Construction on a new pedestrian bridge in Reston Town Center will begin this week.

According to the town center, the bridge will cross over the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, which passes by the town center south of Bluemont Way.

It will provide a link between Reston Town Center and the nearby Metro station, “while significantly increasing the safety of those who utilize the trail,” a press release says.

Boston Properties (BXP), which owns the town center, expects that construction will result in some detours.

“A short diversion off the trail around the construction will be implemented in January and will be in place for the duration of the project,” Reston Town Center said in the press release. “In late winter, a portion of the trail will be closed for a short period of time requiring an additional detour.”

Reston Town Center didn’t address follow-up questions about the project, including exactly where the bridge will be located.

The bridge is being built by the contractor Clark Construction. Work is expected to wrap up around late spring or early summer of 2024.

(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Fairfax County is beginning talks for a pedestrian crossing at a dangerous intersection of Wiehle Avenue at the Dulles Toll Road ramps in Reston.

As part of its plan to redevelop the Campus Commons office complex, developer TF Cornerstones has agreed to give the county $1.65 million to build an alternative crossing for the area after a study group failed to reach consensus on a preferred alternative for the site in 2021.

But before an alternative option is chosen, the county will kick off a Wiehle Avenue corridor study that will evaluate Wiehle Avenue between Sunrise Valley Drive and the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.

An in-person meeting on the study is slated for Monday, Nov. 13 from 5:30-9 p.m. in the Langston Hughes Middle School cafeteria (11401 Ridge Heights Road).

Resounding community concerns about safety at the proposed at-grade crossing prompted the formation of a study group in 2020 that evaluated three proposed options for the site.

But virtually all members voted against the three options proposed by TF Cornerstones. Instead, 71% supported a crossing with an underpass — which comes with a hefty price tag — and 59% supported an enhanced at-grade pedestrian crosswalk with more multimodal improvements.

So far, the Board of Supervisors has emphasized the need for a high-visibility, at-grade crossing in the area — and one that is considered “aesthetically pleasing,” said Freddy Serrano, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT).

A timeline for the implementation of the Campus Commons crossing has not yet been determined. Under its development conditions, TF Cornerstones doesn’t need to give the money to the county until it receives its first occupancy permit for Building C, a 27-story multi-family residential building, according to FCDOT.

“There has been no movement on this project so that timeline is unknown,” Serrano said.

Ultimately, the outcome will depend on the Wiehle Avenue corridor study.

With the study, county transportation officials will incorporate ideas from the public and work with consultant Fehr & Peers to develop three concepts to test in 2030 for the overall corridor. The models will help determine how potential changes will affect traffic operations, accessibility and pedestrian safety.

“We will take these concepts and the resulting future analysis back to the public early next year and will solicit their feedback to arrive at a preferred concept for Wiehle Avenue,” Serrano said.

TF Cornerstone plans to build two buildings with 655 apartments, more than 520,000 square feet of office space and a little over 28,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. A 24-story tower and two small towers are proposed.

Image via Google Maps

Fairfax City is starting to refine its plans to add bicycle facilities on University Drive.

The project will “implement bicycle facilities on University Drive between Layton Hall Drive and South Street, with shared lane markings through the center of Old Town and bicycle lanes to the north,” according to the city’s website.

It will serve as a link to other multimodal projects currently underway in the area, such as the partially built George Snyder Trail, Chloe Ritter, the city’s multimodal transportation planner, told the Fairfax City Council at a meeting on Oct. 24.

“It connects to the bike lanes that are already existing on University Drive, south of Old Town. It connects to The Flats — the apartments that recently opened,” Ritter explained. “It really brings together a lot of the multimodal projects that we’ve been working on in connecting everything together.”

In addition to the bicycle facilities, the city hired consulting firm Kimley-Horn to evaluate possible changes to the University Drive and Layton Hall Drive intersection.

“The measures of evaluation that we looked at were bicycle and pedestrian safety, vehicle safety traffic operations, transit operations, property impacts implementation, and cost,” Megan Waring, a transportation engineer for the consultant, said at the council meeting.

She said ultimately, the firm recommends a two-way stop and a removal of the northbound, right-turn lane at the intersection, which will be condensed. Waring said that change allows for a pedestrian island that will improve safety.

