FABB Blog

 

W&OD Trail bridge at Wiehle Ave - Public Hearing March 17

Design concept 1

Fairfax County plans to build a bridge over Wiehle Ave on the W&OD Trail. A public hearing on the project will be held on Thursday, March 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Reston Community Center at Hunter Woods, 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston.  This is an opportunity to learn about and discuss the current design options.

The Wiehle Ave crossing has been the site of several bike crashes in the past. This bridge will allow cyclists to completely bypass the at-grade crossing. Access to Wiehle Ave from the W&OD Trail will be via paved side trails from east and west of the bridge.

Two engineering concepts have been developed that vary according to the slope of the bridge, either 3% or 5%. With the 3% slope the approach to the bridge would be easier to climb, but the access trails to reach Wiehle would be long. The 5% slope (or grade) would have a shorter, steeper approach to the bridge and as a result, the access trails will be shorter.

The W&OD Trail bridge over Herndon Parkway (on the east side of Herndon near the police station) has about a 5% grade when approached from the west. The Town Center Parkway bridge has about a 3% grade (at least according to my iPhone app TiltMeter).

The bridge will cross Wiehle where the gravel trail currently crosses. The current paved trail will serve as the access trail to/from the W&OD Trail to Wiehle Ave. With the 3% grade concept, because the bridge and supporting structure are longer, the access trails are longer and join the W&OD Trail near the Isaac Newton Square/Metro Center Dr intersection and the Michael Faraday Dr intersection. With the 5% grade concept the access trails join the main W&OD Trail midway between those two intersections (This is difficult to describe. See the full pdf design concept for 3% grade and 5% grade for details).

Below are excerpts from the design drawings and the conceptual rendering from street level, looking north from Sunset Hills Dr.

Bridge location at Wiehle Ave

Access trail converges with main trail at Isaac Newton Square near Metro Center Dr

Design concept 2

Design concept 3

Labels: W and OD Trail, wiehle ave, wiehle bridge

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:42 PM permalink

 

Trail Closed - You're on your own - Update: Trail now open

Wiehle Ave trail closed at Sunrise valley Dr

Once again the trail adjacent to Wiehle Ave, between the Dulles Toll Road and Sunrise Valley Dr, is closed. There is no detour. What message does this closure send to pedestrians and bicyclists? Go away; we can't be bothered to provide an alternate route for you to safely cross the Dulles Toll Road.

There is no trail or sidewalk on the other side of Wiehle Ave. At least cyclists can ride in the road, although only the most confident are willing to ride on Wiehle Ave across the Toll Road bridge that at one point has 6 lanes in the northbound direction.

Wiehle Ave trail at Dulles Toll Rd bridge

When this trail was last closed, we were told that there were no other options. The last time I looked there were several lanes of asphalt adjacent to the trial. Couldn't a couple of feet of that roadway be used for providing a place to safety walk and bike while work is being done?

The closest alternative routes, either to the west on Reston Parkway or the east on the W&OD Trail, are about a three mile trip. Instead, pedestrians and some cyclists will ignore the trail closed signs. Since there is no construction underway now, the day before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the route is passable. Once construction begins it likely be dangerous but without a viable option, most people will use the trail any way.

Wiehle Ave trail at Sunset Hills Rd

Nearby there is construction at the Sunset Hiils Rd/Wiehle Ave intersection. The sidewalk/trail on the southwest corner was torn up and now there is a large mud hole. The other corners aren't much better. Pedestrians pass through this intersection all the time. There is a well-used bus stop nearby along with offices, and fast food places.

The current construction is being done to facilitate people getting to the station. It's yet to be seen if after the construction these locations will be any better for pedestrians and bicyclists. They are to be avoided now, but some people can't avoid them; they don't have any viable options, and detours need to be provided. The rail station will be open soon. There will be much more pedestrian and bicycle traffic in the future at these locations, and construction related to redevelopment around the stations will be underway over the next several years.

Fairfax County, VDOT, and WMATA all need to do a better job of providing temporary access for pedestrians and bicyclists during construction. Those agencies wouldn't close a road or a rail line without providing a safe alternative. The same needs to be done for trails and sidewalks.

