Old Keene Mill Road is far from a complete street

Pedestrians

Old Keene Mill Road is far from a complete street

by Malcolm Kenton • October 18, 2011 12:30 pm

At the end of a long trail ride, my friend and I faced the daunting challenge of getting from Accotink Creek to the Franconia-Springfield Metro station by bicycle. We soon found out that Old Keene Mill Road in Springfield has a long way to go before it is fully accessible for all users. Sidewalks, at the very least, are needed.

Springfield's Old Keene Mill Rd. Photo by the author.

After I negotiated the bus bridge between the two Falls Church stations on the Orange Line with my bike to meet my friend at Vienna, he and I enjoyed a ride along the length of Fairfax's Cross-County Trail.

The trail's piecemeal construction over the past decade is the result of a partnership between grassroots citizens and volunteers, who had been pushing for a trail since the mid-1990s, and the county government. Volunteers maintain the trail largely by clearing litter and debris and keeping up trail-side benches. Many sections of the trail, though, remain incomplete and in various states of repair, limiting safe access.

We wound down the banks of Accotink Creek, through quiet woods separating cul-de-sac neighborhoods, and past baseball fields lying in floodplains that seemed hard to access by car. We made our way the north shore of Lake Accotink, pausing at its marina. On the trail's southernmost end, we encountered evidence of both September's flood damage and very recent repairs.

I had planned the route to end at the Franconia station; from there we would take Metro with our bikes back into town. I did so assuming that there would be a sidewalk, or at least a wide shoulder, on the stretch of Old Keene Mill Road between the trail's end at Hunter Village Drive and the turn onto Frontier Drive. No such luck.

Faced with the prospect of pedaling up this hill in the rightmost of four narrow lanes of speeding traffic, we opted to walk our bikes along the road's rocky right edge:

Westward view of Old Keene Mill Road near Byron Avenue.

After we finally made it to an area with a sidewalk (albeit a very narrow one), it soon ended as we neared the crossing of I-95. Just past Backlick Road, we reached a point where we had to dodge cars exiting on two rightward on-ramps in order to stay on Franconia Road. We made it.

At the other side of the Interstate, we found sidewalks the rest of the way to the Metro station. But we left with the impression that cyclists are not welcome to actually ride bikes to the southern head of the Cross-County Trail, particularly when coming from Metro.

Not only that, but Old Keene Mill Road's design is highly unsafe for Metrobus and Fairfax Connector riders (never mind that this route doesn't operate on weekends). How is someone supposed to get to this bus stop without jaywalking or bushwhacking?

Eastbound bus stop at Old Keene Mill Road & Hastings Street in Springfield.

Fairfax County planners should re-examine Springfield's major arterial roads to ensure that they are safe and accessible to pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders. Simply adding a sidewalk on this section of Old Keene Mill Road would go a long way.

13 comments

Tags: bicycling, complete streets, Fairfax, pedestrian safety, roads, sidewalks, Springfield, Virginia

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Malcolm Kenton lives in the DC neighborhood of Bloomingdale. Hailing from Greensboro, NC and a graduate of Guilford College, he is Director of Outreach and Engagement for the National Association of Railroad Passengers, where he blogs about national transportation issues. The views on GGW are his own and not necessarily those of NARP.

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As I'm sure you're aware, roads such as this are extremely common not just in the region, but throughout the entire country. While they're partly the product of a fading era, we now find ourselves in situations of trying to retrofit roads designed for cars into roads designed for everyone... no easy task from a technical standpoint; an even more daunting task from a financial standpoint.

One example on the technical end: adding sidewalk is actually quite complex. Sidewalk typically requires a curb along the roadway, necessitating that a new drainage system be provided whereas before stormwater just drained off the side of the road. Sidewalks must also meet ADA-mandated grades, which can be a particular issue at intersection pedestrian ramps. While I appreciate their intents, such environmental and ADA requirements contribute significantly to each project's duration and cost.

by Bossi on Oct 18, 2011 12:50 pm • link • report

My understanding is that in Fairfax complete paths are added only when the entire road is being repaved/redone. Right now there are places where a pedestrian/bike facility has been added to a bridge across the beltway (as part of the rebuilding of bridges for the HOT lanes project) but they do not connect (or do not connect well) to any facilities along the road. The link sited in the post is particularly significant, as it connects the CCT/Accotink trail, Fairfax County's premier recreational biking/jogging/walking trail, with a metro station/intermodal facility.

by AWalkerInTheCity on Oct 18, 2011 1:06 pm • link • report

I have found that taking the CCT a little further to the Fairfax County Parkway and then veering off toward the Metro is a safer and better option. Little bit longer, but you won't run in to the obstacles like you do on Old Keene Mill.

Unfortunately the Springfield area's focus has been to traffic and the mixing bowl for so many years that making the area more commuter friendly when you don't have a car has been forgotten or put on the back burner.

by Mike on Oct 18, 2011 1:10 pm • link • report

I grew up along this stretch of road and biked it pretty frequently. I knew my rights as a rider and exercised them, despite the danger of riding in speeding traffic. Fortunately nothing happened (aside from a few angry yells), but a paved path for pedestrians and cyclists would be most welcome.

That Fairfax Connector bus does run on weeekends, by the way, albeit once an hour.

by Omar on Oct 18, 2011 1:14 pm • link • report

Welcome to the lesser side of Fairfax County. However, there is a pedestrian and bike bridge across I-95 from Backlick to Loisdale. Did you find that?

