at 7:30 p.m. at Patrick Henry Library in downtown Vienna. We'll get a report on the latest county bicycle news from acting bike coordinator Adam Lind. We'll also discuss the upcoming Clips Beer & Film Tour event in Reston on September 10 and the latest information on bicycle facilities as part of the I-66 Outside the Beltway project. On Thursday some FABB members plan to meet with Chairman Bulova and transportation staff to discuss the best alternatives for building the I-66 parallel trail.

Labels: clips beer and film, FABB meeting, i-66, I-66 multimodal study

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:29 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting tonight at Fairfax Co Govt Center at 7pm

Tonight's FABB meeting will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway Fairfax, VA 22035, room 232 at 7:00 p.m. This is a change from our usual location and time for the meeting so that we can attend the Planning Commission meeting held in the same building at 8:15 p.m. The Planning Commission deferred action on the bike plan at their Oct. 1 meeting. They will discuss the plan and take a final vote tonight. Everyone is welcome to attend both the FABB meeting and the Planning Commission meeting. We hope the bike plan discussion will be held early in the meeting.

We do not have official access to room 232 until 7:00 p.m. so we may be gathering in the main lobby before the meeting. Below is the draft agenda:

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 12:38 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 17

FABB will have a special guest at our September meeting on Wednesday. Vanessa Aguayo of Fairfax County DOT will give a presentation on bike projects she is managing. They include a bridge over Wiehle Ave on the W&OD Trail and Vesper Trail in Tysons that will connected the northern Vienna area to the Spring Hill Metro station. We will also be discussing the upcoming public hearings on the Bicycle Master Plan. The Planning Commission public hearing is scheduled for Wed. Oct. 1 starting at 8:15 p.m. The Board of Supervisors public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The FABB meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave E, Vienna (map), located a block from the W&OD Trail. Everyone is welcome.

Labels: FABB meeting, vanessa aguayo

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:35 AM permalink

 

FABB monthly meeting tonight in Vienna

Two special guests will speak at FABB's July meeting to be held tonight, Wed. July 16 starting at 7:30 p.m. The meeting is held at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Ave E, located a block west of the W&OD Trail. Officer Dan Romanoff will give a brief overview of the county bike patrol and discuss his experiences riding a bike in Fairfax. Allon Schiff will discuss the Northern Virginia Cycle Fest rides scheduled for Sunday, September 14. This event is one of the few that does not rely primarily on the W&OD Trail. Cyclists will explore the neighborhood streets of Fairfax County on these fully supported rides.

Interested cyclists are welcome to attend the FABB meeting.

1. Introductions
2. Review of June meeting minutes
3. Fairfax County Bicycle Patrol - Lt. Dan Romanoff 
4. 5th Annual Northern Virginia Cycle Fest - Allon Shiff, Ride organizer
5. County Report - Charlie Strunk
6. Trails & Sidewalks Committee report - Alan Young
7. Tour de Tysons recap - Alan Young
8. Other business

• July 19, Saturday - Wiehle-Reston East station bike room open house
• July 23, Wednesday - VDOT Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting, Richmond
• July 23, Wednesday - Planning Commission Bicycle Master Plan work session
• August 20, Wednesday - FABB Monthly Meeting
• September 14, Sunday - Northern Virginia Cycle Fest
• October 1, Wednesday - Planning Commission public hearing on Bicycle Master Plan 
• October 28, Tuesday - Board of Supervisors public hearing on Bicycle Master Plan

Labels: bike patrol, FABB meeting, northern virginia cycle fest

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:41 AM permalink

 

April FABB meeting on Wed. April 16

1. Introductions
2. Review of March meeting minutes
3. County report - Charlie Strunk
4. Winning Campaigns Training report - Sonya
5. Open Streets Summit/CiLAvia report - Alan
6. Update on FABB Goals for 2014
7. Other business
   a. Volunteer opportunities
      i. Bike to Work Day
      ii. Tour de Fat
      iii. Tour de Tysons rides
b. W&OD Trail survey & workshop report

Upcoming events (for details see the FABB Events page)

