FABB Blog

Braddock District and other interested FABB members and bicyclists are encouraged to a community meeting hosted by the Fairfax County Department of Transportation to discuss proposed bike lanes on Braeburn Drive.  The meeting will be held on Thursday, Feb. 23, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Little Run Elementary School, 4511 Olley Lane, Fairfax. 

Representatives from FCDOT and VDOT will present plans for the project, which includes bike lanes, pedestrian improvements and overall safety. Several bicycle projects are proposed as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation's (VDOT) summer road repaving program. New bike lanes are planned for Braeburn Drive from Guinea Road to Olley Lane, extending the existing connection from Wakefield Chapel Road. 

The presentation from the Nov. 14 meeting is online.

From the Fairfax County news release Fairfax County Adds Bicycle Lanes Through Summer Repaving Program:

A public hearing held by the Fairfax County and Virginia Departments of Transportation last Monday night (21 March) on bike lanes in the Mason District provided attendees with a great overview of current proposals. Their presentation was well received by the attendees, and Supervisor Penny Gross set a positive tone at the outset by expressing her full support for the proposed changes.

For fuller coverage on the proposed bike lanes, please see this report in the Annandale VA blogspot.

Join Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff on Monday, March 21, 6:30 - 8 p.m., at the George Mason Regional Library, 7001 Little River Turnpike in Annandale, and learn about proposed bicycle enhancements that can be implemented with road repaving this year.

Project Background
Mason District soon may have new bike lanes, as part of VDOT's summer road repaving projects. Bicycle facilities are proposed on Heritage Drive, John Marr Drive, Markham Street, McWhorter Place, and Ravensworth Road. Click on the image to enlarge the map.

SB 117 the “Dooring” bill was first on the docket in House Transportation SubCommittee 1 and was heard shortly after 7 a.m. Sen. Chap Petersen did a very good job of presenting it, and I spoke in favor of it, followed by Champe Burnley, & Lisa Guthrie of the Transit Assn.

Del. Adams of Martinsville then moved to Table it, seconded by Del. Pillion of Abingdon. On the vote they were joined by Chairman Garrett of Lynchburg, but they were one vote short, as Dels. Plum of Reston, Ward of Newport News, Anderson of Manassas & LeMunyon of Chantilly voted Nay. That motion failing, Del. Plum moved to report, seconded by Ward. Being joined again by Anderson & LeMunyon , and opposed by the same 3, the bill was Reported 4-3.

It now goes on to the Full House Transportation Committee (where the same 7 Delegates will be joined by 15 others to make up the full Committee) on Thursday a.m. at a more civilized 8:30. In looking down the list of members, it would appear that we would have a good chance to get this bill onto the House floor for final passage if our team mates in the Virginia Beach area can make some calls to

Chairman Villanueva (delrvillanueva@house.virginia.gov), and Delegates Scott Taylor (delstaylor@house.virginia.gov), & Glenn Davis (delgbavis@house.virginia.gov), asking them to support the bill. Certainly wouldn't hurt for our folks in Northern VA to contact Hugo, Minchew, Dudenhefer, LaRock, & Filler-Corn.

SB669/the Maintenance Reimbursement for Bike Lanes bill also will be heard on Thursday morning, and those making contacts should certainly mention it in their messages, although we got some bad news this morning from one of the Delegates that a number of Delegates in the House are generally opposed to the conversion of vehicular travel lanes to bike lanes and do not support this bill which would incentivize a jurisdiction to do so. Despite his pessimistic outlook toward the bill, lets ask support for it anyway and see if we can prove him wrong.

Here are the bills that need your support:

SB 117: Dooring— This bill makes opening a vehicle door into the path of an oncoming bicycle a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of up to $50. As too many of us know, dooring can cause severe injury to bicyclists. Currently, there is no penalty in VA for passengers and drivers who put cyclists at risk in this manner. The lack of a ticketable infraction makes it harder for the victim of dooring to recover damages from insurance companies for his/her injuries. The creation of this traffic infraction would change that.

SB 669: Converting traffic lanes to bicycle lanes will not reduce highway maintenance funds— This bill would remove a disincentive for cities and towns to replace traffic lanes with bike lanes. Currently, highway maintenance funding is calculated based on the number of lane miles the city or town maintains. Under this bill, municipalities will not have their maintenance funding reduced if motor vehicle lane miles are converted to bicycle-only lanes. This is great for municipalities wishing to engage in traffic calming, road diets, and other street safety projects.

More bike lanes are being striped this summer than any time in the past, almost doubling the existing number of bike lanes in the county. Kudos to Fairfax DOT and VDOT for making this happen.

From Fairfax County new release Improving Roads, Bike Lanes and Sidewalks in Tysons:

The Virginia Department of Transportation has begun major road paving within much of the Tysons area. Now through the end of September, VDOT is paving (weather permitting). The work is part of VDOT Northern Virginia’s $168 million paving program this year all across the region. Additional paving projects are expected in other parts of Tysons through the end of this year.