View Larger Map

The Fairfax Park Service - currently the best park service in the nation - is actually a responsive bunch of people. However, they are stuck with a regularly recurrent issue, namely that they have to talk to VDOT about roads. And that never ends well.

The CCT is a fantastic treasure in Fairfax, as imperfect as it is. As are many of the other parks. It's one of the few things Fairfax did do well.

BTW: The way you feel about the roads in Fairfax, is how many Fairfaxians think about the bus system in DC. Confusing, hard to navigate and at times scary. It's just about what you're used to.

by Jasper on Oct 18, 2011 1:28 pm • link • report

The entire stretch of Old Keene Mill Rd from the Fairfax County Parkway in Burke all the way to Springfield Mall needs to be enhanced for pedestrian and bike access. It's a very busy road and populated area so I don't understand why such large stretches were designed only to accommodate the car.

by Vik on Oct 18, 2011 1:50 pm • link • report

The CCT is great and I ran into the exact same problem a few months back when I ended up at Old keene mill and was hungry. I decided I was better off riding home than trying to go up the hill to the springfield plaza area and see what was available.

Then again Old Keene Mill is necessarily a busy road because its one of the few that actually cut across accotink creek. It's really you're only option for a lot of trips unless you want to go further north to braddock road or take the ffx county parkway the whole way around as well.

by Canaan on Oct 18, 2011 1:54 pm • link • report

Just one of the many, many problems of OKM. The light at Rolling Road is a commute killer in the evening.

by Jordan on Oct 18, 2011 2:15 pm • link • report

I used to bike Old Keen Mill regularly, from Huntington to just short of Ffx County Pkwy. On a weekend early morning it's not a bad route, but not the most fun most other times. I've also rode the Ffx County Connector 310, and it always took just as long as riding, so I usually rode.

by Peter on Oct 18, 2011 4:06 pm • link • report

What did you think about getting around Vienna and the portion of the trail that begins there?

As someone who runs around that area, along 29 to Blake and back around the metro, I find the lack of continuity and size of sidewalks to be frustrating. I'm hoping with the new development that sidewalks might be built on the far side of Saintsbury. But I still have to run through an extremely overgrown sidewalk and then through a parking lot to get back to a sidewalk on 29 to Blake.

by SB on Oct 18, 2011 4:13 pm • link • report

I travel down Old Keene Mill twice a day to get to DC via slugging and used to take the 18 busses to the Pentagon as well down this stretch. I also travel to and from DC everyday on the weekends (all of my friends still live in DC proper) and I've also lived in DC. This is my perspective based on someone who knows the urban life and suburban life in Springfield.

As much as I think sidewalks would be great, I don't think the benefits would outweigh the costs when you consider the density of the area. In terms of commercial areas, you have one near Backlick and the I-95 corridor, then at the Rolling Road intersection, then Rolling Hills strip mall, and then finally at Lee Chapel Road. The distances from people's homes to these shopping areas make it highly unlikely in my opinion to have sidewalks.

If you actually look at where there are sidewalks along this area, it's usually where there are apartments near the commercial areas. Other than that, I doubt that someone who lives a mile away will walk to a commercial area and back. If you go within the neighborhoods, however, there are sidewalks and these are typically near the schools.

Also, to get from the west side of I-95 to the Springfield Mall area, there are sidewalks along Commerce Street that go across I-95. There aren't too many cars that go along this street so it would be safer for most cyclists and pedestrians.

I think the intersection with Old Keene Mill Road to the I-95 must absolutely be kept as it is. It funnels the traffic well onto the freeways. I've never seen it backed up as you approach I-95. Like it or not, Springfield and West Springfield are suburbs and people live in this area because it is a quick 20-30 minute drive to Washington DC and yet provides a suburban lifestyle for people who desire it. To try and place urban development elements into a suburban area without a growth plan like Tyson's Corner, would in my humble opinion, be a waste of resources.

As much as I think sidewalks are fantastic (and I did live in Washington, DC for 8 years), I just don't see the benefit in having sidewalks along the entire stretch of Old Keene Mill Road.

I think until the area decides to have more medium to high density residential and commerical, the sidewalk situation is fine.

by DS on Oct 20, 2011 12:31 pm • link • report

@ DS:Like it or not, Springfield and West Springfield are suburbs and people live in this area because it is a quick 20-30 minute drive to Washington DC and yet provides a suburban lifestyle for people who desire it.

Except that it isn't. It's 30 mins if you're lucky to the DC border. During rush hour, and actually *into* DC is much longer.

by Jasper on Oct 20, 2011 2:40 pm • link • report

Jasper, slug from Old Keene Mill and you'll be at the 14th Street bridge in under 1/2 hour. On weekends and Federal Holidays, it's under 20 minutes into the city.

I live along this stretch of OKM, and surprisingly, there are some hidden sidewalks/walkways that aren't alongside the road. Specifically, Westbound from Hanover Ave there's a sidewalk through the woods (albeit with stairs) to Byron Ave, and it picks up again after Tiverton Drive up to Harwood Place. (From Harwood, you can bike or walk through the neighborhood on small streets or sidewalks to Rolling Road.)

by Philip on Dec 5, 2011 3:16 pm • link • report