• April 22, Tuesday - Freddie Mac Earth Day event
• April 26, Saturday - Paul’s Ride for Life
• May 3, Saturday - Vienna Bike Rodeo
• May 6, Tuesday - Bicycle Master Plan presentation at BOS Transportation Committee
• Healthy Community Design Summit
• May 7, Wednesday - Bike to School Day
• May 8, Thursday - Bicycle Master Plan public hearing at Planning Commission
• May 10, Saturday - Reston Bike Rodeo
• May 16, Friday - Bike to Work Day
• May 21, Wednesday - FABB Monthly Meeting
• May 31, Saturday - Tour de Fat
• June 17, Tuesday - Bicycle Master Plan public hearing at Board of Supervisors
• June 29, Sunday - Tour de Tysons

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:42 AM permalink

 

March FABB meeting on Wed. at Wolftrap ES

The March FABB meeting will be held tomorrow, Wed. March 19 at Wolftrap Elementary School at 7:30 p.m. This is a new, temporary location since we were not able to reserve our usual meeting location. We'll be discussing the latest bike news in Fairfax County and planning our major priorities for the coming year. If you want to help FABB accomplish any of the following goals, please consider attending and signing up to help.

Below is our meeting agenda:

1. Introductions 
2. Review of February meeting minutes 
3. County report - Charlie Strunk 
4. Update on FABB Goals for 2014 
1. Bicycle Master Plan/Bike Fairfax - Bruce 
2. Bicycling and the Silver Line - Liz 
3. Summit/Cyclovia - Alan 
4. Tracking Funded Projects - Bruce 
5. Grow FABB Membership - Tom/Matt 
6. Safe Routes to School - Jeff 
7. Social Rides - Amber
5. Other business

Upcoming events (for details see the FABB Events calendar)

• March 26 (Wed) & 31 (Mon) - Herndon Metro Access meetings 
• April 11, Friday - W&OD Trail Safety Workshop
• April 16, Wednesday - FABB monthly meeting 
• May 6, Tuesday - Bicycle Master Plan workshop at Planning Commission 
• May 8, Thursday - Bicycle Master Plan public hearing at Planning Commission 
• May 16, Friday - Bike to Work Day 
• May 21, Wednesday - FABB monthly meeting 
• May 31, Saturday - Tour de Fat 
• June 17, Tuesday - Bicycle Master Plan public hearing at Board of Supervisors 
• June 29, Sunday - Tour de Tysons

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:57 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting tonight at 7:30pm

FABB's monthly meeting is tonight at 7:30pm at Patrick Henry Library in Vienna. Our special guests are Anne Pastorkovich and Dirck Harris of the Friends of the W&OD Trail. They'll discuss the work of the Friends and the Trail Patrol. We'll also discuss the Fairfax Bike Summit planned for November 2 at George Mason University, other upcoming events, and other work that we're doing at FABB. All are welcome to attend.

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:04 PM permalink

 

FABB monthly meeting on Wed. at 7:30pm

1. Introductions
2. Review of June meeting minutes
3. Fairfax Bike Summit - Jim Benton
4. County report - Charlie Strunk, FFX Co Bike Coordinator
5. Chairman’s report - Bruce
6. Other business

Upcoming events (for details see the FABB Events page)

• July 22, Monday - Jeff Speck, Understanding Urbanization, 7pm, Reston Association
• August 4, Sunday - Tour of the Towns, Tour of Prince William County
• August 21, Wednesday - FABB monthly meeting
• November 2, Saturday - 2013 Fairfax Bike Summit

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:15 PM permalink

 

FABB monthly meeting tonight

FABB will be meeting from 7:30-9pm tonight at Patrick Henry Library. We will be spending most of the time discussing the upcoming Fairfax Bike Summit on Oct. 27 at GMU, from 9-2pm. Everyone is welcome, especially if you want to help out at the summit.

Labels: FABB meeting, fairfax bike summit

posted by Bruce Wright at 1:26 PM permalink

 

Annandale-Falls Church area bike plan meeting report

Last night cyclists from the Annandale and Falls Church area gathered at the Mason District office to hear about the countywide bicycle master plan. After a presentation by Bob Patten of Toole Design Group, cyclists marked up detailed maps of the area to highlight existing routes, popular destinations, and barriers to travel.