This article was cross-posted on Reston Patch

Update: Thanks to help from VDOT staff, the trail is now open. There was some temporary trail work that was becoming unstable which caused the trail to be closed. After VDOT was contacted about the problem, they quickly worked with field staff to make the necessary repairs and re-open the trail. We'll check it out tomorrow. Thanks VDOT for your rapid response!

Update2: We checked out the trail and one of the Sidewalk Closed signs had been removed but the other one was still in place. It didn't appear that any repairs had been done; someone likely just went out and moved the Sidewalk Closed sign to the side. I'm glad the trail is open, but am disappointed that it was closed with no notice and for no apparent reason. The work was likely being done by contractors for the Wiehle-Reston East station. Here's an idea: When a construction sign is placed on a site, especially a Trail or Sidewalk Closed sign, there should be contact information for whomever is dong the work. As it is, it's usually a mystery as to who is involved with work at construction sites.

Labels: wiehle ave, wiehle-reston east

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:00 PM permalink

 

Wiehle Ave trail closed near W&OD Trail

Due to construction related to the new Wiehle Ave Metro station, the trail on Wiehle Ave from the W&OD Trail to the Sunset Hills Road intersection is closed. Trail Closed signs have been in place for nearly two weeks but no work was being done. Last week I joined an onsite meeting with VDOT and county staff and the representative from the company doing the work, Comstock. Actually I butted into their meeting to explain why it was inconsiderate to block the trail for no apparent reason.

Wiehle Ave trail at Sunset Hills Rd

The contractor rep stated that utility work needed to be done at the intersection. He closed the trail so that some time during the next two weeks the work could get done. He didn't want to have to drop everything when the utility contractor showed up. While we were standing at the opposite corner, several people used the blocked trail and intersection. The Comstock rep stated that he can't keep people from doing stupid things. My response should have been that they seemed smart enough to see that the trail was closed for no apparent reason and that closing the trail seemed pretty stupid. Besides, most of the people I've seen walking in this area, who are forced into the road, work for the contractor.

To their credit, the VDOT rep suggested that the trail be opened until work started. That was almost a week ago and the trail was never opened and only today did we see any sign of work being done.

There was a "detour" around the closed trail segment. It involved crossing Wiehle Ave, crossing Sunset Hills Rd, and crossing Wiehle Ave again, dodging "right turn never stops on red" traffic. The photo on the left shows what this detour looked like right after the trail was closed. There's a dump truck parked in both crosswalks and a paving crew has coned off the crosswalk across Sunset Hills Rd. Those "stupid" people who used the closed trail maybe weren't so stupid after all.

For people who parked in the lot called Reston North, they were trapped. Unless they caught a bus that stops in the lot, there was no legal way for them to cross the street. They couldn't reach the W&OD Trail because of the Trail Closed sign. They couldn't use the crosswalk because it was closed, and the crosswalk at the other end was under construction. We were assured that they all caught a bus. He must not have seen my wife who parked their the other day and crossed the street to catch the 505 bus.

There will be construction in this area for many months. If you can, I would avoid the intersection. From where I live near South Lakes HS I can reach the W&OD Trail using two other routes: South Lakes Dr to Sunrise Valley Dr to the W&OD Trail if I'm headed east, and South Lakes Dr to Pinecrest Dr to Glade Dr to the Fairfax Co Parkway trail to the W&OD Trail if I'm headed west.

About 10 years ago Supervisor Hudgins wrote a memo to county staff asking what procedures are in place to provide temporary access for pedestrians and bicyclists during construction. Apparently it's still a work in progress.

When FABB reps met with VDOT reps about closure of the Fairfax County Parkway trail, we asked for the following: That trail closures be treated like a road closure: Avoid if at all possible, provide a detour, close for as short a time as possible, provide advance notification, provide ongoing notification regarding status of the closure, and provide information about alternative routes if a detour is not provided. VDOT staff assured us that ped/bike detours are included in all new projects, even the smallest project. This is not a VDOT project.

Comstock has done a good job of providing pedestrian and bike access along the Wiehle Ave trail in front of their main construction site at the station. They need to do a better job at this intersection.

