Fairfax County could be taking some notes from New York City and Portland as it tries to turn back the surge of recent pedestrian fatalities.
The Board of Supervisors directed the Fairfax County Department of Transportation on Tuesday (March 21) to review turn-calming measures from other jurisdictions, discuss options with the Virginia Department of Transportation, and come back to the board’s transportation committee with an analysis of how that can be implemented.
(Updated at 1:30 p.m. on 3/20/2023) Fairfax County is in the midst of deciding where nearly $25 million in funding for pedestrian and bicyclists improvements will be allocated.
After combing through more than 2,000 possible projects, staff have develop a draft list of prioritized projects, according to Michael Guarino, head of the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s capital projects division.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay plans to introduce a board matter next week that would direct county staff to analyze a road safety measure called turn calming.
The measure would direct staff to look at cities like Portland and New York City that have established turn calming programs, as recommended in a March 1 letter from the county’s Trails, Sidewalks and Bikeways (TSB) Committee.
Proposed transportation changes at the West Falls Church and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations will advance to the agency’s full board, even as some raised eyebrows at the amount of public opposition to its Franconia plan.
To accommodate an upcoming extension of Frontier Drive, Metro intends to reconfigure traffic patterns at the Franconia station by adding three new bus bays and a bus layover facility, eliminating a pick-up and drop-off area, and signalizing the Metro Access Road and Frontier Drive intersections.
A traffic improvement plan along Spring Street may come with some challenges for local businesses owners at Herndon’s Sunset Business Park.
Some business owners say the improvement plan institutes changes that will limit the accessibility and visibility of the office park. Currently under construction, the $11.5 million project is expected to boost service levels along Spring Street and Herndon Parkway at their intersection and approaches.
Construction of a new walkway on Fox Mill Road in Reston is nearly halfway complete.
The project — which includes the installation of a walkway from Reston Parkway to Fairfax County Parkway — is 40% complete, according to Robin Geiger, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) Fairfax County hopes to get a head start on its annual street paving and restriping efforts this year, thanks to the D.C. area’s warmer-than-usual winter weather.
The county and Virginia departments of transportation program will kick off next month in Merrifield with the proposed addition of bicycle lanes on Ellenwood Drive from Route 29 to Route 50, along with crosswalks at two intersections.
Fairfax County Parkway is one of the main arterial routes through western Fairfax County, but staff say it’s due for an overhaul.
At a recent meeting of the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s Transportation Committee, Department of Transportation senior planner Thomas Burke laid out some of the changes recommended in a recent study of the Fairfax County and Franconia-Springfield parkways.
(Updated at 10:45 a.m. on 2/23/2023) Fairfax County is seeking federal funds to complete a cycle track on Sunrise Valley Drive.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the board unanimously approved a $13.5 million grant funding request for the project.
(Updated at 9:55 a.m. on 2/15/2023) A groundbreaking for a new Washington & Old Dominion Trail bridge over Wiehle Avenue is set for next month.
The event, which was originally scheduled for earlier this week, was postponed due to the unavailability of some elected officials.
