🚀 go-pugleaf

Last Monday, October 15, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
approved the VDOT-recommended design for widening Stringfellow Rd in
which different types of bicyclists are accommodated on-road with dual
14-foot wide curb lanes and off-road with a 10-ft wide asphalt
sidepath.

While the space allotted for on-road bicycling is less than ideal, and
VDOT's (lowered) 40 MPH roadway design speed is still too fast, this
decision is another landmark in recognizing the validity of on-road
bicycle travel in Northern Virginia.

Below is a local newspaper report, followed by the Clerk's report of
the Board of Supervisor's action.

Please THANK the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors [
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/government/board/ ] for supporting on-
road bicycling accommodation in this County-funded highway project,
especially in the face of strong opposition from some neighborhood
associations.

Kudos to everyone who helped make this happen!  The performance of
"the bicycle lobby" was awesome.

Allen Muchnick, president
Virginia Bicycling Federation
PO Box 5621, Arlington VA 22205-5621
vbf@vabike.org
703-271-0895
http://vabike.org

====

[ http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?
article=89113&paper=62&cat=104 ]

Design OK'd for Stringfellow
Supervisors approve amended design to widen road.
By Bonnie Hobbs
October 18, 2007

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Monday endorsed VDOT's
design plan to widen Stringfellow Road. And although it didn't turn
out completely the way local residents wanted it, the amendments
adopted solve two of their three major concerns.

THE SECTION of Stringfellow from Fair Lakes Boulevard to Route 50 is
being widened from two lanes to four between Route 50 in Chantilly and
Route 29 in Clifton/Centreville.

Stringfellow's long been designated a four-lane, divided road on the
county's Comprehensive Plan. A 2004 bond referendum provided $16
million for design and right-of-way acquisition, and November's
transportation bond could bring the $21 million more needed to
construct it.

VDOT's proposing two inner travel lanes, 12-feet-wide each; two outer
travel lanes, 14-feet wide each; a 10-foot multipurpose trail; a 6-
foot sidewalk; and a raised, 16-foot, grass median. But in July,
nearly 100 members of Chantilly's Poplar Tree Estates community voiced
their objections to VDOT.

They didn't like the idea of bicyclists traveling alongside vehicles
in the 14-foot lanes, and they said the design was so wide that it
encroached on their property and endangered their children's safety.
And they and school-system officials said the median would prevent
left turns into or out of Rocky Run Middle School, and northbound
school buses would have to enter via Poplar Tree Road.

VDOT would still like only buses permitted to enter Rocky Run from
Stringfellow, but Poplar Tree Estates Homeowners Association President
Steve Smith said that would force parents to cut through his community
to reach the school. And Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) sided
with him and the parents.

"I MADE CLEAR [to VDOT] that our support was contingent upon full
access for everybody, not just buses," said Frey. "That's
outstanding," said Smith.

VDOT's currently considering two options for it:
* Move the entrance farther south, further away from the Poplar Tree
intersection. But the existing pipeline may not allow that, so VDOT's
asking its Richmond headquarters for permission to:
* Obtain a waiver of the minimum distance permitted between left-turn
crossovers (between the school and Poplar Tree Road).

And, said Frey, "If for some reason, neither of these options can be
done, VDOT will have to come back to us again."

Originally, the design would have consumed portions of several yards
on the Poplar Tree Estates side of Stringfellow. But 1 1/2 weeks ago,
Frey, VDOT and the residents met informally and hammered out some
changes. They reduced the road's speed from 45 to 40 mph, thereby
enabling VDOT to design tighter curves that need less room.

VDOT also agreed to move the above-ground electric line and utility
poles on the Greenbriar side of the road back a bit. That area was
already open space and, said Frey, VDOT discovered that moving those
poles wasn't as cost-prohibitive as it had feared.

"By shifting them toward Greenbriar, VDOT was able to shift the whole
roadbed east without taking anyone's property in either Greenbriar or
Poplar Tree," explained Frey. And, said Smith, "I'm extremely pleased
with that."

