Sidewalks already exist on one side of Courthouse ...

... but major roads in NW still are waiting (Lewis, Windover, West) for any:

Vienna Council OKs Controversial Courthouse Road Sidewalk Project

by Brian Trompeter
January 26, 2010

When Vienna officials last November proposed adding a sidewalk along Courthouse Road between Ware and Nutley streets, S.W., they received enough flak from nearby residents to reconsider the idea.

But when the matter came up again at a Jan. 25 public hearing, the Vienna Town Council sided with the majority of residents who testified, and voted 5-2 in favor of the sidewalk.

Council members who supported the project said the sidewalk’s benefits outweighed neighbors’ objections.

“You can’t make everybody happy,” said Mayor M. Jane Seeman. “I see this as for the good of the whole town.”

The sidewalk will be 4 feet wide, instead of 5 feet as town officials originally proposed, and built by Arthur Construction of Dulles. The project will cost up to $60,000, which will come from the town’s capital-improvement fund.

Opponents said the street’s pedestrian safety could be improved with crosswalks, better lighting and stepped up traffic enforcement by town police.

“If the town slows vehicle speeds down, the pedestrian problem will solve itself,” said Mike Harris of 501 Ware St., S.W.

Many of the sidewalk’s opponents live on Stephens Court, S.W. The rear portions of their properties face Courthouse Road, and some of the parcels are protected by privacy fences.

Some who objected to the sidewalk said they feared a loss of privacy in their homes, but proponents countered that pedestrians already walk on the grass on the south side of Courthouse Road.

“Let’s give them a safe place to walk,” said Council member Laurie Cole, adding, “We all have some burden from part of the town on us. We have to look at the big picture for all the residents.”

Courthouse Road is a major route for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists traveling between Meadow Lane Park and the Maple Avenue commercial area, James Madison High School, Nottoway Park and the Vienna Metro station.

When the council deferred the proposal on Nov. 2, members wanted to know why the Vienna Sidewalk Task Force placed the Courthouse Road project on its top-priority list. There is a 4-foot-wide sidewalk on the other side of the road, and many streets in town do not have sidewalks on either side, several officials noted.

That was the concern expressed by Town Council member George Lovelace, who opposed the project along with council member Michael Polychrones.

“This is one principle that we should uphold: that every neighborhood have a sidewalk on at least one side of the street,” Lovelace said.

Polychrones said he usually sides with the views of residents living closest to proposed projects, and wanted to be consistent. He was a little surprised at who joined him in voting nay.

“Madam Mayor, we should check the temperature outside,” Polychrones said. “Hell has frozen over. On a controversial issue in this town, Councilman Lovelace and I agree with each other.”