Update: Today (May 23) we rode by this intersection and saw this group of construction workers walking around the Trail Closed barrier and crossing in the close crosswalk. I believe they were headed to the Comstock development. One of the works actually walked into the sign when he looked back at his co-workers. They are a fine example to others on how to deal with the closed trail.

Labels: comstock, sunset hills road, vdot, wiehle ave, wiehle station

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:59 PM permalink

 

Earth Day bike advocacy events

It was appropriate that most of today, Earth Day, was spent on bike advocacy. The day started with an interview on the local TV show Reston Impact hosted by John Lovaas. We joined Anne Mader of The Bike Lane for a second show taping, this time we discussed biking to Metro and using the soon to open bike room at the Wiehle Ave Metro station that is part of the Comstock development Reston Station. The first show is viewable online.

Anne discussed some of the challenges of having a family, owning a business, and using bikes for transportation. She showed a good photo of her husband Todd taking one of their kids to school on the back of their cargo bike. Her kids assume they will be riding to school; it's just part of their daily routine.

Next I rode to a meeting at VDOT headquarters. I chose a route that would take me past the Fair Lakes/Fairfax Co Parkway construction project where the Parkway trail was closed for over a year. The trail is now open but still unpaved and there's still work underway. As you can see from the photo on the right, the trail was blocked yet again but the crew thankfully stopped what they were doing and guided me past. The project should be finalized in a little over a week.

The meeting at VDOT was to review plans for  temporary bicycle and pedestrian access on three projects; Stringfellow Road widening south of Route 50, Telegraph Road widening at Kings Highway, and a small project at Nutley Street and Route 29. The Nutley intersection is near the Vienna Metro station and is heavily used by bicyclists and pedestrians.

It was encouraging to see that ped/bike detours are an integral part of the plans for each of the projects, including the very small Nutley Road project. The Stringfellow Road project will last for a couple of years, so it's critical that safe, well-signed detours are provided for pedestrians and cyclists. Frog Branch  Trail and Big Rocky Run Trail are both affected by the construction and detours will be provided.

After the meeting I rode along Fair Lakes Drive to Stringfellow Road where the above-mentioned project is underway. I was a little dismayed that the trail was blocked just north of Melville Lane near where the northbound detour is supposed to begin. The detour signs were up but were covered. The crew blocking the trail stopped what they were doing and let me pass; I assume the detour will begin soon. Further north there were three road warning signs placed in such a way that they blocked half of the trail.

When I reached Poplar Tree Road there was a police cruise blocking the sidewalk and ramp on the NW quadrant. A policeman was manually working the traffic signal to try to ease the congestion caused by the one-way traffic on Stringfellow just north of there. Schools were letting out and traffic was a mess. I suggested there were other places for him to park, such as a spot adjacent to where he was standing or just around the corner. Maybe he'll think twice about blocking the sidewalk the next time he's there.

Finally I decided to check out the intersection of the W&OD Trail at Wiehle Ave. The crosswalk across Wiehle Ave is very close to the Sunset Hills Dr intersection. There have been numerous crashes at both the W&OD Trail crossing and at the
Sunset Hills/Wiehle intersection. FFX Co has long term plans to provide a bridge over Wiehle Ave at the W&OD Trail crossing. For the short term the county is considering "improving" the crossing by moving it to the Sunset Hills intersection and having trail users cross at the traffic signal.

I see a couple of problems with this solution. The signal timing is not favorable for pedestrians and cyclists, who legally can only cross at a signalized intersection when there is a WALK signal. At the Sunset Hills crossing of Wiehle there are 5 seconds out of every 2 minutes when trail users would be able to legally enter the crosswalk and cross.

The other problem is that there are many potential conflicts between motorists turning right on red, who rarely come to a complete stop and usually just look to their left. There is also left turning traffic from eastbound Sunset Hills that could lead to conflicts.

I don't think that it's been shown that crossing at the intersection is any safer than the current crossing. In fact, I think it's more dangerous. Since there is so little legal crossing time, many trail users would choose to cross when it's not legal, putting them at fault if there's a crash. We'll discuss our concerns with FFX Co.

Happy Earth Day!

