VDOT Six-Year Improvement Program public hearing on Tues. Nov 13

The public is invited to a Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) public hearing on "projects that are currently funded in the Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) and provide comments for the development of the Fiscal Years 2014-2019 Six-Year Improvement Program. Projects include interstate highway, road, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and public transportation initiatives."

This is an opportunity to let the CTB know that bicycling is an important part of Virginia's transportation system. Accommodations for bicyclists should be included in all VDOT projects. When new projects are planned, they should not make conditions worse for bicyclists.

VDOT has a policy for integration bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. Most new road projects in Fairfax include some bicycle accommodations. However, most large road projects have a negative impact on bicycling and walking. It's important that cyclists speak out in favor of creating a bicycle-friendly Fairfax.

See the Six Year Improvement Program database to find projects in Fairfax.

On that same night is the Transit Network Study public meeting in Vienna. A second meeting is scheduled for Thursday in Springfield.

Virginia Transportation Plan public hearing wrap-up

Fionnuala Quinn testifies before CTB

Approximately 16 citizens testified last night at the public hearing on transportation projects in Virginia. Only 3 of 17 members of the Commonwealth Transportation Board were present, Thelma Drake, Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Douglas Koelemay the Northern Virginia District rep and Gary Garczynski the At-Large Urban rep.

More than half of the speakers wanted better bicycle, pedestrian, and transit solutions. Roger Deitrick and David Dixon of the Sierra Club testified as did Fionnuala Quinn and myself from FABB, Pat Turner of BikeLoudoun, and Jenifer Madden of the Tysons Metrorail Station Access Management team. Chairman Bulova, Supervisor McKay and several other speakers stressed the need to fund Tysons access projects, including those in the Tysons Bicycle Master Plan.

Folks from the car lobby once again advocated for the sprawl-inducing outer beltway. With our current system badly in need of maintenance funds they and their developer supporters want to build a new north south highway to feed new development in Loudoun County. Carol Welty of the Washington Airports Task Force even advocated for a 6-8 lane freeway circling Dulles airport. Bob Chase of Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance has been the biggest booster of the outer beltway, including a new crossing of the Potomac into Montgomery Co.

See our complete testimony on the Six-Year Improvement Program.

See also Greater Greater Washington's excellent summary of the CTB's reversal of having connected neighborhood streets that was the subject several speaker's comments last night: Virginia turns back toward the 1950s by weakening road connection standards, neglecting populated areas.

Update: See coverage of the meeting in Vienna Patch: NOVA Weighs In On Allocation of VDOT Transportation Funds.

VDOT Multimodal Transportation Investments hearing

This year the Six-Year Improvement Program public hearings are being billed as a chance to "Comment on Multimodal Transportation Investments, Your Transportation Dollars at Work." The meeting will be held at VDOT Northern Virginia District Office 4975 Alliance Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030. 6-6:30 p.m, Open House, 6:30 Moderated public meeting.

This is a chance to tell the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) how you think they should be spending our transportation dollars. The car lobby will be there to promote spending more money on the "I-66 corridor (inside and outside the Beltway), the Bi-County and Tri-County Parkways, [widening] Routes 1, 7, 9 and 15, as well as new Potomac River bridges."

We'll be asking for more funds to improve bike conditions in Northern Virginia, including funding the recommendations of the Tysons Bicycle Master Plan, improved maintenance, implementing the Bicycle Policy Plan, and providing bike facilities on major roads that cyclists are forced to use since our neighborhoods don't connect. It would be good for the CTB to hear from some new voices. If you can't attend the meeting, you can send comments to Six-YearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.Gov. You can see all Fairfax projects in the plan by visiting the Six-Year Plan database, selecting District: Northern Virginia and Jurisdiction: Fairfax County.