Monday, September 24, 2018
Proposed Removal of Planned Trails from Huntley Meadows Park
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| Location of planned trail along power line right of way |
Fairfax County is proposing to remove two key bicycle trails from the Countywide Trails Plan (large pdf) and the Bicycle Master Plan (SE quadrant map). These trails are both located in Huntley Meadows Park and would provide improved pedestrian and bike access to the park and nearby communities.
The trail along the south edge of the park would be built along the power line right of way, like the W&OD Trail. The power company clears the corridor at Huntley Meadows of vegetation every 3 years. The trail along the east edge of the park could have a greater impact on park resources and there may be on-road alternatives for cyclists. The section of trail along the north edge is mostly contained in a Washington Gas utility right of way.
FABB recently visited the park and reviewed the location of the proposed trails. We plan to meet with staff and others to find out more about the proposal and to ensure that bike/ped connectivity is maintained in the area. A group of Huntley Meadows activists opposes the trails and are actively lobbying the County to remove the trails from the two plans.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will be holding a hearing on Thursday, November 29, 2018, 7:30 PM-10:00 PM at the Fairfax Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 330. Information on the bike plan trail hearing may be viewed here: Information on the Bicycle Master Plan trail hearing and the Trails Planhearing.
FABB opposes the removal of trails from the Plans:
Supervisor McKay and zachary.Krohmal@fairfaxcounty.gov.
The trail along the south edge of the park would be built along the power line right of way, like the W&OD Trail. The power company clears the corridor at Huntley Meadows of vegetation every 3 years. The trail along the east edge of the park could have a greater impact on park resources and there may be on-road alternatives for cyclists. The section of trail along the north edge is mostly contained in a Washington Gas utility right of way.
FABB recently visited the park and reviewed the location of the proposed trails. We plan to meet with staff and others to find out more about the proposal and to ensure that bike/ped connectivity is maintained in the area. A group of Huntley Meadows activists opposes the trails and are actively lobbying the County to remove the trails from the two plans.
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| Location of northern planned trail along gas line right of way |
FABB opposes the removal of trails from the Plans:
- The proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments are not an appropriate way to address the proposed changes.
- Changes to trails should be done as part of a comprehensive effort to update the Bicycle Master Plan and Countywide Trails Plan when there can be a more open and transparent process to engage the public.
- The county plans to revisit and merge these plans next year. That’s the appropriate time to make any changes so they can be made in the context of the need for ped/bike connectivity in the surrounding areas.
- Claims about potential ecological impacts of the trails to the park cannot be substantiated because there are no design plans to evaluate.
- None of the designations of the habitat or species in the park requires removal of the trails by either the County or the Commonwealth.
- The Virginia Department of Natural Resources has a vision statement for “active communities and open space linked by trails and greenways that connect individuals, children and their families to nature and to each other.”
- Biking and walking access to Huntley Meadows from nearby neighborhoods needs to be improved and removing these planned trails would have the exact opposite impact
Supervisor McKay and zachary.Krohmal@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Labels: bicycle master plan, countywide trails plan, Huntley Meadows Park, lee district
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
FABB January Meeting to Focus on Herndon-Great Falls-Hunter Mill
Please plan on joining FABB next week for our monthly meeting, which will feature bicycling and related issues in the Hunter Mill District, Town of Herndon, and Great Falls areas. We will be meeting on Wednesday, 18 January, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at the Herndon Fortnightly Library, 768 Center St, Herndon.
In 2017 FABB will be continuing the practice started last year of holding its monthly meetings throughout Fairfax County in the various magisterial districts and associated jurisdictions. Changing venues has allowed us to be more inclusive by encouraging attendance from local residents near the venues and making it easier for government officials or their representatives to participate in the often lively discussions about bicycle-related needs and concerns.
Among the guest speakers on the 18th we will have FCDOT's Adam Lind or a colleague there to talk about progress on and upcoming plans for implementing the County's bicycle master plan in the Hunter Mill-Herndon-Great Falls areas. There will be a question-and-answer period as well as FABB's usual program of providing updates and sharing information about our upcoming activities, bicycling-related public meetings, and other bicycle advocacy opportunities.
See you there!
