Blog - Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling (FABB)

Thursday, August 28, 2014

New bike access through Ft Belvoir is now open

After September 11, 2001, Woodlawn Road through Ft. Belvoir, from Route 1 to Telegraph Road, was closed. Woodlawn Road was part of U.S. Bike Route 1 through Northern Virginia. Cyclists were forced to find an alternative route, which ended up being a dangerous, long stretch of Route 1. The new road, Jeff Todd Way/Mulligan Road, is a much needed alternative to Woodlawn Road.

Del. Scott Surovell recently filmed a bike ride on the road just before it was opened. It was my understanding that the outside lanes would be 14 feet wide but it's difficult to tell from the video. There is a wide shared use path on the west/south side of the road that was expected to be completed by the time the road opened on August 25.

For more information on the road see the Federal Highway Administration site and the VDOT site.

The new road connects to Telegraph Road that is being widened and will include bike facilities, either bike lanes or a multi-use trail. We were contacted by a cyclist who once tried to ride a long, 75-mile loop "from Herndon, down the W & OD to the Custis, along Mt. Vernon Trail to Mt. Vernon, then attempted to 'link' over to West Ox and the Parkway Trail back up to Herndon." He was not able to find a bike-friendly connection over to West Ox Road.

When the Telegraph Road widening is completed, the long loop he mentioned should work. A cyclist could ride from Mt Vernon Trail along Mt Vernon Memorial Hwy to Jeff Todd Way at Route 1, north to Telegraph Rd, west to Beulah Rd where there are bike lanes leading north to a trail parallel to Franconia Springfield Pkwy where they could head west to the ped/bike crossing of I-95 and continue west to the Fairfax Co Parkway.

The Fairfax County bike map now needs to be updated to include the new road and trail.

Here is Del. Surovell's video of his bike ride.

Labels: delegate scott surovell, jeff todd way, mulligan road, route 1

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:44 AM permalink

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Sherwood Hall Lane bike lanes installed

VDOT is completing the installation of bike lanes on Sherwood Hall Lane as part of a repaving/pavement marking project to improve safety. See an earlier FABB blog post for details. We've already heard from cyclists in that area who welcome the new bike lanes. Thanks to Supervisor Hyland and Delegate Surovell for supporting the project and to Fairfax County and VDOT staff for their work on the project. The newly configured road will benefit all users by making it safer and providing a dedicated bike facility. Please send thank you notes to Supervisor Hyland and Del. Surovell.

Del. Surovell is a cyclist. Here are his comments on the project along with a video clip he recorded on a recent bike ride along Sherwood Hall Lane, posted on his blog, The Dixie Pig:

Multimodal improvements are critical to get more cars off the road. It is also hoped that by restricting lane size, this will help to lower speeds and illegal passing on Sherwood Hall Lane which has become a real problem with increased cut through traffic.

These improvements were the result of two public hearings and significant public input. These lanes will eventually link into to a multiuse path on U.S. 1 and other bike lanes as U.S. 1 is redone, properties are redeveloped and road repaved.

Labels: delegate scott surovell, sherwood hall lane, supervisor hyland

posted by Bruce Wright at 6:29 PM permalink

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Support bike facilities on Sherwood Hall lane

Share the Road sign on Sherwood Hall Lane.
Photo taken on FABB South County tour in 2007

Sherwood Hall Lane is scheduled to be repaved from US Route 1 to Fort Hunt Road. VDOT and Fairfax Co DOT have proposed adding bike lanes, a center turn lane, and removing some of the little-used on-street parking, in order to calm traffic. Several local residents are opposing the plan for bike lanes and removal of parking. Please visit the WABA Sherwood Hall Lane alert page to send a message to Supervisor Hyland, and if you are a constituent, to Senator Puller and Delegate Surovell.

Making Sherwood Hall Lane a more complete street will benefit all users of the road. By reducing the travel lane width, adding a center turn lane, and adding bike lanes, the road will be safer for everyone, including local residents. Residents are opposed to the plan, primarily because of the loss of the parking. A great deal of space is devoted to free parking that very few people use. The same arguments for opposing the bike lanes and retaining on-street parking that were used to oppose the King St. bike plan are being used to oppose the Sherwood Hall Lane plan. Many, many people use this road who do not live in the immediate area and they should to weigh in on this decision.

Labels: delegate scott surovell, senator toddy puller, sherwood hall lane, supervisor hyland

posted by Bruce Wright at 7:46 PM permalink

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Sherwood Hall Lane repaving - Proposed cross sections

Below are proposed cross sections for 6 segments of the Sherwood Hall Lane repaving project that was the subject of a meeting on Wed., March 12. The major concern expressed at the community meeting was removal of parking. As you can see below, some of the proposed profiles, do not include parking. Even though very few motorists park on the road, residents want the option of parking for guests and overflow from their driveways. Please contact the Mt. Vernon District office, Senator Toddy Puller, and Delegate Scott Surovell and voice your support for bike lanes and traffic calming on Sherwood Hall Lane.