Crews Mark City's First Buffered Bike Lanes on Rose Hill Drive

Charlottesville:

“Extra space will separate drivers from bicyclists on one stretch of street in Charlottesville. City crews are marking out the new buffered bike lanes on Rose Hill Drive. They'll be the first in Charlottesville. Striped pavement markings will create a buffer between the car traffic and bike lanes between Preston and Madison avenues. The city hopes cyclists will feel safer with that extra room.

‘The design for bike lanes has really evolved, and we're really excited we're able to implement something like this in our city. What it is basically is a three-foot buffer that provides extra breathing room between cars and bikes on the road,’ said Amanda Poncy, Charlottesville bicycle and pedestrian coordinator.

The city reminds drivers that the same rules of the road apply in the buffered zones - that includes always looking for and yielding to cyclists. Work will continue on Rose Hill through the week.”

~ Reports nbc29

Click here for the link

Heated Words Abound Following Bike Lane Vote

City of Alexandria:

“City councilors ended months of debate when they unanimously approved adding bike lanes to a section of King Street earlier this month, but at least one resident remains up in arms. F.H. Buckley, a professor at George Mason University, lambasted the controversial decision in the American Spectator last week. One of several nearby homeowners opposed to the project from its inception, Buckley blasted Alexandria’s top elected officials as well as cyclists for their behavior during the contentious deliberations…

The project, discussed at multiple public hearings before city councilors gave it the green light earlier this month, will see bike lanes installed from Janneys Lane to West Cedar Street. Pedestrian safety improvements also are slated for the short section of road. To make room for the lanes, 27 on-street parking spots will be removed. The loss of parking sparked the initial protest to the plan, though safety concerns took center stage as the project wound its way through City Hall.

The contentious debate eventually garnered national media attention. Buckley was among those stoking the fire last year, penning a letter to the editor published in the Wall Street Journal warning of impending ‘bike wars’ in communities across the country.”

~ Writes Derrick Perkins of the Alexandria Times

Click here to learn more

Critics: McDonnell pushed ahead on U.S. 460 project despite regulators’ concerns

Route 460:

“An opponent of a controversial highway project in southeast Virginia said Monday that former governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) committed hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ and bond investors’ dollars even as federal regulators said the road faced serious environmental hurdles. Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s abrupt decision to put the expansion of U.S. 460 on hold in March has brought new scrutiny to a project that has cost Virginia $250 million without moving so much as a shovelful of dirt.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had expressed concerns about rebuilding U.S. 460 for years before McAuliffe (D) pulled the plug. But McDonnell and his transportation secretary kept pushing ahead so aggressively that the corps felt the need to remind the state in February 2013 that it had not yet applied for a permit for the $1.4 billion project, much less received permission to move ahead.

Now, critics say McDonnell and his administration appear to have misled bond investors about the project’s status to keep it alive. Project boosters dispute that assertion.”

~ Writes Laura Vozzella of The Washington Post

Click here to learn more

VDOT Park and Ride Lot Finder Online

VDOT:

“Currently there are 21 Park & Ride lots in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.  However, if you are traveling in other areas of Virginia, you may be interested in the Park & Ride resource center provided by VDOT. This resource center was created by VDOT in close partnership with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and Virginia’s commuter resource agencies to better serve commuters, travelers and the communities across the Commonwealth. There are over 300 Virginia P&R lots available for your use, including state-owned, privately-owned and informal lots.

On their website, VDOT provides tools for easily locating Park & Ride lot locations and information as well as tips and resources on ridesharing. Users can search for a lot using an interactive map, clicking on a region in Virginia or searching by ZIP code.”

~ Thomas Jefferson PDC

Click here to learn more

Mayor: Governor will help fund Va. Beach light rail

Virginia Beach:

“Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne have committed to help pay to bring light rail to Virginia Beach, Mayor Will Sessoms announced Thursday during his annual State of the City address. City officials have been eager to move forward with the transportation system. Hampton Roads Transit has estimated it would cost $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion to extend The Tide from Newtown Road to the Oceanfront, depending on the route.

During the lunchtime address at the Convention Center, Sessoms said the McAuliffe administration has given a ‘firm commitment’ to help pay for a Beach light-rail system. The mayor did not provide details of how much money or where it would come from. The remarks seemed to catch the governor’s office off guard. His staff said that while McAuliffe supports the concept of extending light rail, the governor needs to review a specific proposal. He has not committed any money, they said.”

~Writes Kathy Adams of the The Virginian-Pilot

Click here to learn more

Planners Survey Bike Route 76 for Improvements

Thomas Jefferson PDC:

“Central Virginia planners are surveying 136 miles of a cross-country bike route that runs through the region. Bike Route 76 directs riders on some of the area’s busiest, curviest roads. One trouble spot planners have identified is Route 53, which winds its way from Route 20 to Monticello. There are no shoulders, the drop-offs are steep, and it has become a busy commuter road. But a study is looking at ways to make it safer for cyclists to pedal through our part of the cross-country bike route.”