Tysons Partnership recently wrote about the repaving projects: New Bike Lanes Popping Up Around North Tysons:

This summer VDOT had plans to repave many of the roadways in Tysons. They took that opportunity to implement some changes to striping and lane delineation in the most residential portions of Tysons, including the North Tysons neighborhood where large empty roadways make for dangerous intersections and bike paths.

The summer is nearly complete and we are getting a better picture of the safe paths in Tysons. While I don’t think VDOT went nearly far enough, sentiment in the area remains suburban and auto-focused (and people wonder why the Silver Line ridership is low from the nearby communities), and therefore this interim step is about as good as one can expect for the short term.

This is a good day for anyone who uses non-vehicular means to get to work or run errands, but the struggle against bad design isn’t over. Bike lanes are an easy come easy go infrastructure, it takes vocal support and physical support to show planners and politicians their value. The added benefit is that by showing support for these interim steps we improve the chances to get true infrastructure including protected bike lanes (arguably more important in the suburban regions than established urban bike areas) and further road diets in the non-congested corridors of Tysons.

Many cyclists ride to work at the USGS. For at least 8 years in a row USGS was the company/organization with the most Reston Bike to Work Day participants. 

The bike lane is a welcome addition to bike facilities in Reston. One day we hope it will connect to bike lanes on adjacent roads Sunrise Valley Dr and South Lakes Dr that currently do not have bike lanes.

We also noticed an unusual symbol in the bike lane. Instead of the official bike lane symbols placed inside the bike lane, two chevrons are placed above the bike symbol, similar to those used in the shared lane marking. It would be nice if road markings were consistent. I believe this is a rare instance in which the road work was completed by Federal Highway Administration since the road is located on Federal property.

DATE: April 14, 2014

TO: Supervisor Gerald Hyland, Delegate Scott Surovell, and Senator Toddy Puller

FROM: Seyed A. Nabavi, Engineer III, Department of Transportation

SUBJECT: Update on Sherwood Hall Lane Pavement Marking

This memorandum is an update on the Sherwood Hall Lane Pavement Marking project. We have received seventy seven comments via mail, email, and comments provided at the public information meeting before March 26th. We also received six comments after the March 26th deadline.

The comments have been compiled and they are mainly focused on retaining on‐street parking and providing bike lanes. The overwhelming desire of the residents in the eastern portion of Sherwood Hall Lane is to retaintheiron-streetparking. We understand that this space provides benefits beyond merely vehicle storage, such ascreating a buffer between the curb and fast‐moving traffic, and providing a safe place to walk where sidewalks do not exist.

We are pleased to report that we have modified the pavement marking plan to retain all the on‐street parking between Parkers and Fort Hunt by eliminating the proposed left-turn lanes. A bike lane will be carved from the existing parking lane, but this space will continue to contribute to the buffer space valued by the residents. Generally, we will provide the following design for the six segments on the project:

Segment 1 Route 1 to FordsonRoad:

The proposed design on this segment will remain the same. We will look at the queue length of the east bound right turns and provide enough gap in bike lanes for the right turning vehicles.

Segment 2 Fordson Road to Schelhorn Road:

The proposed design on this segment will remain the same. We will look at the queue length of the west bound right turns and provide enough gap in bike lanes for the right turning vehicles.

Segment 3 Schelhorn Road to Frances Drive:

The proposed left turn lane into the library will be preserved. The proposed left turn lane into Frances Drive will be removed and the existing parking will be retained on the south side of Sherwood Hall Lane (in front of the library).

Segment 4 Frances Drive To Davenport St:

The proposed two way left turn lane will be removed. The existing parking will be retained on both sides of Sherwood Hall Lane and the bike lanes will be striped.

Segment 5 Davenport Street To Kirkside Drive:

The proposed two way left turn lane will be removed. We will provide a new eastbound left turn lane into Kirkside Drive. The existing parking will be retained. The rest of the proposed design remains the same.

Segment 6 Kirkside Drive to Fort Hunt Road:

We will implement typical section concept 2 on this segment. The proposed two way left turn lane will be removed and the bike lanes will be striped. The existing parking will be retained.

We are in the process of finalizing the pavement marking and signage plans. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is in the process of repaving areas near Sherwood Hall  Lane, We will submit the final plans to VDOT on April 25th for their review and implementation.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please email me at Seved.Nabavi@fairfaxcountv.gov or call me at (703) 877‐5759.

This is the third road diet in the county that has resulted in new bike lanes being installed. The others are Lawyers Road and Soapstone Drive, both in Reston. They are all examples of how we can make better use of our existing roads to provide space for bicyclists. There are many similar roads throughout the county. We hope that the success of these projects leads to more bike lanes in the future.

From VDOT: