FABB Blog

 

Bike Counter Ceremony Today in Reston

Thanks to a generous donation from the Reston Bicycle Club (RBC), Fairfax County now has a mobile bike counter. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the W&OD Trail and Old Reston Avenue today, Chairman Bulova and Supervisor Hudgins thanked RBC for their donation and spoke about the importance of bicycling for both transportation and recreation. They also noted the importance of providing good bike facilities so residents have multiple options for getting around. Bike Coordinator Adam Lind discussed the importance of bike counts for planning purposes.

FABB worked with RBC's board and the county to select, purchase and deliver the counter to the county. The counter is similar to the network of counters used by Arlington County (see Counting Bikes to Plan for Bikes). The counter contains two parts. One part uses passive-infrared to count all people passing the counter. The second part consists of two tubes that only counts bicyclists. Using the two systems bicyclists and pedestrians can be counted. Yesterday 445 cyclists were counted on the W&OD Trail.

The counter will be moved around the county as needed. The long term goal is to have a network of permanent counters located along important bicycle routes or potential routes to count existing bicyclists and to document changes over time, as outlined in the Bicycle Master Plan. Thanks RBC!

Labels: adam lind, bike counter, chairman bulova, reston bike club, supervisor hudgins, tom biesiadny

posted by Bruce Wright at 1:28 PM permalink

 

Evolution of Transportation summary

Last night several FABB members attended the Evolution of Transportation event sponsored by Fairfax County and others. It was held in the Mosaic District at the Angelika Theater. Some of us rode there and it was good to see the bike racks in the parking garage nearly full.

The event included several talks, a "panel" discussion (more talks), and was supposed to include a question and answer session. The talks lasted beyond the scheduled meeting time so it was disappointing that none of the questions were asked. One of the main reasons for us to attend was to hear a dialogue about the future of transportation in Fairfax.

The event started with the premiere of the short film History of Transportation in Fairfax County.  It was interesting to hear about the history of roads like West Ox Road, Rolling Road, and others. Unfortunately there was no mention of the role that bicyclists played in the development of paved roads in the U.S. The Good Roads Movement was begun by bicyclists in the late 1800's. There was also no mention of walking or biking.

Chairman Bulova introduced Congressman Connolly who discussed the importance of Dulles Rail, noting that it took over 40 years to become a partial reality. He listed the many major transportation projects that have been completed in the recent past including the massive Springfield Interchange Project, the Dulles Rail Project, interchanges on Route 28, the Beltway HOT lanes, and others. Just think what kind of a bicycle network we could have by using just a small portion of the cost of these projects.  He also talked about growing up in Boston where he walked and biked everywhere.

Congressman Connolly introduced Peter Rogoff, head of the Federal Transit Administration. Peter's main point was that we haven't properly maintained our current transportation assets and they are crumbling. It's much easier for people to get excited about new projects. He noted that young people are driving less and relying more on transit and other modes.

Tom Biesiadny of Fairfax County DOT discussed the many county transportation projects underway including bicycle and pedestrian projects around the future Tysons and Reston Silver Line Metro stations.

The panel discussion was led by Adam Tuss, transportation reporter for NBC4. It's safe to say that all of the panelists noted that we won't be able to build enough roads to continue relying on the car for all our transportation needs. We'll need more choices including being able to walk and bike to nearby destinations.

David Alpert of Greater Greater Washington said that what we need to do is reclaim the freedom of movement and access we had in earlier times when kids were allowed to ride and walk longer distances and our roads were smaller with slower speeds. It was relatively safe to get around using various modes of travel.

In Fairfax we have many areas like the Route 123/Route 7 interchange, the Route 50/Beltway interchange and others that contain large empty zones that could be used much more productively. Some of those interchanges could be transformed into more urban forms. One challenge is that VDOT needs to be more willing to make changes that they think would slow traffic but would make for more livable places.

Boomers and Millenials want walkable/bikeable places. The sharing economy is growing, freeing some people from the need to own a car or bike if they have access to carshare and bikeshare. David walked from the Dunn Loring station to the theater but it wasn't a pleasant walk, and the big streets around Mosaic are not pedestrian- or bike-friendly. Had bikeshare been available he would have used it.

As was noted by Dan Reed on Greater Greater Washington today, Fairfax is not alone when it comes to the need to tame or big roads.

Josh Sawislak of Mobile Work Exchange noted that one way to reduce congestion is telework. It's a new concept for many people, but it works better than most think. We have a great deal of transportation capacity that is overburdened for only relatively short periods each day. By removing a small percentage of those people, through flexible work schedules or occasional telecommuting (or biking) we could greatly reduce congestion without the need for more capacity.

Frank Weith of Volkswagen Group of America started off his discussion by noting that he lived in Munich, Germany for several years. The city could be used as a benchmark for personal mobility. Travel between various modes is relatively seamless and is a good model for the U.S. The Tysons Mobility Hubs are based on a similar concept, specifically a system used in Bremen, Germany.

Frank also described the future of car travel that included a couple of Volkswagen commercials and a discussion of the advanced features being added to cars (that many people think will lead to increased driver distraction). It is possible that the connected car could reduce crashes in the future but it requires a great deal of infrastructure before becoming a viable option.

After the many talks there was no time for the questions submitted by the audience. We wanted to know what can be done to keep from creating islands of mixed-use development near transit that are surrounded by big roads, like the Mosaic District.

A single, synthesized question was asked of the panelists: How can we remake our transportation system so that there is space for everyone, not just cars. David pointed to the need for a grid of streets rather than having just a few big roads where all traffic is funneled. It's counter-intuitive to many people that having more roads can make places more ped and bike friendly. A connected grid of streets can lead to smaller blocks, lower speeds, and more options. Not many roads in DC have nine lanes like Gallows Road.

Frank noted that it's difficult to walk and bike in his neighborhood and that we need to connect the gaps in our bike and ped networks.

Thanks to Chairman Bulova for holding the event. She apologized for the lack of time for questions; maybe we need a second Evolution of Transportation meeting to respond to the first one...

Labels: chairman bulova, congressman connolly, david alpert, evolution of transportation, greater greater washington, tom biesiadny

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:18 PM permalink

 

Evolution of Transportation meeting June 12

Fairfax County is hosting a discussion entitled the Evolution of Transportation. The county is undergoing some major changes, from being a mostly suburban county in which most growth was low-density suburban housing to a more urban place where new development is mixed-use around transit centers.

As a result, we need to figure out better ways to move people. Big roads don't work where pedestrian and bicycle movement is encouraged. Mixed use developments allow people to walk and bike to many more places.

Bicyclists played a major role in the evolution of transportation nationwide. In the late 1800's/early 1900's bicyclists led the Good Roads Movement to advocate for a network of paved roads:
Some FABB members will be riding to the event, which will be held at Angelika Theater in the Mosaic District. See our earlier blog entry about that area. Thanks to Chairman Bulova's office for including Biking Directions on the RSVP page.

From the Evolution of Transportation RSVP page:

Labels: chairman bulova, congressman connolly, evolution of transportation, greater greater washington, peter rogoff

posted by Bruce Wright at 7:30 AM permalink

 

Bike to Work Day presentation at Board of Supervisors meeting

FABB was out in force today at the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors presentation on Bike to Work Day. Six of us rode to the Government Center on a beautiful spring day. County Bike Coordinator Charlie Strunk noted that over 15,000 people signed up for the event, exceeding the goal for this year.

At the Fairfax Corner pit stop Charlie noted that he received positive feedback about bike lockers at the courthouse (apparently all the guards were inside the courthouse and not watching the bikes, which were frequently stolen). One of the county employees there was able to bike to work more often now and as a result was able to get rid of his second car.

 Supervisor Foust thanked Charlie for the bike wayfinding signs in McLean. Supervisors McKay and Hudgins and Chairman Bulova all talked about the importance of biking as an integral part of our transportation system. They also mentioned the work of bike advocates and FABB in particular.



Here is a link to the presentation photos. Look for the orange shirts:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/fairfaxcounty/sets/72157633928309149/show/with/8950191307/

Labels: bike to work day, chairman bulova, charlie strunk, fairfax county board of supervisors, supervisor foust, supervisor hudgins, supervisor mckay

posted by Bruce Wright at 5:26 PM permalink

 

Pohick Stream Valley Trail ribbon-cutting ceremony

FABB members Alan Young and Kerie Hitt on the left begin the ride to the bridge.

Several FABB members attended the official opening of the Pohick Stream Valley Trail that connects the Burke VRE station with Burke Lake Road and the Burke Village Shopping Center. It also connects several Park Authority and Burke Centre Conservancy trails. It will provide access to and from the VRE station for many residents in the area.

 A group of cyclists rode from the VRE station to the new bridge at Burke Lake Road where a group was gathered to hear speakers including Fairfax Co Board Chairman Sharon Bulova and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook. The speakers pointed out the importance of providing residents with opportunities to get out of their cars for making short trips by bike.

Chairman Bulova, Supervisor Cook, and others cut the ribbon.

One of the stream crossings along the trail is a fair weather crossing. Even though the weather was fair, the heavy rains yesterday meant that streams in the area were very high; so high that the fair weather crossing was impassable. As a result the bike convoy detoured along narrow asphalt trails leading into the surrounding neighborhoods.
We crossed one very slick wooden bridge and a couple of riders took a spill.

Not so fair weather crossing.

The project was the result of cooperation between Fairfax Co DOT, Fairfax Co Park Authority, and Burke Centre Conservancy. The Park Authority has a good reputation for building trail bridges quickly and at a reasonable cost. A similar cooperative project was responsible for the Wolftrap Rd bridge that is now used heavily but the community including kids riding to Kilmer Middle School. Congratulations to everyone who helped make the trail a reality.

Labels: burke centre conservancy, chairman bulova, pohick stream valley trail, supervisor cook, vre

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:23 PM permalink

 

Bike to School Day May 9

Fairfax County Public Schools will celebrate the first National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 9. Congratulations to FCPS for agreeing to be part of this event. From the FCPS news release:

Labels: bike to school day, chairman bulova, fcps, janie strauss

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:36 AM permalink