Labels: bicycle master plan, great falls, herndon, hunter mill district, monthly meeting
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
New Bike Lanes as Part of Summer Repaving Program
Fairfax County and VDOT have been busy this summer creating bike lanes around the county. Kudos to Fairfax Co and VDOT. Kudos also to everyone who advocated for and developed the county's Bicycle Master Plan. Without the plan these facilities would likely not have been built.
From the Fairfax County news release Fairfax County Adds Bicycle Lanes Through Summer Repaving Program:
Local bicyclists will have more dedicated lanes in Fairfax County thanks to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) summer paving program. When complete, this year’s effort will result in nearly 20 miles of new and upgraded bike lanes, including:
“2016 was another successful year of collaboration between VDOT and FCDOT during the repaving and restriping process to create complete streets and provide more transportation options to people around the County,” said Adam Lind, Fairfax County bicycle program manager. “The projects in the Annandale area will create a connected network of on-street bike lanes that will allow residents to get from their homes to schools, parks, and the Annandale central business district to work and shop.”
Fairfax County currently has 368 miles of bike lanes, shared-use paths and trails, which includes approximately 70 miles of on-street facilities. The County’s goal of creating a 1,130-mile bike network was approved by the Board of Supervisors in the Bicycle Master Plan in Fall 2014.
The bike lanes are a part of VDOT’s repaving program, which gives the Commonwealth and County Departments of Transportation an opportunity to identify, design and implement bike projects on roads that were already included in the repaving plan. Improvements included shifting or narrowing lanes to accommodate bike lanes; placing shared-lane markings, known as “sharrows,” on the road to help increase awareness of cyclist activity; and “road diets,” which reduce travel lanes to help reduce speeding and increase safety.
- Braeburn Drive (Braddock District): Guinea Road to Wakefield Chapel Road
- Coffer Woods Road (Braddock District): Burke Centre Parkway to New England Woods Drive
- Patriot Drive (Braddock District): Heritage Drive to Americana Drive
- Queensberry Avenue (Braddock District): Braddock Road to Heming Avenue
- Heritage Drive (Braddock and Mason Districts): Ravensworth Road to Little River Turnpike
- Ravensworth Road (Mason District): Braddock Road to Little River Turnpike
- Markham Street (Mason District): McWhorter Place to Little River Turnpike
- McWhorter Place (Mason District): Markham Street to Ravensworth Road
- John Marr Drive (Mason District): Ravensworth Road to Backlick Road
- Southrun Road (Mount Vernon District): Silverbrook Road to Ambrose Court
“2016 was another successful year of collaboration between VDOT and FCDOT during the repaving and restriping process to create complete streets and provide more transportation options to people around the County,” said Adam Lind, Fairfax County bicycle program manager. “The projects in the Annandale area will create a connected network of on-street bike lanes that will allow residents to get from their homes to schools, parks, and the Annandale central business district to work and shop.”
Fairfax County currently has 368 miles of bike lanes, shared-use paths and trails, which includes approximately 70 miles of on-street facilities. The County’s goal of creating a 1,130-mile bike network was approved by the Board of Supervisors in the Bicycle Master Plan in Fall 2014.
The bike lanes are a part of VDOT’s repaving program, which gives the Commonwealth and County Departments of Transportation an opportunity to identify, design and implement bike projects on roads that were already included in the repaving plan. Improvements included shifting or narrowing lanes to accommodate bike lanes; placing shared-lane markings, known as “sharrows,” on the road to help increase awareness of cyclist activity; and “road diets,” which reduce travel lanes to help reduce speeding and increase safety.
Labels: bicycle master plan, bike lanes, repaving
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Faces of Fairfax - Ricardo Estevez
Ricardo Estevez of Burke is a bike commuter who rides in part to honor his daughter, who is a leukemia survivor. In addition to his regular commute to work in Rosslyn, he likes to participate in charity rides. Asked what he likes most about biking, he responded that he enjoys not being in his car. He would like to see more trails and more funding for education on sharing the road for motorists and cyclists.
FABB applauds the progress Fairfax County has made in engineering more bike facilities, but our group continues to advocate for the unfunded education and encouragement aspects of the Bicycle Master Plan. We need cyclists and other concerned citizens to tell their supervisors that Fairfax County has to do more to promote biking and to educate cyclists and motorists about bike safety and the “rules of the road.” Funding the BikeFairfax office, as proposed in the Bicycle Master Plan, to handle such encouragement and education activities would be a good place to start.