Update: I didn't mention that I noticed today that some spot repairs have been made to the Fairfax County Parkway Trail. Several potholes and large gaps in the trail have been filled in with asphalt. Most of the trail needs to be repaved, but until then, these small spot repairs help make the trail safer. Thanks to VDOT for doing this work.

We have heard that VDOT has funds for doing some major repair work on the Parkway trail. Not enough to repave the entire trail, which would cost around $4-6 million, but enough to fix some of the worst sections.

Labels: fairfax county parkway trail, stringfellow road, sunset h ills road, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:18 PM permalink

 

Bicycling - One Answer to Gridlock

We recently appeared on the Channel 28 show Reston Impact hosted by John Lovaas. The title of the show as "Bicycling - One Answer to Gridlock?" Not sure why the question mark was there as bicycling is one of the best answers to gridlock. The focus of the show was about cycling to the new Wiehle Ave Metro station scheduled to open in Reston the end of this year/first of next year. Anne Mader of The Bike Lane was the other guest.

The conversation was wide ranging but we didn't cover several topics related to biking and Metro so we have been invited back for a second taping.


Reston Impact March 2013 from Comcast Channel 28 on Vimeo.

Labels: reston impact, Silver line, the bike lane, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 8:18 PM permalink

 

Biking to the Wiehle Ave Metro Station

The following article, Biking to the Wiehle Avenue Metro Station, was posted on the Reston Patch today. Note in the comments section that two of the first three commenters joke about hitting cyclists. I don't find it amusing:

Labels: bike/car/bus challenge, dulles metrorail, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:39 PM permalink

 

Bicycle recommendations in Reston Master Plan

South side of Wiehle Ave station

The first draft of the Reston Master Plan is now available. "The Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force was appointed by Supervisor Catherine Hudgins and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in late 2009, to review the Reston Master Plan and Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan in light of the forthcoming arrival of Metrorail’s Silver Line rail service at three transit stations in Reston."

It's encouraging to see that the plan includes extensive references to the need for bicycle access to and within the station areas. Bicycling could play a major role in helping to alleviate congestion by giving residents a low-cost, convenient transportation option. The W&OD Trail runs parallel to the Silver line and will provide excellent bicycle access to the station areas. The Reston Station development currently underway at the Wiehle Ave station will have a secure bike room that will hold 240 bikes. On the south side there will be racks and bike lockers.

See our earlier post about the Reston Master Plan. FABB members attended several of the initial planning meetings.

Below are bicycle-related extracts from the Executive Summary. Several of the major recommendations include bicycling. While we would have preferred more references to on-road bike facilities, they are not as needed in urban areas with low speed, low volume streets such as in the Reston Town Center. However, several of the major roads are totally lacking in on-road bike facilities:
More on the W&OD Trail:
Other major bicycle-related recommendations:

Labels: reston master plan, W and OD Trail, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:46 PM permalink

 

Bicycle parking at Wiehle Ave station - south side

FABB Social ride stops at Wiehle Ave station south entrance

We mentioned earlier that there will be a secure bike parking room at the new development (Reston Station) underway at the Wiehle Ave Metro station. There will be room for 240 bikes in the parking garage, with more visitor parking scattered around the site. All of this is located on the north side of the station.

During the FABB Social Ride in Reston we visited the south side of the station. Many of us were wondering whether there would be bike parking on that side. I have been involved in the planning of this station for many years as part of the Wiehle Avenue Steering Committee back in 2004 and as a member of the Reston Metro Access Group. Most of the focus of those meetings was on the public private partnership development on the north side.

We were also very concerned about proper access on the south side. Originally the only access was a long walkway parallel to the Dulles Toll Road exit ramp leading to Wiehle Ave. It was never clear whether any bicycle parking was planned on the south side.

We've confirmed with county staff that there will be a direct pedestrian entrance from the south side parking area to allow tenants of the existing office buildings to access the station. You can see the pedestrian/bike entrance leading to/from the curb in the image below (just above and to the right of the "seeded lawn" area. There will also be space for 10 bicycles on this side. That will likely need to expand over time. There may also be bike lockers but that's not confirmed.

