Posts about Vienna

Public Spaces

Less pretty, more functional please

by Douglas Stewart   •   October 20, 2009 1:52 pm

Don't let the pretty bricks fool you. This crosswalk in downtown Vienna is no fun if you have to walk on it. Wide curb radii make it much more difficult to cross because a) they lengthen the walking distance, and b) motorists are encouraged to take turns without stopping or looking for pedestrians.

For years Vienna and Fairfax have been trying to revitalize their downtowns and make them more walkable and bicycle-friendly. But there's a big disconnect with conventional traffic engineering wisdom. Getting more automobiles through the road faster trumps everything. Traffic calming measures such as squaring off intersections get in the way of this engineering priority.

One issue is institutional. VDOT controls the roads in Fairfax County.The agency is not accountable to local communities. Local control over roads could lead to more flexible, pedestrian-friendly designs. Although pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly design of Routes 7 and 123 will be critical to making Tysons Corner work as a transit-oriented community, VDOT shows little sign of flexibility in its auto-focused approach. This is one reason Fairfax County is looking into taking control of its roads.

But that's not the only issue. Even county and local transportation divisions tend to narrowly focus on automobile "throughput." Engineers are trained to move cars efficiently. Pedestrian and bicycle-oriented features are not familiar concepts to many traffic engineers. Local elected officials hear complaints about traffic all the time, and usually it is from a "windshield perspective." So they, too, are often pressured to look for short-term, auto-oriented solutions rather than a more balanced approach.

In addition, often our elected leaders themselves have a windshield perspective. It can help to take them on walks and bicycle rides to broaden their perspective.

Until a better balance is struck between the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and motorists, Vienna, Fairfax and other communities will not be able to attract a critical mass of people to revitalize their downtowns. One good step would be for VDOT and local transportation divisions to train all their engineering staff in the Complete Streets approach to street design.

Bicycling

Vienna council candidate: "undesirables" mean cars, not people

by Adam Voiland   •   May 4, 2009 4:32 pm

Daniel Dellinger, candidate for the Vienna town council, recently stirred controversy by claiming that a proposed hiker-biker trail between Vienna and Tysons would bring "undesirables into our neighborhood." Last night, I asked Dellinger if he would clarify his remarks. Dellinger responded today with the following:

First let me state I am pro trail. I live adjacent to the WO&D trail and my wife and I walk it extensively to reach downtown Vienna. I also feel as if the WO&D should be the hub for connector trails. The benefits to our communities and our nations health are under estimated. The issue you speak about concerns not trails in general but a proposed prospective trail in NE Vienna. If the trail would be installed, it would open a quiet neighborhood open to possible commuter traffic, congestion and safety issues for children and citizens of that area.

The four metro stations in Tysons Corner will not have parking lots therefore I envision the same scenario as what occurred in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Vienna metro station, parking in residential neighborhoods not in metro lots. I'm still learning about this proposed trail and will make further comments in the future concerning this issue but I'm not opposed to any trail that is properly planned and citizens from the community given the opportunity to introduce input.

My original statement had an omission of a word... not undesirable people but undesirable cars or may be I should have said unwanted cars. I hope this gives you further insight into my view but would be willing to discuss this with you further in person.

I still found aspects of Dellinger's response a bit confusing, so I emailed him again seeking additional clarification. I also called the Fairfax County Park Authority to see if I could get a copy of the actual plan.

It turns out, however, that there isn't a specific plan at this point. "There are a lot of ideas being discussed and proposed, but I haven't seen a drawing or anything concrete yet," said Jenny Pate, the Trail Coordinator for the Fairfax County Park Authority.

She did say, however, that she had heard that the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB) and people associated with the NoVi Trail Network had been circulating proposals informally.

Does anybody plugged into the planning process in Virginia have more details? Or a good sense of what exactly Dellinger is getting at with his clarification? If so, please share them in the comments or email me at bike.examiner@gmail.com.

Crossposted at DC Bicycle Transportation Examiner.