FABB applauds the progress Fairfax County has made in engineering more bike facilities, but our group continues to advocate for the unfunded education and encouragement aspects of the Bicycle Master Plan. We need cyclists and other concerned citizens to tell their supervisors that Fairfax County has to do more to promote biking and to educate cyclists and motorists about bike safety and the “rules of the road.” Funding the BikeFairfax office, as proposed in the Bicycle Master Plan, to handle such encouragement and education activities would be a good place to start.
Labels: bicycle master plan, bicycle safety, bike to work day, bikefairfax, burke, Faces of Fairfax
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Bikeability Has Potential to Increase Likeability of Fairfax
During Bike Month 2015 Deloitte released a report on improving transportation options and bike commuting that featured Fairfax County. The study, Smart Mobility: Reducing Congestion and Fostering Faster, Greener and Cheaper Transportation Options (Deloitte University Press, 2015), is available here and, after a year, the study is worth a second look.
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| Graphic courtesy of Smart Mobility. |
One of the study’s findings was that bike commuting’s potential value is not evenly distributed inside each metro area across the United States, and it cites Fairfax County as a prominent example of such unmet potential. The greatest prospective benefits are likely to be in core urban centers and, perhaps surprisingly, in suburban neighborhoods near smaller commercial centers. According to the study, areas with higher concentrations of potential bike commuters in Fairfax cluster around suburban “edge cities” containing commercial centers such as Reston, Tysons, Herndon, Manassas, and Woodbridge.
The identification of Tysons as one of these “hot spots” for potential bike commuting was described as possibly counterintuitive because the area used to be a national symbol of car-friendly and congested development. But, the study notes, “bikeability” forms a major part of Tysons’ long-term development plan.
Meanwhile, medium-density suburban neighborhoods located one to three miles away from thriving commercial developments, such as Reston Town Center, offer surprisingly good opportunities for increasing bike ridership to sustain its economic growth and attract younger residents. This is especially true now that the Metro Silver Line has opened.
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| Photo courtesy of FCDOT. |
The progress on improving “bikeability” in these parts of Fairfax County, however, has been mixed. On the positive side, during the past year Fairfax County has worked with the Virginia Department of Transportation to create more than 2 miles of new bike lanes in Tysons and more new lanes are coming this summer in other areas of the county. Earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors approved $1.7 million for bike sharing and is working in a private-public partnership with Tysons Partnership to bring Bikeshare stations to Reston, Tysons, and other areas.
On the negative side, the Tysons bike plan contains several recommendations for encouraging more people to use bikes for transportation that have not yet been implemented. FABB plans to continue working with Fairfax County and the private sector to realize some of these goals, including:
- Install signs for 16 bicycle routes to the four Tysons Silver Line Stations and for an interim alternative route (not using VA Route 123) between Vienna and McLean.
- Provide a volunteer Bicycle-to-Transit Ambassadors program at Metro stations.
- Launch a bicycle commuting marketing campaign highlighting to prospective new bicycle commuters the time savings current Tysons bicycle commuters are experiencing as compared to motor vehicle travel.
- Establish a Bike-Friendly Employer program with corporate members.
- Achieve an 80 percent of capacity bike parking rate at the Tysons Metro stations.
Labels: bicycle master plan, bike ambassador, deloitte, Reston bikeshare, tysons bike lanes, tysons bike plan, tysons bikeshare
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Thank You FABB Donors!
Thank you to everyone who donated to FABB this year! We are your local bicycle advocacy group and your donations will go to making Fairfax a better place to bike. A special thank you to Fionnuala Quinn and Skip Bean for their financial support for the Bicycle Master Plan celebration in January. We also want to thank our two corporate donors this year, IMS Health and Squij Kat. This year Squij Kat, a local company that makes bike-specific products, dedicated a percentage of their sales to be donated to FABB. When you Celebrate Cycling with Squij Kat you know that a portion of that money will go to FABB.