“It allows us to have bike lanes as we’re coming up and down University, as we have kind of that steep incline or decline, depending on which way you’re traveling,” she said.

Tightening the intersection would also enable it to accommodate an added crosswalk, giving it a total of four. The crosswalks will also be closer to the intersection.

“So, we’re moving the people, the bikes, and the cars all to a location that’s more centralized, so that all users are able to see each other and make safe passage through the intersection itself,” Waring said.

The recommendations also call for adding a median refuge island, a protected space in the center of the street that facilitates bicycle and pedestrian crossings.

Waring said, together, the recommendations would reduce bicycle and vehicle conflicts, improve pedestrian crossings and maintain transit and vehicle operations. Read More

Fairfax County is gearing up to secure land rights to proceed with the development of a new shared-use path from the Innovation Center Metro station to surrounding neighborhoods.

At a meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 24), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to set a public hearing for the project on Nov. 21.

Presented to the community in January, the project includes a 10-foot-wide, approximately 1,920-foot-long shared-use path. It would connect the kiss-and-ride parking lot to the residential communities at Farougi Court and Apgar Place.

“The connection will significantly reduce the trip length between the station and surrounding neighborhoods,” the Fairfax County Department of Transportation said on its webpage for the project.

Two pedestrian bridges over Horsepen Creek and lighting along the new path are also planned.

To move forward with the project, the county must secure land rights on six properties.

“Negotiations are in progress with the affected property owners,” county staff said in the board meeting agenda. “However, because resolution of these acquisitions is not imminent, it may be necessary for the Board to utilize quick-take eminent domain powers to commence construction of this project on schedule.”

Construction on the project is expected to begin in summer 2024, followed by completion in the summer of 2025.

Fairfax County is on the verge of approving the first residential, mixed-use development to be put forward under its nascent plan to revitalize downtown McLean.

The Astoria project to redevelop three commercial buildings next to the Mars headquarters on Old Dominion Drive got the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s endorsement on Oct. 18, setting it up to be approved by the Board of Supervisors at a public hearing tomorrow (Tuesday).

“It’s going to make a big difference in this stretch of Old Dominion and on Elm Street,” said Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder. “…I think it hits all the marks in terms of what we’re trying to accomplish now in the McLean [Community Business Center] in order to revitalize it and widen it and to bring in more residents, who can then support more local restaurants and other shops and stores.”

Filed in December 2022, the rezoning proposal from property owner JAG Partners LLC would replace the existing office buildings and standalone restaurant — currently occupied by Moby Dick — on the 2-acre site with a seven-story, 130-unit residential building.

The ground floor will be devoted to commercial uses, including 3,109 square feet of retail and 1,692 square feet of office space. Topping out at 92 feet, the building will drop to six stories on the Elm Street side to allay community concerns “about the visual mass of the building,” the developer’s legal agent, Michelle Rosati, said.

According to Rosati, when it conceived the project, JAG Partners focused first on ensuring the pedestrian experience meets the county’s new design guidelines for McLean, which aim to turn the 265-acre downtown into a “neighborhood village” with a small-town feel and streetscapes that encourage non-motorized travel and social interaction.

In addition to a 12-foot-wide pedestrian and bicycle pathway along Old Dominion Drive and an 8-foot-wide sidewalk on Elm Street, the developer will construct an 8-foot-wide pedestrian pathway along its shared property line with Mars, which got the planning commission’s support for a headquarters expansion on Oct. 11.

Accompanied by urban park amenities like seating and public art, the “Connector Courtyard” will provide a much-needed connection from Old Dominion to Elm Street between Moyer Place and Beverly Road, Rosati said.

“That is a superblock. It’s a very long walk to go all the way around, and this cuts through the middle of the block,” she said, noting that the Elm Street end of the pathway is directly across from a park associated with The Signet condominiums. Read More

Some new traffic signs have popped up around Vienna, but unlike traditional stop or speed limit signs, these yellow, reflective placards are intended more for sidewalk users than road users.

Volunteers with the Vienna Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC) started posting the signs on pedestrian signal poles around town in late September for their “Eye to Eye” campaign, which encourages walkers to make eye contact with drivers before stepping into a crosswalk.

The campaign’s launch coincides with National Pedestrian Safety Month, which occurs every October. It also comes on the heels of a new Virginia law that requires drivers to fully stop, not just yield, when pedestrians are crossing.

