W&OD >> Mosaic District?

[jabberwocky]

I think the best route is:
-Turn onto Gallows south. Bike lanes go to a bit before 66.
-Just past 66, turn right onto Prosperity.
-Left onto Merillee
-Cross Lee Highway, turn left on Strawberry Lane.

The bike lanes end just before Gallows crosses 66 so you have a little bit of taking the lane, but its not bad there.

[culimerc]

@chris_s 92228 wrote:

Looks like there are bike lanes on part of Gallows and a side path on part of Gallows. Does it all connect up enough that I can come straight down Gallows to Strawberry Lane?

The bike lane disappears at Cottage. However, I take that route all the time. What I do depending on my mood and the flow of traffic is;

Continue on the road past Cottage, at the entrance to the school,its decision time. Either jump up on the path or continue on the street. I dont always like going across the bridge on the street since it narrows up a bit and there is no where to go. If the traffic is either very loose or slow moving I take the street, if its tight and people are jockeying for position, I take the trail.

Once on the other side of the bridge, on matter which route I take, I hop into the turn lane and take the lane. I go straight to the stop light, make a right on to Prosperity, go down to Merrilee Dr, make a left (Home Depot is on it) and go straight across 29/Lee HiWay there. There just LOTS less traffic.

[n18]

Here is a picture of possible ways to approach the Mosaic District:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6398[/ATTACH]

When approaching the area, avoid following the red arrow as shown in the picture because you would have to cross a 4-Way intersection because there are too many cars want to go north into Yates Way(to park or exit) from Strawberry Lane, and too many pedestrians depending on time of day. There are no bike racks on the east side of Yates Way, only the west side, and around the district.

Of note to those who haven’t visited the area for a long time, there was no sidewalk on the north side of Lee Highway near Home Depot, now there is a wide sidewalk that takes you straight to Hilltop road without having to dismount. West of Hilltop road intersection, there are no curb cuts on Lee Highway in some areas, until you reach Chain Bridge RD, I did manage to go back and forth between these two points several times though.

It seems that Fairfax County does a good job when it comes to their Fairfax Connector Bus service(When a Fairfax Connector Bus replaces a Metrobus, it offers more frequent service), but when it comes to sidewalks and bike paths, they stop short of making a complete path, leaving gaps of few feet to one block or less.

[Dickie]

This is part of my daily commute and I have been riding it for years. I do as Culimerc does when the bike lane ends at Cottage… I tend to take the foot path over 66 as Gallows really does narrow there and in the morning traffic is pretty crazy… I have had too many close calls especially with busses and cabs. The footpath spits you out into Dunn Loring’s Temporary Kiss and Ride lot which can also be a bit of a cluster, but I have had few issues as long as you take your time and a deep breath. The Kiss and Ride dumps you back onto Gallows just before Prosperity. I have stopped taking the Prosperity route at this point. The left hand tun signal from Prosperity onto Merlilee never triggers for cyclists and the traffic can get busy, I am also not a fan of the construction and the inevitable bottle neck with busses and construction trucks. Also, in the morning Contractors are rushing in and out of their various vendor parking lots on Merillee and I have had many near misses. So, most days I come out of the metro parking lot onto Gallows (with the light musually) and go directly into the closest through lane. I take the lane until I cross Prosperity and then head over to the right. From here Gallows has no bike lane but it is very wide and the right most lane is actually built wide enough to accommodate a bike lane. I follow this all the way to Strawberry lane. I actually find this the safest and less stressful route, it also helps that most of that section is down hill. There are also enough lights timed well that keeps traffic at a slower pace. I have never had an issue on this part of Gallows…yet!

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