Labels: bicycle master plan, donation
Monday, December 21, 2015
Faces of Fairfax - Martha Martin
Labels: bicycle master plan, burke, FABB, Faces of Fairfax, gmu
Monday, November 2, 2015
Faces of Fairfax -Sunil, Ariji, and Paresh
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| Sunil, Ariji, and Paresh |
FABB continues to work with Fairfax County to implement the county’s Bicycle Master Plan, which includes recommendations to expand on-road and off-road facilities as part of a larger bicycle transportation network that will make Fairfax County more bicycle friendly.
Labels: bicycle master plan, FABB, Faces of Fairfax, falls church, w&od trail
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Braddock Neighborhood News - Bicycling in Fairfax County
We were recently asked to appear on Braddock District Supervisor Cook's television show, Braddock Neighborhood News. Officer Eric Ivansic of the West Springfield District bike patrol also appeared. We discussed cyclists rights, cyclist and motorist education, the Bicycle Master Plan, and other topics.We have met with Supervisor Cook in the past and his opinions about the importance of bicycling have evolved over the years. He supported the Bicycle Master Plan and agrees that we need to do more to make Fairfax a more bike-friendly place.
A recording of the show is posted on YouTube: Braddock Neighborhood News - Bicycling in Fairfax County:
Labels: bicycle master plan, supervisor cook
Monday, April 13, 2015
Tell Fairfax County how you bike to VRE and Metro
The Bike
Fairfax Wikimapping Project has now opened its interactive map to the public to
post their routes to Metrorail and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) stations in
Fairfax County and provide feedback until June 30, 2015.
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| Photo Courtesy of Fairfax County |
The project, which
is an extension of the recently passed Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan, provides
commuters and leisure bicyclists the opportunity to help prioritize future
bicycle improvement projects in Fairfax County. The information provided
by the public will help guide the decision making process on future bicycle
infrastructure improvements including wayfinding signage and bike lanes.
Instructions and a
video demonstration on how to map your route and provide feedback can be found
at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/bike/wikimapping.
To access the interactive map directly,
visit wikimapping.com/wikimap/FairfaxCounty.
Labels: bicycle master plan, bike fairfax, wikimapping project
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Support needed to save Kingstowne bike lanes
The proposed Kingstowne Village Parkway road diet
and on-road bike lanes are in jeopardy unless we act now. Your help
is needed to show strong public support for the proposed bicycle improvements
before the public comment period closes on April 15, 2015.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation(FCDOT) and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) are proposing a
road diet on Kingstowne Village Parkway that would reduce the current four
travel lanes to two with one center turn lane and would provide on-road bike
facilities in both directions. The addition of bike lanes on Kingstowne Village
Parkway would help build out the County’s bike network as recommended in
Fairfax County’s Bicycle Master Plan and would provide needed connection to existing
bike lanes on Beulah Street.
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| Road Diet - Graphic by FCDOT |
At the second public meeting held April 8, there
was significant opposition for the proposed road diet. Opponents
voiced concerns that focused mostly on traffic volume and the effect a new
nearby development would have on local traffic. VDOT’s traffic study,
however, indicates Kingstowne Village Parkway has significant extra capacity
and is well below the 20,000 vehicles per day threshold for determining road
diet candidates.
Road diets and on-street bike lanes make streets
safer for all users - bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike. In 2010,
FCDOT and VDOT completed a road diet on Lawyers Road in Fairfax County, a very
similar roadway to Kingstowne Village Parkway. A before and after
study by VDOT found that while average travel times remained generally the
same, there was a 67% reduction in motor vehicle crashes, and it reduced the
number of people driving more than 15 mph over the speed limit.
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| FCDOT Views - Graphic by FCDOT |
Road diets provide traffic calming and the
addition of bike lanes offer people who bicycle a safe place on the road,
and an alternative to side paths that are often shared with pedestrians.
Let’s not allow a few vocal opponents to undermine efforts to make
Kingstowne Village Parkway safer and more accessible for all users.
Please email Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff
McKay (leedist@fairfaxcounty.gov),
and copy Adam Lind of FCDOT (adam.lind@fairfaxcounty.gov),
to let them know you support the road diet and bicycle lanes for
Kingstowne Village Parkway. Time is short so please provide your feedback
before the public comment period closes on April 15.
Labels: bicycle master plan, kingstowne village parkway, road diet
FABB testimony at county budget hearings
During the week of 6 April 2015 the Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors held public hearings on the budget for the coming year (FY
2016). Below is the testimony given by FABB member Steve Ward, which focused on
asking the county to properly fund and staff the Bicycle Program office and an as yet established office to run the Bike Fairfax program.