Labels: wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 4:08 PM permalink

 

W&OD bridge over Wiehle Ave funded

Crash at W&OD Trail/Wiehle Ave

The W&OD Trail crossing at Wiehle Ave is one of the most dangerous on the trail. The majority of crashes occur when eastbound cyclists cross the southbound lanes. What has happened multiple times is that straight-through traffic is stopped for the red light at Sunset Hills Rd but the left turn arrow turns green. Cyclists proceed into the crosswalk not realizing that fast moving motorists may be trying to catch the green light. Our blog entry about a crash at that site prompted numerous comments about similar crashes or near misses at that location.

We're pleased to report that $2.3 million has been allocated to build an overpass at that location. It was funded as part of improvements identified in the Reston Metro Access Group study, in which we participated several years ago.

There is a relatively low-hanging power line directly above this location which could complicate the project. A tunnel would be another option but would likely cost more than $2.3 million.

In the interim, $46,000 was allocated for installing a raised median and additional signage there. This is a relatively low cost measure that would help slow motorist at the crosswalk, especially those using the left turn lane.

Thanks to the Board of Supervisors for funding this project.

Labels: sunset h ills road, W and OD Trail, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 10:42 PM permalink

 

Crash on W&OD Trail at Wiehle Ave

Photo: Jeff Anderson

One of the most dangerous road crossings on the W&OD Trail is at Wiehle Ave. Today a bicyclist in the crosswalk was struck by a motorist. The bicyclist was taken to the hospital. The motorist's windshield was smashed and the carbon road bike was likely totaled.

It appears that the crash occurred in the southbound left turn lane. Often there is a line of motorists stopped at the crosswalk and cyclists headed eastbound start to cross. The left turn signal changes first and often motorists speed to catch the light. I believe there have been several bike/car crashes in this lane. Cyclists need to remember to cross one lane at a time, and obviously motorists at this location should always be on the lookout for bicyclists, especially when there's a line of cars stopped at the crosswalk.

If we hear more about the condition of the cyclist we'll pass it on.

Labels: bike crash, W and OD Trail, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:52 PM permalink

 

Making Reston Metro station areas less pedestrian and bike friendly

Fairfax County DOT recently presented the results of a traffic mitigation study conducted by Cambridge Systematics. According to the Fairfax Times article Reston rail panel focuses gaze on traffic mitigation, "Discussion focused on possible improvements to five intersections: Wiehle Avenue and Sunrise Valley Drive; Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills Road; Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive; Reston Parkway and Sunset Hills; and Fairfax County Parkway and Sunrise Valley."

The planned improvements call for several "free turn lanes" where motorists can turn right without stopping. An example is the southbound lane on Wiehle Ave at the the Sunrise Valley Dr intersection. Motorists rarely stop for pedestrians at this location, which is a adjacent to the future rail station entrance. A second free turn lane for westbound Sunrise Valley Dr traffic is being recommended at this intersection. If implemented it would be nearly impossible for pedestrians and cyclists who are on the adjacent sidepath to cross Wiehle Ave. These are definitely not improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.

A similar treatment is proposed for the Wiehle Ave/Sunset Hills intersection which is adjacent to the northern station entrance. At one time this location was the site of the highest number of ped/bike crashes in the county. Cambridge is proposing a free eastbound turn lane for Sunset Hills traffic.

The W&OD Trail is nearby and there's a major paved trail along Wiehle Ave that will be used by many pedestrians and bicyclists when the station opens. Eastbound traffic now barely stops and we've had many, many close calls from motorists looking left and turning right on red, despite signs prohibiting that behavior. A while back we took a 30-second video of vehicle behavior at this light when it was red, showing that almost none of the vehicles actually came to a stop. It's doubtful that this behavior was factored into the analysis.

Instead of making conditions worse for pedestrians and bicyclists, the opposite should be happening. We discussed these intersection changes with FFX DOT staff and they are well aware of the negative consequences of these recommendations on non-motorized travel. At some point the community has to decide whether it's more important to move cars or move people, especially around Metro stations that are planned as mixed use areas.

The Reston Master Plan Special Study Task Force will likely discuss this topic at their next meeting on Tuesday, September 13th, at 7pm at the Lake Anne Community Center.