~Writes NBC29

Click here to learn more

Click here for another story from November 2013

Click here for the project website

VDOT Park and Ride Lot Finder Online

VDOT:

“Currently there are 21 Park & Ride lots in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District.  However, if you are traveling in other areas of Virginia, you may be interested in the Park & Ride resource center provided by VDOT. This resource center was created by VDOT in close partnership with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and Virginia’s commuter resource agencies to better serve commuters, travelers and the communities across the Commonwealth. There are over 300 Virginia P&R lots available for your use, including state-owned, privately-owned and informal lots.

On their website, VDOT provides tools for easily locating Park & Ride lot locations and information as well as tips and resources on ridesharing. Users can search for a lot using an interactive map, clicking on a region in Virginia or searching by ZIP code.”

~TJPDC

Click here for more information

TIGER Grant

Department of Transportation:

“The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER Discretionary Grant program) has up to $600 million available for capital projects related to highways, bridges, public transportation, rail, ports, and intermodal projects. A primary selection criterion specifically mentions addressing stormwater through natural means, avoiding impacts to water quality, and providing benefits like groundwater recharge, brownfield redevelopment, and stormwater mitigation including green infrastructure. Of this funding, $35 million is available for project and regional-level planning that include factors like stormwater and future risks and vulnerabilities like extreme weather and climate change. Eligible applicants are State, local, and tribal governments, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, other political subdivisions of State or local governments, and multi-State or multi-jurisdictional groups applying through a lead applicant. TIGER applications are due April 28, 2014.”

~DOT

Click here for more information

Sustainable Transportation Summit

The Cabell Brand Center:

“Thursday March 27 – Sustainable Transportation Summit

The Cabell Brand Center and RIDE Solutions will host an all-day summit on the economic, environmental, and social value of implementing and encouraging transportation choice in the region. Keynote speakers include Nicholas Donohue, Virginia Deputy Secretary of Transportation; and Walter Kulash, Livable Transportation Movement. Full agenda is available on the website: www.cabellbrandcenter.org.  

Where: Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute

When: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Cost: $25; seating is limited. Register@ www.cabellbrandcenter.org

Registration closes on March 24.

Contact: Jeremy Holmes, jholmes@rvarc.org”

~Cabell Brand Center

Court ruling in land dispute could threaten bike trails

U.S. Supreme Court:

“The Supreme Court's ruling in an obscure Wyoming land dispute Monday could result in the loss of thousands of miles of bicycle trails or cost the government millions of dollars in compensation. The justices ruled 8-1 that government easements used for railroad beds over public and private land in the West expired once the railroads went out of business, and the land must revert to its owners.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the case was decided based on an 1875 act of Congress and a 1942 Supreme Court decision involving Great Northern Railway. That ruling confirmed that the government merely had received easements without any long-term land rights, he said. The establishment in 1983 of the federal ‘rails to trails’ program didn't change the court's interpretation for easements that expired earlier. ‘We're going to stick with that today,’ Roberts said from the bench.

The decision could jeopardize the ‘rails to trails’ program, responsible for creating more than 1,400 bike and nature trails, many of them built along railroad rights-of-way.”

~Writes Richard Wolfe of USA Today

Click here for more information

Belmont Bridge replacement designs previewed

City of Charlottesville:

“Charlottesville officials have two new design concepts to mull as replacements for the Belmont Bridge. Local engineers from MMM Design presented the options Friday to a city design task force. The bridge proposals feature bike lanes and wide sidewalks and would provide space for new development.

‘The things that we heard at that meeting were to try to make the bridge shorter, keep it two lanes, integrate bike and pedestrian use well, and to try to bring the buildings along the street up to create a street edge in the future,’ said Jim Tolbert, the city’s director of Neighborhood Development Services.

The new work is the latest in a process that dates back to November 2010, when a design effort to replace the existing 1960s-era structure began. The Commonwealth Transportation Board has allocated $14.5 million to replace the bridge, which carries Route 20 over two city roads and railroad tracks. The original design created by MMM Design was not well received by some in the Belmont neighborhood, but fell within parameters laid out by the city.”

~Writes Charlottesville Tomorrow

Click here for more information

Our view: Pedal harder on bike safety

General Assembly:

“Biking enthusiasts were only one for three this year in lobbying the General Assembly for traffic safety laws that would cut their risks of injury when sharing the road with far heavier, faster motor vehicles.

The Virginia Bicycling Federation focused on three bills, reasonable measures all, that might have passed on a surge of goodwill this year, what with Richmond preparing to host one of the world's premier cycling events in 2015. Except that, well, there will be races for a couple of open congressional seats in November.

Though avid bicyclists might fall anywhere along the political spectrum from far right to far left, lawmakers are ever mindful with every piece of legislation in election years of where partisan advantage might lie. And in Virginia, every year is an election year. Republican Del. Barbara Comstock of Fairfax, not known as a bicycle friendly legislator in the past, sponsored a bill this year (HB 82) to apply the state's prohibition against following too closely to tailgating non-motor vehicles - e.g., bikes.

The bill passed in the usually hostile House, only to die in committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where, The Washington Post reports, Transportation Committee Chairman Creigh Deeds voted to pass it by indefinitely, despite his past support.”

