Alexandria City Election – Candidate responses on issues for people who walk and bike

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 126952 wrote:

Belle Haven is in Fairfax County, though, not the City of Alexandria.

Really? Half the maps and zillow tells me its alexandria. How confusing.

[lordofthemark]

Belle Haven, like a huge part of FFX county (even Kingstowne!) has an Alexandria address, because US Postal Service. The City limit is at Cameron Run though. You would be in the Mt Vernon District of FFX, which is having a contested election for the open supervisor seat. My wife knows Dan Storck from FC School Board politics – she approved of him on schools, IIRC, but I think some of the things he has said on transportation were not so good (see the FABB questionnaire) but he does look like Abe Lincoln, so there’s that.

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 126958 wrote:

Belle Haven, like a huge part of FFX county (even Kingstowne!) has an Alexandria address, because US Postal Service. The City limit is at Cameron Run though. You would be in the Mt Vernon District of FFX, which is having a contested election for the open supervisor seat. My wife knows Dan Storck from FC School Board politics – she approved of him on schools, IIRC, but I think some of the things he has said on transportation were not so good (see the FABB questionnaire) but he does look like Abe Lincoln, so there’s that.

ha, good to know I looked it up, how totally confusing. I don’t hate fairfax though, so living there wouldn’t be the end of the world. Arlington is still my favorite since I loved living there, we just can’t afford living in the parts of Arlington we’d like to. Belle Haven is our current top contender because it’s on the MVT so I can live “outside the beltway” and pay outside the beltway prices for a house, while still being able to bike to work, and husband can easily drive to his work from there.

We’ll see next year though. First gotta pay down the wedding bills…

[GovernorSilver]

In the badlands of Fairfax-side Alexandria, I got this response from Anna Urman, candidate for Delegate:

We cannot improve the bike infrastructure in a vacuum; it has to be part of a comprehensive plan that addresses our roadways, our public transportation system, our bike lanes and sidewalks.

A sound investment strategy that takes into account our current needs as well as projected growth to ensure we can sustain capacity over the next few decades (currently, by the time we finish building a road, it’s almost obsolete from the start). Planning for new developments and construction projects needs to take into account all the ways we’ll get there – whether by car, bike, bus, or metro. Then, instead of trying to create bike paths on roads that weren’t meant for them, we’ll be able to more organically integrate all the different forms of transport into the way our community functions.

[GovernorSilver]

@lordofthemark 126958 wrote:

see the FABB questionnaire

Ah I didn’t know about FABB. They’ve got two questionnaire links up now:

http://www.fabb-bikes.org/index.html

Storck vs. Gandee – hmm may have to flip a coin on that one. I keed…

Oh and here’s a Google Map showing the City of Alexandria’s borders:
https://goo.gl/maps/HsZBkUDqsww

[GovernorSilver]

@Emm 126960 wrote:

Belle Haven is our current top contender because it’s on the MVT so I can live “outside the beltway” and pay outside the beltway prices for a house, while still being able to bike to work, and husband can easily drive to his work from there.

The one time I went to Spokes Etc. from the MVT on Belle View Blvd was a pain. No traffic light and no crosswalk to help anybody cross GW Parkway. I recall TerpFan reported a bike lane being planned for Belle View Blvd, but no word on making it easier for cyclists and pedestrians to access MVT from Belle View Blvd.

I forgot if there’s a traffic light at Belle Haven Rd. and GW Parkway – don’t recall seeing one. I could have sworn I’ve seen a sidewalk on the west side of GW Parkway, north of Belle Haven Rd – that might be something to ride on until you get to a traffic light that you can use to cross the parkway/S. Washington St.

EDIT: I didn’t realize there’s an FABB forum above this one – I should have posted some of my posts there. Sorry, City of Alexandria folks!

[ShawnoftheDread]

@GovernorSilver 126968 wrote:

The one time I went to Spokes Etc. from the MVT on Belle View Blvd was a pain. No traffic light and no crosswalk to help anybody cross GW Parkway. I recall TerpFan reported a bike lane being planned for Belle View Blvd, but no word on making it easier for cyclists and pedestrians to access MVT from Belle View Blvd.

I forgot if there’s a traffic light at Belle Haven Rd. and GW Parkway – don’t recall seeing one. I could have sworn I’ve seen a sidewalk on the west side of GW Parkway, north of Belle Haven Rd – that might be something to ride on until you get to a traffic light that you can use to cross the parkway/S. Washington St.

EDIT: I didn’t realize there’s an FABB forum above this one – I should have posted some of my posts there. Sorry, City of Alexandria folks!

No, there’s no light there. The southern most traffic light on the parkway is at S. Alfred St.

[creadinger]

@chris_s 126166 wrote:

If you do, be sure to also vote against Silberberg who couldn’t even be bothered to reply to the questions.

Ok, now that Silv*erberg is officially the new mayor – do we know why she didn’t answer the questions? I can think of a million reasons, one of which could be “couldn’t be bothered”, but it might help to know the real reason or best guess from someone in the know. Maybe she was actually saving puppies from drowning while out re-paving a bike path and was too busy?

*because the b there is silly

[CaseyKane50]

@creadinger 127330 wrote:

Ok, now that Silv*erberg is officially the new mayor – do we know why she didn’t answer the questions? I can think of a million reasons, one of which could be “couldn’t be bothered”, but it might help to know the real reason or best guess from someone in the know. Maybe she was actually saving puppies from drowning while out re-paving a bike path and was too busy?

*because the b there is silly

Allison did not reply to the survey nor did she provide an explanation for not responding.

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