However, PAC chair Angel Sorrell says “Eye to Eye” was in the works months before that legislative change took effect on July 1.

“What we found in the Town of Vienna is that, coming out of Covid, there’s just a lot more walking around town, which we love and we’d like to support that,” Sorrell said. “While that worked well when there weren’t a lot of cars on the road, as cars have increased, we’re seeing that pedestrians are crossing intersections and really not looking and making eye contact and crossing the intersections in a safe way.”

Pedestrian safety was a nationwide concern before the pandemic, but fatalities have noticeably jumped up since 2020, reaching a 41-year high of at least 7,508 deaths in 2022. In Fairfax County, 65 people were killed in traffic crashes last year — 32 of them pedestrians, the most since Virginia started regularly collecting data in 2010.

None of those deaths were in the Town of Vienna, and the national increase in pedestrian deaths has been attributed to a number of factors, including deadly road design and a trend toward large vehicles, beyond the capacity of a seven-person, all-volunteer committee to address.

But Sorrell says PAC had been “wrestling” with ways they could help keep pedestrians safe when committee member Brian Land suggested installing signs that encourage eye contact like ones he’d seen while on vacation in Nashville.

“We worked with the town and said that, as volunteers, we would post these signs in a temporary fashion at really high-traffic intersections, even some with the flashing signs,” Sorrell said. “We would install them around town in a temporary fashion through the fall. So, that’s what we’ve done.”

Fixed around eye level on poles with pedestrian crossing buttons, the signs feature two stick figures — one on foot and one seated in a car — with an arrow between their eyes to indicate that they’re looking at each other.

“LOOK! Make eye contact before crossing,” they say.

Sorrell says PAC purchased 38 signs and placed two to four at busy intersections, depending on how many each site could accommodate. The volunteers plan to leave the signs at their current locations through the fall before moving them to different intersections around town about once every quarter.

The “Eye to Eye” campaign joins a slew of efforts by Fairfax County to address the recent uptick in pedestrian fatalities, from crackdowns on aggressive driving by the police to funding for crosswalks, trail maintenance and other pedestrian and bicycle projects.

So far, the county has seen seven pedestrian fatalities, most recently on Richmond Highway this past Saturday (Oct. 7). At this time in 2022, there were 14 fatalities.

In addition to “Eye to Eye,” PAC has been working with town staff to identify and fill in sidewalk gaps, an effort that has quickened in pace over the past year. Around May, the committee also started an initiative to help residents maintain clean sidewalks and address overgrown bushes and tree limbs that might create an obstacle for pedestrians.

“We just needed to have more safety guardrails really put around our pedestrians and crosswalks,” Sorrell said. “[The General Assembly was] working at it from a legislative side to change that law that just went into effect. But we really wanted to arm pedestrians with the tools that they need to be successful in crosswalks.”

A ditch will no longer force pedestrians and bicyclists to ditch the shared path along Route 29 in Merrifield.

Construction has been substantially completed on a new, unbroken shared-use path spanning about one-third of a mile between Vaden Drive and Nutley Street, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced on Friday (Oct. 6).

The path replaces an asphalt sidewalk that abruptly ended at an Accotink Creek tributary that runs under the roadway. In addition to filling in some missing segments, the project added a central yellow line to the new trail and extended a box culvert over the tributary to support it.

In the works since spring 2019, construction on the improvements began in November 2022. The project cost an estimated $3.8 million, funded by local dollars and a concession fee that the I-66 Express Lanes operator agreed to provide as part of the Outside the Beltway toll lanes extension.

“Construction on the project…is now substantially complete, with minor work occurring in the coming weeks until final completion with minimal impacts,” VDOT said.

#Merrifield area bicyclists & pedestrians – enjoy your new shared-use path along NB Rt 29 from Vaden Dr to Nutley St! This project constructed missing path segments and extended a culvert to carry the new path over an Accotink Creek tributary. 🚴🚶

More: https://t.co/YXq3jlHWhL pic.twitter.com/PeK2t2vq6c

— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) October 6, 2023

While the new path isn’t especially long, it provides a crucial connection for pedestrians and cyclists to the nearby Vienna Metro station and other area sidewalks and trails, including ones in Towers Park, VDOT says.

However, that accessibility still ends at Nutley Street, since the south side of Route 29 has no sidewalk east of the intersection.

