WABA Fairfax Meeting report

About 15 people attended the meeting last night hosted by WABA to discuss bicycling in Fairfax. WABA is preparing a Regional Call to Action that will be unveiled at the Call to Action Summit to be held on November 3.

Several good ideas emerged in the comments from the group. One common theme was the need for better education; of cyclists of all ages, motorists, and police. There are a lot of misconceptions about where cyclists should ride and how they should behave on the road. Residents have very few opportunities to get good bicycle safety education. It needs to be taught in the schools and the county could sponsor adult bike skills classes. Another way to spread this information is to include it in high school drivers ed courses, the VA drivers manual, and on DMV driver's license test.

As you would expect, most people stated that we need more bike facilities; bike lanes, wider outside lanes, well-maintained paved trails, and better bike parking. On four-lane roads Charlie Strunk, the county bike coordinator, said that VDOT has recently agreed to narrow the inside lane on some roads and increase the width of the outside lane, giving more room for bicyclists.

Fairfax should hold fun, community bike rides. We also discussed the possibility of holding a "civlovia" type event where a major road is closed to motorized traffic and bicyclists, pedestrians, runners, etc. can enjoy these public spaces for a change.

All of the ideas were recorded by WABA volunteers and will be used as input to the Regional Call to Action. Thanks to Greg Billing of WABA who facilitated the discussion, and to the other WABA volunteers.

More details about the November 3 Summit were released by WABA yesterday in their blog post Nov. 3rd Call to Action Summit’s Speakers:

• 9:45 am – Tools for Planning Healthy Communities - Gina Arlotto (WABA’s Safe Routes to School Network Coordinator)
• 10:15 am – Crashed! Your Legal Rights In A Bicycle Accident – Bruce Deming, Lawyer
• 11:00 am – Panel: Regional Bikesharing – Speakers TBA
• 12:00 pm – Lunch Break (1 1/2 hour)
• 1:30pm – Panel: Planning Bicycle & Pedestrian Access to Metro – Nat Bottigheimer (WMATA Assistant General Manager), Patrick Schmitt (WMATA Parking Manager), Kristin Haldeman (WMATA Manager of Access Planning & Policy Analysis), Justin Antos (WMATA Transportation Analyst)
• 2:30 – Panel: The Role of Bicycle Businesses in Advocacy – Jakob Wolf-Barnett (Chief Operating Officer, Revolutions Cycles), Erik Kugler (Owner, BicycleSPACE), Stephen Marks (Managing Partner, Bike the Sites), Debora Hardng (CEO, City Bikes), Anne Mader (Owner, The Bike Lane)
• 3:30 pm - WABA’s Presentation of Regional Call to Action

Arlington Call to Action meeting report

Mark Blacknell, chairman of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, reported on the Arlington Call to Action meeting held last week: Getting Our Priorities Straight.

The meeting is one of several organized by WABA for the Regional Call to Action report, to be completed and released at the Call to Action Summit on November 3.

The Fairfax meeting is planned for Monday, October 17 from 6:30-8:30pm at Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Avenue East, Vienna, VA 22180, located about a block from the W&OD Trail. See our earlier post about the regional meetings and the summit.

Cyclists should be thinking about short, medium, and long term goals for making Fairfax more bike-friendly. If you can't attend the meeting fill out the one page PDF planning sheet and send it to advocacy@waba.org.

Regional Call to Action Summit

Today WABA announced the Regional Call to Action Summit to be held on November 3rd, 2011 in Arlington, VA. The Fairfax pre-meeting will be held on Monday, Oct. 17 from 6-8pm at Patrick Henry Library in Vienna, site of the monthly FABB meetings. Since there will not be pre-meetings in the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church or the towns of Vienna, Herndon, or Clifton, cyclists in those areas should plan to attend the Fairfax meeting:

Shape the next 5 years of bicycle advocacy in the Washington, DC region!

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is pleased to announce its Regional Call to Action Summit on November 3rd, 2011 in Arlington, VA. At the Call to Action Summit, WABA will be presenting a five-year plan of regional and local priorities for bicycling in the Washington Region. The summit will include presentations on the Metro's long-term bicycle and pedestrian plans, health planning and bicycles, a panel discussion on the economics of the bicycle industry and much more.

We want your input on the regional plan!

1) Please attend a Local Stakeholder's Meeting

We will be holding short, two hour meetings in the six local jurisdictions that WABA serves in order to gather your ideas and give you--the region's local bicyclists--a chance to provide input for the regional plan. We ask attendees to please download and complete the Pre-Meeting Planning Sheet prior to the meeting.

• 9/13 - Prince George's Co. - Greenbelt Library Aud., 6pm to 8pm


• 9/20 - Montgomery Co. - Kensington Park Comm. Library, 6pm to 8pm


• 9/27 - Arlington Co. - Shirlington Branch Library, 6:30pm to 8:30pm


• 10/4 - Alexandria Co. - Nannie J Lee Rec. Center, 6:30pm to 8:30pm


• 10/11 - District of Columbia - Benning Library, 6:00pm to 8:00pm



• 10/17 - Fairfax Co. - Patrick Henry Library, Vienna, VA, 6:30pm to 8:30pm - More Info & RSVP

2) Can't make the local meeting?

The one page PDF planning sheet gives a basic framework for providing input for the five year regional priority plan we are creating. Whether you are at your local meeting or not, WABA and your fellow bike advocates want to hear from you!

Please submit your input by emailing advocacy@waba.org by October 21st, 2011

Attend the Regional Call to Action Summit on November 3rd, 2011

Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Call to Action Summit Location
Waterview Conference Center
1919 N Lynn St
Arlington, VA 22209

Google Map Link (create bicycle directions!)
Metro Accessible via the Rosslyn Station on the Blue & Orange Lines. Bike Accessible via the Mount Vernon Trail, Custis Trail & the Key Bridge

More information and to RSVP for the November 3rd Call to Action Summit

We hope to see you at a local meeting or the Call to Action Summit on November 3rd.

Thank you!
Washington Area Bicyclist Association

Prince William and Loudoun Counties are also not included in the pre-meeting schedule and will likely not be included in the Summit. All the more reason for a VDOT NoVa District bicycle advisory committee which would help coordinate bicycle projects in the greater Northern Virginia region.

Update: The time for the Fairfax meeting was listed incorrectly earlier. The meeting is from 6:30-8:30pm