This was the sixth of eight meetings focused on different parts of the county. The Annandale-Falls Church bike plan area is located inside the Beltway south of I-66. There are several major barriers to bike travel: I-66 in the north, the Beltway, I-395, and Lake Barcroft. The bridges over the Beltway are being rebuilt as part of the HOT lanes project and many will have bicycle facilities, the roads leading to those bridges have few if any bike accommodations.

There was discussion of the lack of trail maintenance and the problem of identifying which agency or group is responsible for local trails. VDOT does maintain some paved trails in their right of way but the County is responsible for most, and there is almost no money available for repaving or repair. One way to find out who should maintain a specific trail you can contact the bike program office.

VDOT Snow Map

During the discussion, the VDOT NoVa district Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Cindy Engelhart noted that the new VDOT snow map shows the location of all VDOT maintained roads. This is an interesting interactive mapping tool used to show the plowing status of all roads in Fairfax County that are maintained by VDOT. By hovering over the neighborhood icon all streets maintained by VDOT are highlighted according to their plowing status: Plowed, In Progress, Not Started (or No Event in black). Those streets not highlighted are maintained by others, either the county or homeowner associations.

An interesting statistic mentioned during the briefing is that most commuting trips (92,000) are greater than 3 miles in length (87%) but 34% of all other trips (272,000) are less than 3 miles, trips that with good bike facilities can easily be made by bike.

Marking up bike plan map

The Annandale area is not flat and one cyclist suggested showing elevation on bike route maps which can be valuable information for cyclists planning a trip. Currently Google Map bike directions does factor in elevation when calculating routes.

To see notes and information from the other bike plan meetings visit the bike plan Materials & Resources page.

After the bike plan meeting we held the monthly FABB meeting. One of our goals this year is to move the meeting location to different parts of the county. This was a good opportunity to do that, participate in the bike plan meeting, and meet some new cyclists.

FABB meeting

County bike coordinator Charlie Strunk reported that the contract for building bike lanes on Gallows Road from the W&OD trail north into Tysons to Old Courthouse Road was awarded. The project will be completed this year. The county bike route map is being updated and a draft of the map is currently being reviewed. Printed copies should be available by Bike to Work Day on May 18.

FABB member Douglas Stewart passed around a report assessing various bike routes between GMU and the Vienna Metro station. The next step is to work with the City of Fairfax to sign the route and make any needed improvements.

FABB is now a RoadID affiliate. If you visit the FABB homepage and click on the RoadID icon (or click on the icon on the left), 10% of any RoadID products you purchase within 60 days will be donated to FABB. We also have a new rack card. Thanks to TYTRAN, the Tysons transportation group with whom we're coordinating the Tysons Bike Group meetings, for helping us with the printing costs of the card.

Labels: annandale, bicycle master plan, bike plan, FABB meeting, falls church

posted by Bruce Wright at 11:06 AM permalink

 

Annandale Bike Plan and FABB Meetings tomorrow

This month FABB will move our monthly meeting to coincide with the Annandale Bike Plan Meeting. Both meetings will be held tomorrow, Wed. Feb. 15 at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale. The bike plan meeting is an open house that begins at 4:30 p.m. There will be a presentation at 6:00 p.m. The event is scheduled to end at 8:00 p.m. The FABB meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in an adjacent room. Everyone is welcome to attend both meetings.

This is a good opportunity for cyclists to let the bike planners know where you ride, where you can't ride because of obstacles, and what the county can do to make the Annandale area more bike-freindly. There are many people who get around by bikes in this area. Many are service workers who rely on bikes for transportation. All cyclists in the area need better on- and off-road bike facilities, including adequate bike parking. School kids need safe ways to ride their bikes to school and places to park when they get there. They also need bike safety education classes. Let your voice be heard by attending this important meeting.

Labels: annandale, bike plan, FABB meeting, mason district

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:43 AM permalink

 

December FABB meeting

Over 20 cyclists attended our December meeting on Wednesday. It was good to see some new faces. Some folks brought holiday treats that we shared before the meeting. We usually have a full agenda for most meetings and we don't often get a chance to just chat with fellow cyclists. We're thinking about having some social time before or after our meetings in the future. We may not go as far as Dublin cyclists who say it isn't a meeting unless you've been to the pub, but we like the general idea.

