Viva Tysons article on biking in Tysons

Roll Through Tysons Corner on a Bike by Jake Koniszewski is the latest article on biking in Tysons to appear in Viva Tysons, the bimonthly magazine.

FABB is featured prominently, discussing plans for making Tysons more bike-friendly through implementation of the Tysons Bicycle Master Plan. The Tysons plan is part of the recently completed countywide bicycle master plan.

The major challenge will be transforming Routes 7 & 123 from multi-lane arterials. It's critical that bike facilities be located along these routes, where most future development will occur.

FABB at Keep Tysons Moving event

FABB table at Keep Tysons Moving

FABB was up early this morning to attend Keep Tysons Moving, an event that provides information about alternative transportation to Tysons employers and employees. We've attended the event for several years and have spoken to many people who want to ride but are afraid because of poor cycling conditions. Several people do ride in Tysons, either by choice or necessity.

Ann Cavazos of FABB brought flowers and her jewel-encrusted bike and helmet for display at the table; it's a nice touch and likely attracted more people to our booth to learn about FABB, the upcoming Fairfax Bike Summit, and plans for remaking Tysons into a more bike-friendly place.

Fairfax announces bike position opening

When Jeff Hermann of the FFX Co Bicycle Program left his position in July 2011, it was not filled and has been vacant since. We're glad to see that the County recently advertised the position. We're especially pleased with this Special Requirement: "Ability to ride a bicycle and possess basic understanding of bicycle equipment, operations, and repairs."

Jeff did great work on the Tysons Bicycle Master Plan but since he left the plan has been sitting on the shelf. Filling the position will go a long way toward reviving the Bicycle Program and getting the Tysons and soon to be completed Countywide Bicycle Master Plan approved and implemented. While the job duties include working on pedestrian, transit and road projects, we're hoping a large part of the job will be with the Bicycle Program.

If you or someone you know is interested in the position, the closing date is May 18. See the full job description.

Tysons Bike Group hears about feasibility of bikesharing in Tysons

On Tuesday Charlie Denney of Alta Planning & Design/Alta Bike Share discussed the feasibility of a bike sharing system in Tysons, similar to the very successful Capital Bikeshare in DC run by Alta Bike Share. The presentation was sponsored by the Tysons Bike Group, an informal gathering of bicycling enthusiasts formed by FABB and TYTRAN. See our earlier post about the talk.

According to Charlie, the DC system cost $6.4 million, mostly from Federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) funds matched by 20% local funding. It consists of 140 stations and 1200 bikes. Arlington's system cost $800,000 and consists of 26 stations in Crystal City and Ballston/Rosslyn Corridor. There are 19,000 members which is double the projected number. There have been over 1.5 million trips that average about 1 mile in length. There have been 20 reported crashes and 10 bicycles have disappeared and not recovered.

Charlie said there are four major considerations when thinking about implementing bike sharing in Tysons:

• Connections to Silver Line stations
• The need for better bicycle infrastructure
• Promotion of bike sharing
• Partnerships and sponsorships

The bike share system would be focused around the four Metro stations which are located along Routes 123 and 7. These wide, pedestrian and bicycle unfriendly streets present major barriers for bicyclists. Bike share stations would need to be located on each side of the Metro station. Other stations would be located near major residential, employment and retail/commercial destinations. Using a bike for short lunchtime trips would reduce congestion and save employees time.

There is currently no dedicated on-road bicycle infrastructure in Tysons. While many cyclists do ride there, most people will be reluctant to use bicycles without some dedicated space such as bike lanes, cycle tracks, or indications of shared use such as sharrows and "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" signs. The Tysons Bicycle Plan needs to be approved and implemented, and the planned redevelopment projects need to include bike infrastructure.

The bike share system would need to be promoted by TYTRAN, FABB, the Tysons Bike Group, VDOT and DRPT, and others. Major land developers are logical sponsors as are Fairfax County, VDOT, the Tysons Partnership, and major Tysons employers such as Booz Allen, SAIC, Freddie Mac, PwC, etc.

Bike sharing in Tysons is an exciting prospect but major changes are needed before it could become a reality. The fist step is implementation of the Tysons Bicycle Master Plan.

Bikesharing in Tysons?

Is bike sharing in Tysons feasible? That is the subject of a presentation to the Tysons Bike Group by Charlie Denney of Alta Planning & Design that is scheduled for next Tuesday, March 6 at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tysons from noon to 1pm. If you're interested in attended send a message to chairman@fabb-bikes.org.

Charlie Denney of Alta Planning at the
Tysons West station.

Most people cannot imagine bicycling in Tysons. There are a few people who currently bike to work there; either those who are comfortable riding most conditions, or those for whom bicycling is their only option. In order for more people to be willing to ride in a place like Tysons, and for bike sharing to be a possible option, better riding conditions are needed.

The Tysons Bicycle Master Plan contains recommendations for many on- and off-road bike facilities. Bike sharing is also recommended in Phase 2: 2012-2016 - "As the core of Tysons Corner begins redeveloping, implement priority on-street, and off-street bicycle facilities. Improve bicycle access within and from the surrounding communities. Install high-tech Bicycle Sharing infrastructure and launch encouragement programs like 'Bike-to- Lunch' and 'Bicycle-Friendly Employer A wards.'" Unfortunately the plan has not even been presented to the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors, and we're already into Phase 2 recommendations.

Shopper bike racks at Tysons Corner Center

Today we took Charlie on a tour of Tysons to check out riding conditions and view progress on the Silver Line Metro stations and some of the development that is occurring. That's Charlie above in front of the Tysons West station under construction, with the Sheraton in the background.

