Maple Avenue Vision Committee

The new sidewalks in downtown Vienna are a constant eyesore (Falls Church did theirs better):

• The brick does not wear well and is constantly breaking up (they are not cobblestones).
  
• The sidewalks are too narrow, barely allowing two pedestrians to pass one another.
  
• The planters are too numerous, require excessive maintenance, and their raised brick borders are a constant trip hazard to pedestrians trying to negotiate each other. Also, the raised borders are constantly falling apart.
  
• The decorative posts are a nuisance, unnecessarly narrowing and blocking driveways.
  
• The new buldings on Church Street with brick stairways are a pedestrian nightmare.
  

And who's bright idea was it to allow Jiffy Lube to over-build the corner at 123 and Lawyers, eliminating the sidewalk? Pedestrians can't even walk on a sidewalk to reach the bus stop. Are these the same people who decided to replace 1 Southern States with 6 convenience stores and NO PARKING... who plow streets onto sidewalks and then whine at residents to shovel their walks?

Regarding the comment 'open Abbottsford'...

Although this is a great idea for cars, it is not a good idea for what is arguably the last great piece of natural wild area in and near the Town of Vienna...The Piney Branch Urban Wilderness Area.

Piney Branch creek begins near the Vienna Community Center and winds its way northwest under the Town Green, surfaces at the end of Mill Street, and continues through natural areas to its confluence with Difficult Run. The generally undisturbed land surrounding Piney Branch includes what is by far the Town's nicest parkland... Northside Park, Eudora Park, and Clarks Crossing Park. These natural areas are contiguous, teaming with wildlife, and complimented by the WO&D and pleasant woodland hiking trails including the new Cross County Trail (CCT) that extends down the Difficult Run stream valley to Great Falls National Park and the Potomac River. I would not recommend connecting up any of the old roads across this oasis of nature at our doorstep. Instead, I recommend that the Town of Vienna work to designate and preserve for all to enjoy The Piney Branch Urban Wilderness Area... a gorgeous natural area resource in our community.

The new Town Green could serve as one prominent trailhead to this urban wilderness area. From there, one could run or hike through wonderfully natural woodlands along the Piney Branch and Difficult Run stream valleys all the way to Mather Gorge and the Great Falls on the Potomac River, and beyond. The Piney Branch area is a tremendous natural resource waiting to be so designated and preserved for all to enjoy. Get out of your car and take a hike along the Piney Branch on a sunny day and you will feel what I know. Please vote to preserve the Piney Branch Urban Wilderness Area! And please, no bikes, as these destroy soft woodland foot trails.

One other thing... the WO&D has cut the Town in half, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk efficiently to downtown Vienna and to many other resources like the Piney Branch area. For instance, the Town should establish proper pedestrian access across the WO&D at Glyndon Street so that residents living southeast of the WO&D can walk Glyndon directly downtown to shop and further north on Glyndon to our town parks, Glyndon Park and Northside Park.