As part of a plan to redevelop the Pan Am Shopping Center, Fairfax County staff recommend implementing “continuous bicycle and pedestrian facilities along Route 29” in the future. The existing Bicycle Master Plan doesn’t show any trail on the south side and indicates that “further analysis and outreach is needed to determine the best fit for bicycle facilities along this roadway,” according to the amendment approved by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 12.

Developer Federal Realty, which owns the shopping center, has proposed adding a 10-foot-wide shared-use path along Nutley Street with the redevelopment. To the north, VDOT is working to complete its I-66 shared-use trail, which opened a first segment in May that included a tunnel under Nutley.

As of Aug. 9, most remaining sections were slated to open this October, according to VDOT’s project website. That excludes a segment through the Route 50 interchange that’s not projected to open until spring 2024.

Fairfax County is making another push to fund pedestrian safety improvements at Shrevewood Elementary School in Idylwood.

The long-gestating crosswalks project is one of five that the Fairfax County Department of Transportation intends to submit to the state for funding consideration under the federal Transportation Alternatives grant program.

“This program invests in community-based projects that expand non-motorized travel choices and enhance the transportation experience by improving the cultural, historical and environmental aspect of the transportation infrastructure,” FCDOT said in a press release last week.

For fiscal year 2025, which starts July 1, 2024, the department will request a total of $9.2 million to fill walkway gaps to the Mason Neck Trail in Lorton, add a shared-use path on Compton Road in Centreville, and support three Safe Routes to Schools projects — a program that encourages students to walk and bike to school.

Shrevewood Elementary School — Safe Routes to School

• Total estimated cost: $2.99 million
• Grant request: $1.14 million

Part of a larger effort to improve safety in the Shreve Road corridor after a fatal crash in 2019, this project will add marked crosswalks at Fairwood Lane, the school’s eastern driveway and across Virginia Lane at Virginia Avenue. The Fairwood Lane crosswalk will include a pedestrian refuge island.

FCDOT says the crosswalks “will provide neighborhood access to school amenities” and the nearby Washington & Old Dominion Trail.

Bush Hill Elementary School — Safe Routes to School

• Total estimated cost: $3.66 million
• Grant request: $1.86 million

Approximately 850 feet of sidewalk will be added on Bush Hill Drive between Ninian Avenue and Larno Avenue in Rose Hill.

“Completing this missing sidewalk link will improve safety and accessibility for children walking and bicycling to school,” FCDOT said.

Lake Braddock Secondary School — Safe Routes to School

• Total estimated cost: $2.55 million
• Grant request: $2.04 million

Crosswalks and a pedestrian signal will be constructed at the school’s entrance on Burke Lake Road. The project will also reconstruct a sidewalk on the road’s south side to be 6 feet wide and bring six ramps up to ADA standards.

Mason Neck Trail

• Total estimated cost: $13.96 million
• Grant request: $1.7 million

The project will build missing pieces of the walkway along Gunston Road from Richmond Highway (Route 1) to the existing trail.

Compton Road Walkway

• Total estimated cost: $9.3 million
• Grant request: $2.5 million

Approximately 550 feet of a 10-foot-wide, paved shared use path will be added on the east side of Compton Road, connecting the Cub Run Stream Valley Trail with an existing path crossing to the Bull Run Regional Events Center’s entrance.

The project will also widen a bridge over Cub Run to accommodate the shared use path.

FCDOT Communications Specialist Lynn Krolowitz noted that the grant request amounts could be revised if the project cost estimates changed before the applications are finalized in October.

“FCDOT select projects based on several factors such as program eligibility criteria and project readiness requirements, the need of continued funding for existing projects, and previous Board approval/consideration, which assumes some level of public involvement,” Krolowitz said in an email to FFXnow.

To be eligible for Transportation Alternatives grants, projects must have already gotten public feedback, be ready for design, require less than four years of construction, have a “logical” endpoint — such as an existing sidewalk or a road intersection — and be beneficial even if no other improvements are made in the area, according to FCDOT.

Three of the projects under consideration in this round, including the Shrevewood project, have previously gotten the grants, giving them priority in the selection process, Krolowtiz says.

FCDOT will host a virtual public input meeting to discuss the proposed projects at 6 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).

