Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Lee District: Rose Hill Bike Lanes Meeting Set for June 8
Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will host a community meeting to discuss proposed bike lanes on Rose Hill Drive on Thursday, 8 June, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., in the cafeteria of Mark Twain Middle School, 4700 Franconia Road, Alexandria. The Rose Hill Drive project calls for narrowing existing travel lanes and striping bike lanes from Franconia Road to Telegraph Road as part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s summer road repaving program. Rose Hill Drive is an important connector between parks, shopping, the local library, and a trail to Kingstowne.
This meeting is another important opportunity for FABB members and other interested citizens to share their ideas and local knowledge with FCDOT to help make the new bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure as safe and user-friendly as possible. If you live in this part of Lee District, please plan on attending.
Labels: franconia road, lee district, rose hill drive, telegraph road
Monday, August 22, 2016
Two-stage Left Turn on Telegraph Rd & Beulah St
The bike lane on Telegraph Rd will be soon have a new two-foot buffer. There will also be a new two-stage left turn option. Kudos to Fairfax County and VDOT for experimenting with this new treatment. From Fairfax County DOT:
As part of the repaving and restriping project, Fairfax County’s first two-stage left turn will be installed at the intersection of Telegraph Road and Beulah Street. A two-stage left turn offers people bicycling a safer way to turn at multi-lane intersections and helps create predictability for drivers.
The diagram on the right shows how this works in two phases. In stage one a person on a bicycle rides straight through the intersection with a green light and then waits in a “bike box” in front of vehicle traffic at the cross street. In stage two, the light turns green for the cross street traffic and the person bicycling can then proceed through the intersection into the bike lane.
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| Two-stage left turn Image from NACTO |
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| Telegraph Rd & Beulah St This is what the intersection looks like today. Image from Google Maps |
Labels: beulah street, nacto, telegraph road, two-stage left turn
Two-stage Left Turn on Telegraph Rd & Beulah St
The bike lane on Telegraph Rd will be soon have a new two-foot buffer. There will also be a new two-stage left turn option. Kudos to Fairfax County and VDOT for experimenting with this new treatment. From Fairfax County DOT:As part of the repaving and restriping project, Fairfax County’s first two-stage left turn will be installed at the intersection of Telegraph Road and Beulah Street. A two-stage left turn offers people bicycling a safer way to turn at multi-lane intersections and helps create predictability for drivers.
The diagram on the right shows how this works in two phases. In stage one a person on a bicycle rides straight through the intersection with a green light and then waits in a “bike box” in front of vehicle traffic at the cross street. In stage two, the light turns green for the cross street traffic and the person bicycling can then proceed through the intersection into the bike lane.
Labels: beulah street, nacto, telegraph road, two-stage left turn
Friday, March 20, 2015
New bike lanes on Telegraph Road
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| Telegraph Road Photo: VDOT |
In the early stages of the project FABB members met with VDOT to discuss plans for the bike lanes and how cyclists would navigate this very congested and complex area. We haven't yet had a chance to see the new configuration. We'll be interested in seeing the end result. Kudos to VDOT for working with the bike community to add bike lanes on this roadway.
Labels: telegraph road, vdot
Sunday, June 26, 2011
New bike/ped crossing at Telegraph Road
It opens access to the Eisenhower Valley for bikers and walkers who live south of the Beltway. The path is the first such direct connection between Huntington and Eisenhower avenues in the Telegraph Road area since the Beltway was built. The path crosses Cameron Run on the east side of the newly completed Telegraph Road bridge, then connects to the flyover ramp crossing the Beltway.
Labels: dr. gridlock, telegraph road
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Telegraph Rd public hearing
One suggestion that was floated was to keep the bike lanes to the right of the right turn lane, then have a bike box at the Telegraph Rd/S. Kings Hwy intersection to allow cyclists to move left to continue straight on Telegraph Rd. While the bike box may work OK when there is a red signal, when there's a green signal bicyclists would be forced to take the lane and make an awkward movement into Telegraph Rd traffic at the intersection.
