Annandale hearing 29 Aug 2013 on traffic calming on Old Columbia Pike

[lordofthemark]

@napes 62503 wrote:

Fairfax County is considering installing speed humps on Old Columbia Pike between Little River Turnpike and the intersection at Lincolnia Road and Columbia Pike. Old Columbia Pike is a narrow road with a 25 mph speed limit and is a route used by some eastbound cyclists to reach the Lincolnia/Columbia Pike intersection. With the new traffic calming measures, it should become a better bike route. From the intersection of Lincolnia Road there are sidepaths and secondary roads that support reasonable bicycle connectivity to the Bailey’s Crossroads area, and there are also reasonably bicycle-friendly routes to parallel Columbia Pike to reach the Pentagon area from the Bailey’s Crossroads area.

At 7:30pm on Thursday 29 August 2013 there will be a public hearing on the topic at the Mason District Governmental Center.

There is no sidewalk or side path on most of the road presently. While the best solution for pedestrians and some bicyclists would probably be an extension of the existing short side path (removing a number of trees, by the way), speed humps may be the easiest short-term solution to slow down traffic and make the road somewhat safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. The public meeting may have a vocal presence of drivers who use that road as a cut-through and who will instead want no speed humps and the speed raised from the present (and routinely ignored) 25 mph limit.

http://annandale.patch.com/groups/around-town/p/annandale-residents-ask-for-traffic-calming-measures-on-old-columbia-pike

http://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2013/08/speed-humps-proposed-for-old-columbia.html

will folks from outside the ballot area be able to speak (such as folks from the hummer road section of annandale?) Is there a FABB position to support the speed bumps (I personally prefer a multiuse path on a road like that – but I bike kinda slowly)

[napes]

Presumably anyone who wants to speak can speak. I am not in the voting area, and plan to attend.

I have ridden my bicycle on Old Columbia Pike hundreds of times in my commuting and shopping runs, so have a vested interest in at least keeping the speed at or below 25 mph. There is no doubt many drivers would like to see the speed increase.

A complete sidewalk or side path would be worth asking for. A completed sidewalk on Columbia Pike (history dating from 1810) itself would also be worth asking for, since there are still major breaks in Annandale. If we were wishing for even more, Little River Turnpike (chartered in 1796) really could use fully connected sidewalks and usable shoulders in Annandale.

Oh, wait, what we really need is an outer bypass.

[eminva]

@lordofthemark 62571 wrote:

will folks from outside the ballot area be able to speak (such as folks from the hummer road section of annandale?) Is there a FABB position to support the speed bumps (I personally prefer a multiuse path on a road like that – but I bike kinda slowly)

Sorry for chiming in late. I believe Bruce Wright of FABB means to weigh in on the issue in favor of speed humps. The thinking is that they will at least slow down traffic and any more extensive cyclist friendly infrastructure is a non-starter at this point.

There are FABB members who live in that area and may have attended the meeting.

Sorry my recollection is kind of hazy — I am not familiar with that part of the county so this is all I can recall of the discussion.

Liz

[napes]

At least two bicyclists were there, lordofthemark and napes, and we had enough time to speak. It was an interesting discussion and process. The question of traffic calming in the form of speed humps will next go to the selected Old Columbia Pike area residents for their decision. If enough households approve, it will eventually happen. If too many disapprove or they don’t get enough ballots back, the issue will have to wait two years before it can be addressed again. At least there is nothing in the wind about raising speed limits from (a frequently ignored) 25 mph. There is also a possible effort to get the existing side path extended a few hundred more feet, which would greatly improve that path’s usefulness.

[lordofthemark]

@napes 62586 wrote:

At least two bicyclists were there, lordofthemark and napes, and we had enough time to speak. It was an interesting discussion and process. The question of traffic calming in the form of speed humps will next go to the selected Old Columbia Pike area residents for their decision. If enough households approve, it will eventually happen. If too many disapprove or they don’t get enough ballots back, the issue will have to wait two years before it can be addressed again. At least there is nothing in the wind about raising speed limits from (a frequently ignored) 25 mph. There is also a possible effort to get the existing side path extended a few hundred more feet, which would greatly improve that path’s usefulness.

Well, there WERE some folks (cut through car commuters I think) who made a point of questioning the rationale for the 25MPH limit (though they then acknowledged that that was not on the table) including one gentleman who suggested that no one should walk on Old Columbia Pike. Which got me rather ticked off, I might say. Please remind me to have a cup of herbal tea before attending another one of these.

But on the positive side (aside from it looking like there is a good chance of the speed humps going forward, and the community wanting a side path, and even some acknowledgement that Annandale must change) napes let me try out his electric assist bike. It was REALLY cool. Thanks.

Plus since I had come to the meeting by car, I rode his bike in business pants and shirt, and tie. Helmet less. And naturally his bike had not only fenders and rac, but saddle bags with a bit of weight in them. I felt positively Dutch.

[lordofthemark]

It is moving forward

http://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2013/10/nearly-80-percent-of-old-columbia-pike.html

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