See the Dulles Corridor Special Study Transportation Analysis Update and Mitigation Strategies Discussion presentation.

Labels: Metro, reston master plan, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 5:25 PM permalink

 

Wiehle Ave Metro development approved by Board

Fairfax County owns the land on which the Reston East Park & Ride lot is located. This lot is adjacent to the planned Wiehle Ave Metro station on the new Silver line.

As we noted in an earlier posting, a major mixed-use development is being proposed on this site, which is very close to the W&OD Trail.

At the Board of Supervisors public hearing on this development we made the following comments:
In response to my comments about insufficient access to the site, the applicant said that an 8-foot asphalt trail along Wiehle Ave is sufficient for bicyclists and pedestrians. He also said that "we have made our lanes somewhat larger to try to facilitate bicycle access. Our curb lanes in front of the project will be 14-feet not 12-feet to give a little additional room for bicycle access. Ultimately I think the creation of bicycle lanes is something that can occur with development to the north and east of us occurs and provides additional right of way. The site is somewhat constrained by the available right of way willingness or ability of MWAA to condemn additional right of way."

Having wide curb lanes through the site will help bicyclists, but the 8-foot shared path from the W&OD to the site is not sufficient for bicycle and pedestrian access, especially during rush hour, and the county should have forced the developer to adhere to the RMAG recommendations.

Regarding bicycle facilities, Supervisor Hudgins did add two additional development conditions before the Board approved the project:
While the two conditions are welcome, they are much less than what is required in Arlington Co. Without bicycle parking guidelines, the county is forced to negotiate with each developer and has no real leverage in these negotiations. The phrase "where feasible" in the first bullet will likely mean "never" and is vague and difficult to track and subject to employees having to demand additional facilities.

For every 50,000 square feet of commercial development Arlington requires "one (1) shower per gender shall be installed, up to a maximum of three (3) showers per gender. Also, a minimum of one (1) clothes storage locker per gender shall be installed for every required employee bicycle parking space." The guidelines go on to give specifications for lockers including size and placement. In Fairfax it's up to the whim of the developer to decide the kind and location of these facilities. While we think the county is getting close to a first draft of the bike parking guidelines, they can't some soon enough.

Labels: bicycle parking, showers, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 3:18 PM permalink

 

Wiehle Ave Metro development not bike-friendly

The Comstock development at Wiehle Ave station, which county staff initially recommended be denied, was recently approved by the Planning Commission. This development is adjacent to the planned Wiehle Ave Metro station, across the street from the W&OD Trail. As required by Metro, the developer will provide 150 Metro bicycle parking spaces inside the garage.

In 2008 the Reston Metro Access Group issued their final report which recommended shared bus/bike lanes at the western entrance to the site from the W&OD Trail, a better trail connection on the eastern entrance, and bike lanes on the road through the development.

None of these recommendations were included in the proposal approved by the Planning Commission. While VDOT participated in the 2008 planning process, other VDOT staff had concerns about the proposals and the developer complained about limited right of way. Why conduct a study, spend over a year and lots of money for a consultant, and then ignore the recommendations? This is not a good precedent to set for future development around these new Metro stations.

Without a plan for bicycle access to the site, cyclists will be left to contend for space with pedestrians or motorists. When asked how cyclists would access the site we were told by the developer that cyclists would dismount and walk to the bike parking area in the middle of the development.

Since the county does not yet have bicycle parking requirements, the applicant is offering far fewer spaces than needed. Arlington County requires 1 space for every 3 residential units and 1 visitor space for every 50 units. Comstock is providing 1 space for every 20 units and visitor parking numbers aren't specified. Arlington offers specific guidelines for parking. Comstock can stick their bike parking in some unusable space in the parking garage as was done throughout the Reston Town Center.

We had been cautiously optimistic with the bicycle recommendations in the Reston Metro Access Group final report. That cautiousness was well-founded and the optimism has turned to pessimism.

We were hampered in our evaluation of the final staff report since the text in the pdf file is not searchable. Trying searching for bicycle parking by looking page by page in a 226 page document. Is it that difficult to create a searchable pdf file?

Labels: Metro, reston, wiehle ave

posted by Bruce Wright at 2:55 PM permalink