The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will soon unveil its proposals for transforming Wiehle Avenue in Reston into a more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly street.
The department will host a community meeting at Langston Hughes Middle School (11401 Ridge Heights Road) on Thursday, May 23, from 7-9 p.m. to share three concepts for possible future improvements to the roadway.
“Concepts include lane reductions, wider sidewalks and landscaped buffers, dedicated bicycle facilities and roundabouts,” FCDOT said in a news release.
The county launched its Wiehle Avenue study in November with a community workshop, where attendees brainstormed ideas for improving the road between Sunrise Valley Drive and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
Plans to explore ways to turn Wiehle Avenue from a suburban road primarily designed to move cars into a “multimodal urban designed street” had been on the table since the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a redevelopment of the Campus Commons office buildings (1900 & 1902 Campus Commons Drive) in 2019.
However, the board didn’t officially initiate the study until September 2021 after a group of residents and other community representatives rejected the Campus Commons developer’s proposals for a new pedestrian crossing on Wiehle at the Dulles Toll Road’s eastbound access ramps.
The Wiehle Avenue study will help determine a concept for the crossing, which will be funded in part by a $1.65 million contribution by Campus Commons developer TF Cornerstones.
FCDOT staff will use feedback from the upcoming community meeting to finalize a “preferred alternative” for the future Wiehle Avenue.
“FCDOT hopes to announce the Preferred Alternative by the end of this summer,” the department said.