Image via Google Maps

(Updated at 3:10 p.m.) An extra $150,00 is being requested to add a “unique lighting feature” to the colorful “Springfield” welcome sign set to be installed on a pedestrian bridge near Old Keene Mill Road later this year.

At last week’s Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting, Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk proposed that the board consider spending $150,000 from the fiscal year 2023 carryover adjustment on a lighting feature to “complement” a welcome sign going up on the pedestrian bridge near the new Springfield Commuter Parking Garage.

The lighting would be part of a branding project to install colorful welcome signs at four different sites around the greater Springfield area in the fall. It’s being done to “raise the visibility and reputation of Springfield as a great place to live and do business,” per the project’s website.

One of the signs will be on the pedestrian bridge connecting the commuter parking garage to Springfield Plaza. The bridge and garage are expected to be completed in December.

The requested lighting feature would illuminate the pedestrian path underneath the bridge, known as the Frontier Drive underpass.

However, an extra $150,000 is needed for the feature, which was not part of the initial planned project. Lusk is requesting that the money be allocated from the FY 2023 Carryover Budget, which has a balance of about $203 million (which is slightly more than last year).

“This lighting feature will improve the connection with the Franconia- Springfield Metrorail station while also improving pedestrian safety and comfort,” Lusk’s board matter said. “This installation is beyond the budget of the initial gateway project, so additional funds are being sought to complete the gateway system for Springfield.”

Lusk noted in a follow-up statement to FFXnow that the extra lighting is needed for safety and security and to enhance the signage visually.

The priority for the lighting is to provide increased pedestrian safety beneath the underpass. The new lighting will enhance visibility and security for pedestrians who are walking from the Metro to the Springfield Towne Center. Additionally, the lighting will be designed to highlight the new Springfield Branding elements including color and design from the Springfield logo and new gateway signage. The preliminary design intends to project lighting on the columns of the underpass providing a brighter, more well-lit space with color.

A public hearing and board action on the package is scheduled for Sept. 26. Other items suggested for consideration by individual supervisors include funds to continue an economic visioning study for Lake Anne in Reston.

If the Springfield lighting feature is approved for inclusion, then the final design work and construction would move forward.

Construction on the gateway signs is now underway and expected to finish between October and December, according to Lusk’s office. However, the Frontier Drive underpass lighting is more likely to come along next year, depending on when funding, the final design and permits are secured.

“The lighting installation for the Frontier Drive underpass is conceptual at this time, and subject to change,” a spokesperson for Lusk’s office said.

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is asking for public input on how to reduce congestion and the number of crashes on two half-mile sections of road in Springfield.

A new survey is open through June 15, asking residents about their traveling habits and safety concerns along Franconia Road between Backlick Road and Loisdale Road. The survey also focuses on Commerce Street between Amherst Avenue and Franconia Road.

The survey marks the beginning of a STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) study that will help develop “proposed improvements that localities can pursue for funding,” a press release says.

Those two sections of roads, particularly Franconia Road, are of concern because they often have traffic congestion due to the nearby I-95 interchange. There’s also a high number of crashes, according to VDOT.

That half-mile section of Franconia Road averages about 69,000 vehicles a day and has had 162 crashes between January 2015 and October 2022, per a VDOT presentation. That includes at least one fatal crash and several that resulted in severe injuries.

The portion of Commerce Street in the study has much less volume, with only about 19,000 vehicles every day. But there have been even more crashes along the road during that same time period.

A large number of the 171 crashes have resulted in property damage only, but several did lead to severe injury.

VDOT is looking into a number of improvements along those roads focused on safety, the presentation notes.

That includes “innovative intersections” that have different shapes or traffic flow patterns. It could also mean adding Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, high-visibility crosswalks and improved bicycle facilities, including better bicycle lane transitions and pavement markings.

What exactly will be done will, at least partially, depend on the results of the public survey, VDOT said.

In the questionnaire, respondents are asked to rank their top concerns, with traffic congestion, pedestrian safety, public transit access, and speeding among the options listed. They are also asked when they typically traveled along those roads, by what method of transportation, and when they typically experience congestion.

The survey “will be used to help develop potential safety and operational alternatives that will be evaluated and presented during the second round of public involvement scheduled for this winter,” the project website reads.

The study is set to be completed in spring 2024. No construction timeline has been set as of yet, per the press release.