We rode by three of the four future station locations and got a feel for bike access to the stations. Tysons isn't flat. To cycle from most of the stations to interior locations will require pedaling uphill. Electric-assist bikes would make bike sharing more feasible for many people although there are few electric-assist bike share systems currently in place (see The Bike-sharing Blog for info on Japanese systems that use electric-assist).

On the left are some of the custom "shopper" bike racks that are scattered around the Tysons Corner Center.

It was a beautiful day to tour Tysons on bikes. The kind of day when you think anything is possible, even having a successful bike sharing system in Tysons.

Bicycling section in Environment Report

The Environmental Quality Advisory Commission (EQAC) released their 2011 Annual Report on the Environment in December. It includes a section on the Bicycle Initiative that includes a summary of program activities in 2011.

The county has made much progress this year, especially with almost no operating funds and the loss of a very valuable staff person, whose position was not filled. The Tysons Bike Plan was completed and the Countywide Bike Plan was started. Phase II of the Gallows Road bike lanes, extending from Idylwood Rd north to Old Courthouse Rd, was finalized and should be completed in 2012. The county is working much more closely with VDOT's repaving program and bike lanes were added to segments of the following roads: Soapstone Dr, Lewinsville Rd, and Sleepy Hollow Rd.

However, the Tysons Bicycle Plan, still has not been reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission or the Board of Supervisors. The Bicycle Parking Guidelines are still in draft form. The Bike the Sites project, a tour of historic sites in the Sully District, is incomplete, and there are still no wayfinding signs on the Fairfax County Parkway. Only so much can be done with limited resources and staff. A great deal has been accomplished, but much more needs to be done which means the program needs dedicated funding and more staff.

The Transportation recommendations in the report are disappointing. We agree wholeheartedly that the county needs to conduct "Holistic Land Use and Transportation Planning." However the recommendations are very general and include no mention of the need for increased resources for non-motorized transportation planning and implementation.

It's worth spending some time browsing the report; it's a good look at the state of the county's environment.

37% of Tysons Metro riders plan to get there by bike

At the final meeting of Tysons Metrorail Station Access Management Study team, results of their online survey were presented. 1,896 people completed the survey which included the following question: "If going to a new Tysons Corner Metrorail station, how do you plan to travel to the station?" The responses included 45% plan to walk, 37% plan to bike, 33% plan to ride the bus, and 33% plan to use kiss and ride.

The Tysons Bicycle Master Plan was completed in February and is awaiting approval by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. The plan includes many recommendations for improving bicycle access to the stations. The plan needs to be approved and work needs to begin on implementing the plan so that when the stations open, bicyclists have safe, convenient ways to reach the stations. With no permanent car parking planned, adequate bike parking is critical.

Final recommendations for sidewalk, trail, bicycle, and transit improvements were discussed. The bicycle plan contains the bicycle recommendations. There was some overlap between the sidewalk and trail recommendations. The highest priority sidewalk and trail recommendation was a new trail from the neighborhood southwest of the Tysons-Spring Hill Road (formerly Tysons West) station from Vesper Lane to Route 7 and Spring Hill Rd. The .4 mile trail would lead almost directly to the station and provide access for bicyclists from the W&OD Trail and Vienna area.

The final report should be completed in the next week or two and will be available on the TMSAMS website.

Tysons rezonings meeting - Updated 8/30/11

Several major Tysons rezoning applications will be coming before the Fairfax Co Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors in the coming months. One of the first set of applications will be heard by the Planning Commission on September 8.

As Tysons redevelops it's important that bicycle facilities are included in all Tysons projects. The Tysons Bicycle Master Plan was recently completed but has not been formally adopted by the Board, so the recommendations are not binding yet.

A public meeting to discuss these first rezoning applications will be held on September 1. Cyclists are encouraged to attend this information meeting to learn more about the application and to plan to testify in favor of bicycle facilities at the Sept. 8 public hearing. From Fairfax County:

The first rezonings under the new Comprehensive Plan for Tysons are scheduled for a public hearing at the Fairfax County Planning Commission on September 8. These applications are RZ 2010-PR-014A and 014B, Georgelas Group LLC, which are located near the future Tysons Spring Hill Metro Station. We would like to invite the public to an informational meeting on the rezonings. The meeting will be held at the Vienna Town Hall, 127 Center Street South, on Thursday, September 1 at 7:30 pm. The applicant and Fairfax County staff will be on hand to review the rezoning proposals and to answer questions. The staff report for the applications will be available on the county website.

Linda Smyth, Providence District Supervisor
John Foust, Dranesville District Supervisor
Cathy Hudgins, Hunter Mill District Supervisor

See the Fairfax County Active Zoning Applications Interactive Map which allows you to zoom to the Tysons area, select parcels, and display application information. I was not able to list info for the 014B application (an error message appeared).

Update: See additional information on these applications on the Fairfax Co website.

Tysons transportation funding presentation

On July 14 Fairfax Co staff gave a presentation on funding of Tysons transportation projects to the Tysons Committee of the Planning Commission. Bicycle projects are included under Neighborhood & Access Improvements, with $70 million estimate for the following:

• Neighborhood Intersection Improvements
• Bike Access Master Plan and Point Improvements
• Tysons Metrorail Station Access Improvements

We're trying to find out how much of the $70 M is devoted to bicycle improvements.

Below is a copy of the presentation:

Implementing Transportation Improvements in Tysons

View more presentations from Fairfax County