FABB Blog

 

Columbia Pike Pedestrian and Bicycle Study Events This Saturday

Labels: annandale, bailey's crossroads, columbia pike, pedestrian and bicycle study

posted by Steve Ward at 4:00 PM permalink

 

Successful Annandale Ride

FABB and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals DC chapter held a joint ride on Saturday to explore new and planned bike infrastructure in the Annandale area (route map). The group of 18 riders met at East Falls Church Metro station. Fairfax County Bike Coordinator Adam Lind and FABB's Dave Wagoner led the group, with Adam stopping periodically to offer insights into the planning and implementation of the new facilities. We passed through neighborhood streets south to the service road on Route 50 to new bike lanes on Annandale Road, making our way to Gallows Road and on to the Annandale business district.



We stopped for lunch at the trendy new eating place The Block, reviewed in the Post back in Februrary. Unfortunately there was no bike parking, something we'll need to advocate for in the future. From there part of the group took a longer loop south along new bike lanes on Ravensworth Rd and Heritage Dr, then north to Hummer Rd where bike lanes are planned. Just before returning to East Falls Church the two groups rejoined.

The ride was a great opportunity to meet cyclists from around the area, many of whom are advocating for better bike conditions. Glad that Greg Billing, WABA Executive Director could join the ride along with several folks from APBPDC including some staff from Toole Design Group, the company that helped the county put together our bike map and Bicycle Master Plan. Thanks to Adam and Dave for working together on the ride, and to APBPDC for co-sponsoring. Adam announced that the county bike program will soon be sponsoring similar rides around the county this summer.

Labels: annandale, annandale road, apbpdc, Heritage Drive, hummer road, ravensworth road

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:51 PM permalink

 

Meeting on McWhorter Place Trail on Wed. May 25

McWhorter Place is located south of Route 236 in Annandale, just inside the Beltway. It is an important bicycle route with a very low speed limit. There is a missing connection between two segments of the street that is currently a goat trail used by bicyclists and pedestrians. Fairfax County plans to build a new trail connecting the two street segments. Bike lanes are planned on the eastern section of McWhorter Place and John Marr Dr, another reason this is an important connection. Cyclists in the this area are encouraged to support this project at the meeting on Wed.

Labels: annandale, john marr drive, mcwhorter place

posted by Bruce Wright at 1:42 PM permalink

 

Little River Turnpike Bicycle Study Meeting Set for May 17

Photo Courtesy of FCDOT.

Labels: annandale, city of fairfax, community meeting, FCDOT, little river turnpike

posted by Steve Ward at 4:55 AM permalink

 

March-April 2016 FABB Newsletter

• March 16 - FABB Monthly Meeting in Mason District, Poe Middle School at 7:30 p.m.
• March 17 - Public Hearing on W&OD Trail Bridge over Wiehle Ave, Reston Community Center at Hunter Woods at 6:30 p.m.
• March 21 - Meeting on bike lanes in Annandale, George Mason Regional Library at 6:30 p.m.
• April 22 - Earth Day
• May 4 - Bike to School Day - See who is biking or register your event.
• 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.

Labels: adventure cycling, annandale, bike to work day, dooring, fabb newsletter, national bike summit, vienna metrorail bicycle access study, w&od trail

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:46 AM permalink

 

Meeting on Proposed Bike Lanes in Annandale March 21

Proposed bike lanes in Annandale

Fairfax County will hold a meeting on March 21 to discuss plans to install bike lanes on several roads in the Annandale area as part of the summer repaving cycle. Cyclists are encouraged to attend the meeting to support the projects. Without your support these projects may not happen.

 From the Fairfax County site Mason District Bike Lanes:

Labels: annandale, bike lanes, mason district

posted by Bruce Wright at 1:24 PM permalink

 

South County public meeting summary

Annandale meeting participants

The final Bicycle Master Plan public meeting was held last night (Wed.) in Annandale. About 40 cyclists learned about the proposed bicycle network and other recommendations. Most people had attended other bike plan meetings.

During the meeting Cindy Engelhart, VDOT NoVA District bike coordinator, noted that that due to new legislation (see 15.2-2223, item B.4.), any changes to the county Transportation Plan must be approved by VDOT. This would delay approval of the plan since VDOT has 90 days to submit comments. The current goal is to have the bicycle plan approved by the end of this year.

An audience member asked about the possibility of a bond referendum to fund bike improvements. The answer was that some projects are being funded by the 2007 transportation bond and another transportation bond is planned. However, we think a bike-specific bond would be feasible. Why not ask residents if they would support a bike projects through a bond?

Results of the earlier survey were discussed. In a report of the Tuesday meeting we mentioned the top reason that people say keeps them from biking. The graph on the left shows the top six reasons. It was pointed out that the top 3 reasons, gaps in the bike network, barriers to travel, and continuous facilities don't exist for local trips, all relate to gaps in the system.

