Soapstone bike lanes swept

Sweeping Soapstone Dr bike lanes

It was very encouraging to see a street sweeper on Soapstone Dr in Reston removing the accumulated leaves in the bike lanes between South Lakes Dr and Sunrise Valley Dr. You can see from this poor cellphone photo that the lanes on the near side are clean and the sweeper (in the distance) and following vehicle are sweeper the opposite side. It looked like the lanes on Lawyers Rd were relatively clean as well.

Kudos and thanks to VDOT for being proactive and sweeping the lanes. They aren't much use to cyclists when filled with leaves and debris.

Soapstone bike lane project starts Monday

Soapstone Dr.

VDOT begins work on the road diet project on Soapstone Dr on Monday, Oct. 17. The project will change the configuration of the road, between Glade Dr to Sunrise Valley Dr, from 4 regular travel lanes to 2 travel lanes and 2 bike lanes with a center turn lane.

Work will begin on the southern-most segment of the road from south of Lawyers Rd to Glade Dr which is currently only 2 wide lanes. That configuration will not change. This project will link up with the new bike lanes on Lawyers Rd, giving cyclists from the south a very good route leading toward the new Reston-Wiehle Avenue station on the Silver Line.

A big thank you to VDOT for having the vision to modify Soapstone and Lawyers, making both roads safer for everyone and creating dedicated bike facilities for cyclists.

Soapstone Dr road diet planned for next month

Soapstone Dr.

Earlier this spring VDOT held a public meeting to discuss a possible road diet on a mile and a half of Soapstone Dr in Reston. The project will be implemented next month.

According to the VDOT news release, which contains additional photos and diagrams: “Here on Soapstone, we’re able to take advantage of a regularly-scheduled repaving project to change the markings at a very low cost to benefit motorists, cyclists and pedestrians,” said Randy Dittberner, VDOT regional traffic engineer. “We appreciate the input from the community at our public meeting over the summer, and the support from Fairfax County for this project.”

A case for bike lanes

Photo from Fairfax City Patch

Fairfax City patch recently published a blog article entitled A Case for Bike Lanes? that asks the question "What do you think about bike lanes? Are they useful, or just a trend? Where would you want to see them in Fairfax City?"

In the past 10 years I have seen bike lanes installed in every condition, from the cycle tracks along Pennsylvania Avenue to converted shoulders on rural roads in Delaware. George Mason recently installed them along Patriot Circle and they have been used as part of a “road diet” in Reston.

Fairfax City has yet to hop on this bandwagon, but it has been discussed. So, should we? And if so, where do bike lanes make sense?

First, it is important to understand why bike lanes have been all the rage over the past few years. I mean, why not just use sidewalks or paths? Well, bike lanes function more like bike highways for commuters in that they don’t require you to slow down at every street crossing as you do when using a sidewalk or parallel path. It is important for bike commuters to be able to maintain a constant high rate of speed in order to make biking a more competitive alternative to driving (bikers should still stop at traffic lights and stop signs, though I realize many do not). Bike paths on the other hand are more desirable for leisure riders.