~Writes Christopher Chung in an editorial of The Roanoke Times

Click here for more information

Rudee Inlet path will connect to Va. Beach Boardwalk

Virginia Beach:

“Picture walking to the Boardwalk from the Rudee Inlet marina district without dodging cars on Atlantic and Pacific avenues. Then, imagine catching a ride on a water taxi to visit the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. That vision is expected to become a reality in June. Construction is to begin the week of March 17 on a 10-foot-wide path connecting Rudee Loop, the gem of the resort’s south end, to the Boardwalk. The $1.4 million project includes a dock for a water taxi and a park where those waiting for the boat can relax.

The taxi, to be managed by the city, will take passengers from Rudee Inlet through Lake Rudee to the aquarium, on Owls Creek. It may be expanded in the future to include destinations along the marina district and Marsh View Park, said Dan Adams, city project manager.The handicapped-accessible path will meet the Boardwalk near 1st Street and Grommet Island Park, a playground with equipment for people with disabilities. A metal guardrail that runs along Rudee Loop will be replaced with wood, and LED pedestrian and street lights will be installed. Carolina Marine Structures is the general contractor on the project, which is scheduled to be completed some time in June.”

~Writes Stacy Parker of The Virginian-Pilot

Click here for more information

Parkway project attracts supporters

Town of Front Royal:

“The long-awaited Leach Run Parkway project likely could affect many area residents and property owners when complete. More than two dozen people showed up to a public information meeting for the project on Wednesday at the Warren County Community Center. Representatives with the project engineer, Pennoni Associates, as well as officials from Front Royal, Warren County and Economic Development Authority provided information and answered questions.

Plans call for the four-lane, divided parkway to connect Happy Creek Road to John Marshall Highway (Va. 55). The design includes sidewalks and bicycle paths as well as a median and trees. The project does not include a section to the north of Happy Creek Road and extending to the Shenandoah Shores area as shown in earlier designs. The Virginia Department of Transportation covers half of the $12 million cost. The county covers 66 percent and the town 34 percent of the remaining cost.

Most of the those attending spoke favorably about the project, saying the town and county have needed the north-south bypass for a long time. Michael Henderson lives on John Marshall Highway at the corner of the proposed intersection with Leach Run Parkway. Henderson said he bought the property about 12 years ago. The Virginia Department of Transportation must acquire his property to make way for the road, a retention pond and to create the sight distance needed for the intersection.”

~Writes Alex Bridges of the NV Daily

Click here to learn more

Ramp to connect Fort Belvoir North to I-95

Fairfax County:

“Construction continues on the ramp that will connect Fort Belvoir North commuters to I-95 south express lanes and regular northbound lanes. ‘We’re currently on schedule, looking to complete by Dec. 14 of this year,’ said Tim Brown, construction operations engineer for Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, part of the Federal Highway Administration.

The FHA is managing the project in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The ramp is set to open in early 2015, coinciding with the opening of the new I-95 express lanes… As construction progresses, there will also be less lane closures during night construction, he added.

‘The number of lane closures should be diminishing in our work zone going forward,’ Brown said.

The ramp will allow drivers from Fort Belvoir North to drive directly on to the I-95 South express lanes, or get right onto the regular I-95 northbound lanes, said Michelle Holland, VDOT Megaprojects communications manager. The ramp’s major benefit is connecting drivers to the I-95 southbound express lanes, she added.”

~Writes Brittany Carlson of Belvoir Eagle

 Click here to learn more

We can improve system for bicyclists

Statewide:

“Bike tickets are on the rise and they carry the same fines and legal consequences that vehicle infractions do. This system is a bad one for four big reasons:

1. The cost of a ticket is disproportionate to the cost of riding a bicycle.
2. Bicycles are not 2-ton blocks of metal that go 70 mph and kill thousands of people a year
3. It is often difficult for bicyclists to follow the rules safely
4. Motorists are almost never held responsible for collisions with bicycles”

~Writes Luke Juday of Charlottesville Tomorrow

Click here for more information

Safe Routes to School in Rockingham County

Rockingham County:

“Safe Routes to School (SRTS) projects have been completed at Mountain View Elementary in Rockingham County and Plains Elementary in Timberville.  At Mountain View Elementary improvements included the addition of a new sidewalk, curb & gutter, ADA curb cuts with associated crosswalks, signing and pavement markings, and the installation of pedestrian signals at the Erickson Avenue and Rawley Springs (Rt. 33) intersection.

  

In Timberville, the improvements included a five-foot concrete sidewalk, curb and gutter improvements, and a stream crossing along American Legion Drive. Other improvements included curb ramps, crosswalk pavement and sign installation, high visibility crosswalk markings, and flashing school beacons installed at the school entrance.

Safe Routes to Schools is a federally-funded program administered by the Virginia Department of Transportation designed to encourage kindergarten through 8th grade students to walk or bike to school by creating a safer and more appealing transportation alternative through biking and walking.  Other SRTS program goals are to improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.  CSPDC staff assisted the County and the Town with grant administration and project management for these two SRTS projects.”

~ Central Shenandoah PDC