Fairfax County FY 2016 Budget Testimony
April 7, 2015
Good evening, Chairman Bulova and members of the Board.
I’m here on behalf of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling
(FABB), and I thank you for this opportunity to speak tonight about the proposed
budget and its impact on the implementation of the bicycling element of planned
transportation improvements.
The proposed budget’s funding of bike projects is a great improvement
over past years. But we believe that some additions or adjustments must be made
to properly resource the current and proposed offices that will direct the
bicycle program.
We appreciate and commend the Board for its past efforts to
make Fairfax more bicycle-friendly. Last year’s adoption of the Bicycle Master
Plan, the inclusion of money for expanded bike infrastructure as part of the
6-year transportation funding package, and the county’s work with VDOT’s summer
repaving program to add bike facilities in Tysons are major advances.
- However, if Fairfax County
is to stay on track with the Master Plan then the county will need to allocate
sufficient funding to the bike program offices to make sure that the momentum
behind this plan is sustained.
We know that the demand for more bike facilities exists and
is waiting to be served. The opening last year of the Metro Silver Line
stations in Reston and Tysons has been a great test case for the proposition
that if we build bike facilities, they will be used.
- According to local news reports last fall, at the McLean station, which isn’t in a very bike-friendly part of Tysons, most of the 72 available bike spaces were filled by 9 a.m. each weekday.
- FABB members have observed
and can testify that usage of the Wiehle-Reston East bike room has been even
stronger.
- We believe these examples
suggest that new bike projects around other transit hubs throughout the
county would see similar use, but more direction and commitment is needed
to make this happen.
Having a physical bicycle network is only one aspect of becoming
a true bicycle-friendly community and, as the Master Plan points out, other
areas also need emphasis.
- As Fairfax transitions to
a more urban structure, residents need to be encouraged to use bikes and
walks for short trips.
- Motorists and cyclists
need bicycle safety education, and enforcement of applicable laws needs to
improve.
- And kids need to learn
safe riding skills at an early age.
Sadly, however, we see that funds for the Bicycle Program
have not been reinstated and note that the county does not have enough staff to
properly direct and implement the Master Plan’s recommendations.
- This is true for the
plan’s Engineering elements (the proposed infrastructure projects), which
the County to its credit is emphasizing.
- But, as important, it also
is true for the plan’s four other E’s--education, encouragement,
enforcement, and evaluation.
We strongly believe that there is an immediate need to
correct the virtual absence of funding for these 4 E’s in the proposed budget.
- In particular, we think it
is a major failure that Bike Fairfax is not funded. There is a clear need for a more
effective approach to education and encouragement programs.
- Such programs require
different skill sets than those needed for planning and engineering the
physical bicycle network, and Bike Fairfax is intended to address this.
- Because these programs
will directly affect the safety of county cyclists, we strongly believe
that it is past time to start allocating resources to this effort.
Again, we are very appreciative of the Board’s actions in
recent years to make Fairfax more bicycle-friendly. We understand the county’s
financial situation and the multiple conflicting demands on the budget.
But, we believe that these investments bring benefits to all
of our citizens and that, along with our existing bicycling infrastructure, are
helping to keep the county competitive with its neighbors in attracting new
residents, businesses, and visitors. We’ve included in your packages a review of 12 studies from around the world that demonstrate how safe and accessible biking
options are good for business and for local economies.
- However, it will take a
commitment on the part of the County to make these programs and activities
a priority and to provide them proper direction if we are to continue
expanding these benefits.
- And, to do this, the
proposed budget, at a minimum, needs to be adjusted to fully resource the
Bicycle Program and to create the Bike Fairfax office with its own
dedicated staff.
- We submit that for a
modest amount of resources given to the Bicycle Program and Bike Fairfax,
the County will see a great return in terms of safer, healthier, and more
livable and economically vibrant communities.
- And, as it has in the
past, FABB stands ready to cooperate with the County in working with
private businesses, the health care industry, and other interested
organizations and volunteer groups to help make these efforts a success.
Thank you.
Labels: bicycle master plan, bike fairfax office, bike program office, budget hearings, fy2016 budget
