FABB Blog

 

New bike racks at Kilmer Middle School

Congressman Connolly cuts ribbon on new bike racks

Kilmer Middle School is located just south of Tysons Corner off Gallows Road. Many kids bike to the school, especially after a short bridge was constructed that links two sections of Wolftrap Road. As we mentioned in an earlier post, bike parking at the school was not sufficient for holding all the bikes. They were parked against benches, the flag pole, etc.

Today the school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the installation of two new bike racks. The racks sit on a very nice concrete/stone pad. Congressman Connolly was present and talked about the need to provide alternatives like bicycling to ease our congestion and pollution problems, especially for short trips like trips to school. Congratulations to Kilmer and especially to Assistant Principal Larry Knighten who made it happen.

Photo by Jeff Palmer, Spokes, Etc

We would have preferred that inverted U racks were used instead of the grill racks, mainly because any bikes that have fenders or panniers don't fit into the grill slots, and it's almost impossible to use a U lock. These issues aren't a great concern with most kids bikes, so the grill racks should be OK.

See the Vienna Patch article New Bike Racks At Kilmer Draw Visit From Connolly.

Labels: bike racks, kilmer middle school

posted by Bruce Wright at 9:32 PM permalink

 

Bike parking at Kilmer Middle School

As we mentioned on our Facebook page, yesterday FABB and others toured Tysons by bike to check out existing, and possible future locations for, bike facilities in Tysons. The tour began at Kilmer Middle School on Wolftrap Rd near Gallows Rd, just south of Tysons. We had heard that the new bicycle and pedestrian bridge connecting Wolftrap Rd made it much easier for kids living in the neighborhoods to the west of the bridge to bike and walk to school and that there was demand for new bike parking.

As you can see from the photo, bikes were parked everywhere in front of the school The rack, in the center of the photo, was completely full and there were bikes locked to all the benches in front. Fortunately the school administration is supportive and allows the bikes to be parked there.

According to the dean of students, who is a cyclist, the school is working with the bike coordinator to add more bike parking. The dean also provides bike safety information for the biking students. This is a perfect example of how a small investment in infrastructure can make a significant difference in getting kids out of cars or buses and onto bikes, and the Safe Routes to School program is a way for other schools to find the money for these investments.

Labels: kilmer middle school, wolftrap bridge

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:02 AM permalink

 

Good turnout for Tysons bike meeting

About 25 cyclists turned out for the Tysons bike planning meeting tonight at Kilmer Middle School, despite the heavy rain that flooded some local streets. We hope to have more info about some of the draft proposals presented at the meeting, and we'll post it on the FABB Tysons bike plan page. Dan Goodman of Toole Design gave an overview of the project and Bob Patten of Toole filled in some of the details.

The project team announced an online tool for gathering input from area cyclists, Community Walk/BikeTysons. Anyone can log into the system using BikeTysons for the username and password:
Cyclists then broke into smaller groups to mark up maps with suggestions. Not sure how well that part of the meeting worked; there were lots of ideas but it seemed like many were not captured by the project team. Using the Community Walk interactive map is probably the best way to comment on what you think is needed in Tysons. Also check the Fairfax County Bicycle Master Plan page for more info.

Labels: kilmer middle school, tysons bike plan

posted by Bruce Wright at 11:07 PM permalink

 

Wolftrap bridge ribbon-cutting

FABB attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Wolftrap bridge connection near Kilmer Middle School. This is a great connection and an example of cooperation between the Park Authority, which owns the land, and the Dept. of Transportation, that had the idea for the bridge and provided funding. Supervisor Smyth was a strong supporter and help secure funding through the 2007 transportation bond referendum.

Five of us rode from Vienna to the ceremony. Along the way we stopped to take a picture of Jenifer Madden, Hunter Mill District Transportation Advisory Committee representative, in front of the bike rack that her family donated to the school at Our Lady of Good Counsel. Many cyclists take an informal detour through the church parking lot on the weekends.

After the ceremony we rode back along Gallows Rd to the new bike lanes that start at the W&OD Trail. There is funding for bike lanes from just north of Dunn Loring Metro station into Tysons.

Thanks to Fairfax County DOT and Park Authority for making this connection. Kirk Holley of the Park Authority noted the importance of the connection and that they were anxious to help make similar connections throughout the county.

Labels: kilmer middle school, park authority, wolftrap bridge

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:15 PM permalink