But he wasn't at all happy that the bike lanes remained as part of the
two, 14-foot travel lanes. "What disturbs me is that the road
continues to be too wide because of the on-road, bike lanes," said
Smith. "They're bike lanes to nowhere."

Because of them, he said, "The road is wider to cross, so it poses a
danger to our children." At the end of the July meeting, Frey had said
he wouldn't approve those lanes. So on this issue, said Smith, "He
misled our community; Michael caved to the bicycle lobby."

"IN MY OPINION, the safety of our children is jeopardized by having to
cross an extra four feet of road," continued Smith. "I'm terribly
disappointed."

However, countered Frey, "When you add all the stuff you have to
cross--the travel lanes, median, sidewalk and path, curb and gutter--
the four-foot difference is a tiny percentage of the entire road
width. They're putting clearly delineated crosswalks at every
intersection, plus countdown signals [for pedestrians].

And if people get caught in the middle of the road, he said, "They'll
have a median--a four-foot island for safe harbor--until the light
changes. So I think they've made the road as safe as possible where
you have pedestrians mixing with vehicles."

Regarding the on-road bike lanes, Frey said, "It's a changing society.
[I believe] we're not there, yet, in terms of the demand for [them].
But through the design of highways, we help that along" for the
future.

Throughout this whole process, said Frey, "My first priority was, and
still is, protecting the homeowners--and we were able to eliminate the
physical impacts on the rear yards of the Poplar Tree residents along
Stringfellow. And if it came down to an either/or, I would have sided
with the homeowners. But since VDOT was able to move the road, it was
a win-win for everyone."

© 2003 Connection Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.

====

Official summary of October 15, 2007 Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors action, from pages 20-21 at [
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/summary/2007/07-10-15.pdf ] :


24. A-8--ENDORSEMENT OF DESIGN PLANS TO WIDEN STRINGFELLOW ROAD (ROUTE
645) FROM ROUTE 50 TO FAIR LAKES BOULEVARD (ROUTE 7735) (SULLY AND
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICTS) (11:48 a.m.)

Supervisor Frey moved that the Board concur in the recommendation of
staff and endorse the Virginia Department of Transportation's design
plans, as presented at the June 12, 2007, public hearing, to widen
Stringfellow Road (Route 645) from Route 50 to Fair Lakes Boulevard
(Route 7735) to four lanes including two 12-foot inside travel lanes
and two 14-foot wide curb lanes for on-road bicycle accommodations
with curb and gutter, a raised median, a 6-foot sidewalk on the west
side, and a 10-foot shared use path on the east side, with the
following modifications:

* Shift the road alignment to the east to minimize the impact of the
road widening on adjacent residential properties, and to better
utilize existing right-of-way on the east side of Stringfellow Road.
Continue to coordinate with the Poplar Tree Homeowners Association and
others to reduce property impacts. Balance property impacts on both
sides of the road with respect to utility relocation.

* Consider options to provide full access for school buses to Rocky
Run Intermediate School from Stringfellow Road, and continue
coordination of this issue with the school administration and Rocky
Run Intermediate School Parent-Teachers' Association (PTA) members.

* Incorporate an interparcel service road to consolidate access to
Greenbriar Park and the Greenbriar Community Center as requested by
the Park Authority.

* Continue coordination with the Public Library regarding signalized
access to Chantilly Library.

* Evaluate options to minimize impacts to the existing stormwater
management ponds on Poplar Tree Park and Chantilly Park properties and
consider low impact design practices in reconstructing the existing
ponds.

* Extend project limits to include dual left turn lanes from westbound
Fair Lakes Boulevard to southbound Stringfellow Road.

* Consider landscaping to minimize the visual impact of the road
widening on adjacent property owners.

* Reduce the design speed and use a higher (barrier) curb design to
reduce impacts and improve safety.

With reference to bulleted item number two, Supervisor Frey amended
the motion that Board approval is contingent upon providing full
access to the school and if the design exception is not approved and
the second option of moving it to further south cannot be achieved,
that the issue will return to the Board for decision and resolution.

Supervisor McConnell seconded the motion.

Following discussion regarding the bicycle lanes, the question was
called on the motion, as amended, and it carried by unanimous vote.

====