The top initiatives chosen by the meeting attendees were:
I think the most controversial recommendation is the treatment of what are referred to as "Big Roads." These are the major arterials such as Routes 1, 7, 50, 236, Braddock Road, etc. These are also the roads that create major barriers for most bicyclists. Most bike-friendly neighborhood streets don't connect to destinations. They feed into the big roads which have very few connected bike facilities. The off-road connections usually have many conflict points. Well-designed cycletracks are a good solution but are costly to implement and usually require additional right of way.

The recommendation for these roads is a table of possible treatments based on surrounding land use. Our concern is that unless the county holds to a strict policy of requiring the most appropriate facility, some developers may only implement the most low-cost solution. It could also be difficult to have a continuous, consistent design if there are options. There will likely be much discussion of this recommendation at the BAC meeting next week.

The next step in the process is for the Bicycle Plan Bicycle Advisory Committee to discuss the recommendations at our June 13 meeting. While the committee has previously seen most of the route network, the public meetings were the first chance to learn about the policy recommendations and the top initiatives. We'll need to discuss them at length, review the public meeting feedback, and develop a consensus.

Update: See the Fairfax City Patch article on the meeting, Cyclists Make Suggestions to Bike Master Plan.

Labels: annandale, bicycle master plan, cindy engelhart

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:48 PM permalink

 

Final Bicycle Master Plan meetings scheduled

Fairfax County just announced the final two countywide public meetings on the Bicycle Master Plan. The North County meeting is June 5 in Reston and the South County meeting is June 6 in Annandale. The final draft proposed route network will be presented along with policy and program recommendations.

This is the last opportunity to ensure that recommendations you made during the development of the plan are included in the route network or policy recommendations. The plan has been under development over the past year. Several FABB members are on the plan advisory committee and FABB was represented at all of the area meetings and the thematic meetings.

Please consider attending one of the following meetings:

Labels: annandale, bicycle master plan, reston

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:06 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

 

Annandale and Bailey's Crossroads bike plans

Planning for the redevelopment of the Annandale and Bailey's Crossroads business centers (community business centers, CBC) is nearing completion. We just learned that the Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold two public hearings on June 23 to discuss changes to the comprehensive plans for these two areas. The changes include recommended bicycle facilities. The Annandale plan contains general language about the need for better bike facilities, including: "Bicycle lanes should be provided within the Annandale CBC where appropriate."

The Bailey's Crossroads plan contains much more detailed recommendations for bicycle facilities, including a map showing planned bike lanes on specific streets. Street cross sections show recommended bike lane widths. However, bike parking guidlines are vague:  "In an effort to encourage bicycling in Baileys Crossroads CBC, safe, secure, and convenient bicycle parking should be provided. The number of bicycle parking spaces should be determined based on the planned land uses."

If you are familiar with these areas, please take the time to review the proposed plans and see what you think. The Annandale plan needs work. At a minimum we think that the bike routes shown on the county bicycle map should include bicycle facilities, either bike lanes or wide curb lanes. Bicycle parking guidelines for the county, that have been under development for three needs, need to be finalized. Send comments about both plans to Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross and Mason District Planning Commissioner Janet Hall. It would help to attend the public hearing and speak out for better bicycle facilities in these two urban areas.

If the county had a comprehensive bicycle plan and bicycle parking guidelines, updating the area plans would be straightforward. As it is, each plan is approached in separately, as resources become available. Fortunately the bicycle planning process has started. Phase I of a countywide plan will begin in Tysons. A contract for the bicycle master plan for Tysons Corner is being negotiated this month, with work expected to begin in July.

Labels: annandale, bailey's crossroads, mason district

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:04 AM permalink

 

Annandale bike light giveaway

FABB installed over 40 sets of bike lights yesterday at the Annandale United Methodist Church on Columbia Pike at Gallows Road. It was a beautiful Fall day. The first two hours were very busy and we had several volunteers there to help install the lights, which can take a few minutes given the variety of sizes of handlebars and seatposts/seatstays. Several people came in response to the WABA email alert. A few service workers who use bikes for their main transportation came as well.

Thanks to the church for letting us set up on their parking lot. And thanks to the FABB volunteers for coming out and to Nohemy Miranda of the county bike program, who also took the photos. A special thanks to Dale Ruhter, a church member and bike commuter who helped us throughout the afternoon.

Our next event is on Thursday at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in the Culmore area. The church is located on 3305 Glen Carlyn Road at Route 7, just west of Columbia Pike. We'll be there from 4-6 p.m.

Labels: annandale, bike lights

posted by Bruce Wright at 12:13 PM permalink