At the meeting one of the project team members was showing a simulation of traffic along this section of road. Unfortunately it did not include bicycle traffic, an all too common problem with traffic models. We think it's time that bicycle traffic be given equal status with motorized traffic when it comes to all types of transportation modeling, especially in urban areas. Seeing the flow of bicycle traffic with different configurations would be a great asset in developing the final design.
Labels: telegraph road, vdot
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Telegraph Road public hearing
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| Section of Vicinity map |
VDOT plans to modify the two-lane section by adding several new turn lanes, bike lanes, a shared use path on one side and a sidewalk on the other. With two busy roads on either end of the project, there are many turning movements and safely routing bike lanes through traffic will be a challenge. See the VDOT Telegraph Rd project web page that includes a vicinity map.
VDOT recently announced that the public hearing will be held on September 23 from 5-8 p.m. at Hayfield Secondary School, 7630 Telegraph Rd, Alexandria, 22315. We will review the plans at VDOT headquarters and will be preparing comments for the public hearing. This is an important part of the bicycle network for Fairfax County. Bike lanes on Telegraph Rd are part of the county Trails Plan. Mulligan Rd, just south of this project, will have bicycle facilities and will be replace Woodlawn Rd as part of U.S. Bike Route 1. Bike lanes are also planned as part of the Mulligan Rd/Telegraph Rd project about which we've written in the past.
As the date for the public hearing approaches we'll be posting our comments on the project.
Labels: telegraph road, U.S. bike route system, vdot
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Mulligan Road/Telegraph Road public hearing
Detailed road profiles of Mulligan and Telegraph Roads were available for review at the VDOT public hearing held last night. Mulligan Road is the replacement for Woodlawn Road between Route 1 and Telegraph Road. The subject of the hearing was the southerly section of Mulligan Road now known as Old Mill Road, between Pole Road and Route 1 and Telegraph Road between Beulah St and Broadmoor St.Bike lanes are planned for Telegraph Road. There will be two 12-foot travel lanes and 4-foot bike lanes in each direction, along with a multi-use trail on the north side. These bike lanes will connect to existing bike lanes on Beulah St and on Telegraph Road west of Beulah.
Mulligan Road will have an inside 11-foot travel lane, a 13-foot outside lane and 2-foot gutter plan and 5-foot sidewalk on the west side [See UPDATE below]. On the east side the outside lane will be 15 feet with curb and no gutter plan.
VDOT has developed plans that provide good bicycle accommodations on Telegraph Rd and the east side of Mulligan Rd that has the 15-foot wide curb lane. While we support the plan, we are concerned about the 13-foot wide curb lane planned for the west side of Mulligan Rd. This does not provide sufficient width for bicyclists and motorists to safely share the road. The 2-foot gutter pan will help provide some space, but the seam between the concrete gutter pan and the asphalt road can be a hazard.
When this was discussed during the Q&A, we were told that the west side will have 15-foot lanes plus the 2-foot gutter pan. However, the plans show 13-foot lanes. We submitted comments at the meeting supporting the project and asking that the 13-foot lane be widened to at least 14 feet. [See UPDATE below]
One person questioned the need for bike lanes and a multi-use trail on Telegraph Road stating that the existing bike lanes on Telegraph aren't used much. Jan Vaughn of VDOT explained that the facilities are for different types of cyclists, and that most cyclists fare best in bike lanes when they are part of traffic, with fewer conflicts with motorists. Another audience member said that he lived on Telegraph Road and sees many people using the bike lanes and he thinks it's a good design. It was also encouraging to hear a woman behind me say to a friend "shouldn't we be providing more facilities so that people can use their bikes to get around?"
The public comment period is open until June 9. Cyclists are encouraged to write to VDOT to support the project and to ask for a slightly wider outside lane on Mulligan Road or for a seamless edge between the gutter pan and the road surface. Send comments to meeting_comments@vdot.virginia.gov with subject of Telegraph Road Widening Project.
[UPDATE May 28] We just learned that the drawings at the public hearing were incorrect; both outside lanes on Mulligan Road are 15 feet wide not including the gutter pan. See the revised Mulligan Road profile [PDF].
Labels: bike lanes, mulligan road, telegraph road, vdot
