Fairfax County Bike Lanes

[creadinger]

@Judd 181003 wrote:

I would be up for doing some rides in FFX, particularly if it is to get food and then let the business know that we are so happy to have been able to use a bike lane to get there.

If that includes riding the Beulah lanes down to Wegmans I’m up for that any day of the week! That way we can also experience the awfulness of the super narrow Van Dorn side trail as it goes up the hill from Eisenhower, under the train tracks, and over a slippery boardwalk under the beltway before the steep climb up Oakwood Dr. This leads to another question – How are people supposed to ride in Fairfax County when getting into it is more difficult than riding the bike lanes themselves?

On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised to see a repaving of the Mt. Vernon Memorial Hwy had the addition of bike lanes. And it looks like Rt 1 near Ft Belvoir has bike lanes now too. I want to try them out soon too.

[Tania]

@dplasters 181071 wrote:

I’m not trying to pile on, but on the southbound gallows road bike lane around the intersection of merry oaks lane, you can literally see where the bike lane stripe/paint is worn out from cars who cut the corner and would kill any cyclist actually using the lane. Cars seem perfectly comfortable doing well over the speed limit. So clearly they could have taken a touch more space and added protection of some kind for the bike lane.

People don’t use the majority of the FFX bike lanes cause they blow.

I live right off gallows and do everything I can (including riding on the sidewalks) to avoid using the gallows bike lanes.

[lordofthemark]

@dplasters 181071 wrote:

I’m not trying to pile on, but on the southbound gallows road bike lane around the intersection of merry oaks lane, you can literally see where the bike lane stripe/paint is worn out from cars who cut the corner and would kill any cyclist actually using the lane. Cars seem perfectly comfortable doing well over the speed limit. So clearly they could have taken a touch more space and added protection of some kind for the bike lane.

People don’t use the majority of the FFX bike lanes cause they blow.

Gallows lanes are a good example of a place where the geography should mean more biking (W&OD to Tysons) and the lanes/street are bad (narrow bike lanes on a high speed road) That said, these lanes have been around a while, right? I recall seeing them in 2012 at the latest? I don’t know if there would be consensus for a further lane or road diet on Gallows though. Gallows should probably eventually get bus lanes.

[CPTJohnC]

@lordofthemark 181076 wrote:

Gallows lanes are a good example of a place where the geography should mean more biking (W&OD to Tysons) and the lanes/street are bad (narrow bike lanes on a high speed road) That said, these lanes have been around a while, right? I recall seeing them in 2012 at the latest? I don’t know if there would be consensus for a further lane or road diet on Gallows though. Gallows should probably eventually get bus lanes.

I think the gallows lanes are even older than that – I think they were already well established when I started commuting regularly in 2010. I use them with some regularity and I see them getting a fair amount of use. But it is true that Gallows is NOT an ideal road for most cyclists. Then again, any alternatives for traversing the stretch from, say, Tysons to Dunn Loring are, I think, even worse or non-existent?

[dplasters]

Perhaps I missed the point, but the 90 miles of bike lanes weren’t just painted this year, but over a period of time (I don’t know what that time period is). I agree that the gallows road lanes are not new, but they are prevalent and on a highly trafficked road where motor vehicles users would certainly be able to say “these stupid bike lanes, we pay for them and then no one uses them”.

If their point is ‘look at the things we have made, why don’t you use them?’

I’d simply reply that making things, doesn’t make those things useful.

Deraillllllllll: What does ‘Policy Road’ mean on the FFX bike master plan?

[Author]

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