Charlie Strunk, the county bike coordinator, told us about the list of bike projects he is compiling in anticipation of a future Transportation Bond. In the past bike and pedestrian projects have been lumped together. As a result, trail or sidewalk projects predominate. Charlie is preparing a list of on-road projects by Supervisor District.

Charlie also noted that the Springfield-Burke Bicycle Master Plan area meeting is planned for January 24 from 5:30-8:00  p.m. at the Springfield District Office.

The county bike map is being revised and should be completed by the end of February. It's the most popular map produced by the county and needs to be reprinted so it's a good time to make appropriate changes, like adding the new bike lanes on Lawyers Rd and Soapstone Dr.

Jeff Anderson, Hunter Mill rep on the Trails and Sidewalks Committee, mentioned that the committee is preparing a list of mostly off-road projects for the anticipated Transportation Bond. If there are important bike projects, both on- and off-road, that you think should be included in the list, contact your Trails and Sidewalk committee rep. Jeff also reported on the biking and walking to school policy changes being considered by the School Board which we hope will result in more kids being able to bike to school. We are strongly opposing the removal of the Safety Education section.

Adam Froehlig of the Mt. Vernon Council of Civic Associations Transportation Committee asked if FABB could attend the January 9 meeting to discuss thoughts about allowing cyclists on the GW Parkway on weekend mornings. See his blog article about this issue. Another issue of concern to cyclists in this area that we'd like to see discussed is the ability of cyclists to safely cross the Parkway to reach the Mt Vernon Trail.

Jenifer Madden, vice chair of the county Transportation Advisory Commission, discussed the importance of including cycling and active transportation in the Community Transformation Grant awarded to Fairfax County in September. The county received "a grant of $499,559 per year for at least the next three years to build capacity to implement policy, system, programmatic and infrastructure changes to promote health and prevent chronic disease." Bicycling for transportation, getting people out of their cars for short trips, is one obvious way to promote health. You'll be hearing more about this effort in the near future.

The next FABB meeting is planned for Wed. January 18. We hope to have Nicole Wynands of the League of American Bicyclists to discuss the Bicycle Friendly Community program.

Because we ran out of time we didn't get a chance to schedule our annual retreat, which we hope to hold on Sunday, January 8. If you'd like more info contact me.

Labels: bicycle master plan, bike map, community transformation grant, FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 1:41 PM permalink

 

FABB meeting tonight

FABB will meet tonight at 7:30pm at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Avenue East Vienna, VA near the W&OD Trail. All are welcome. We have two guests tonight, Frank Raiti, Advocacy Director of MORE, and Larry Marcus, who will discuss multi-modal traffic analysis. We'll also discuss the Telegraph Rd. project, the Wakefield ped/bike bridge closure, and other FFX bike news.

Labels: FABB meeting

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:34 PM permalink

 

April FABB meeting

There was a good turnout for the monthly FABB meeting last night. Cindy Englehart, VDOT Northern Virginia District bicycle/pedestrian engineer gave an overview of her trip to Europe with other bicycle professionals to check out innovative bicycle/pedestrian facilities for improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. She described how in some locations cyclists are routed through roundabouts differently based on the number of lanes. Where there is only one lane, cyclists mix with other vehicle traffic. Where there is more than one lane, cyclists use a separate track parallel to the roundabout.

In bus/bike lanes travel speeds are lower to facilitate the mixing of the two modes. She also showed an example of where cyclists are given multiple options for movement through intersections. See the report of the project entitled Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility in Europe.

After recent staff reductions, the NOVA bike/ped staff will have less time for reviewing bike/ped facilities contained in transportation projects. The two remaining staff will concentrate more on research.

Charlie Strunk discussed bicycle activities in the county, noting that a lot of time is being spent installing bike racks that were recently purchased.

We left the meeting early to provide testimony at the Planning Commission public hearing on proposed comprehensive plan language for the Tysons Corner area. We argued for bike facilities on Routes 7 & 123 and for funding of bike facilities in preparation for the opening of the Metro stations in 2013.

We'll provide more info on the FABB meeting once the minutes are completed.

Labels: FABB meeting, vdot

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:45 PM permalink