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February 09, 2010
Snow Removal on Lawyers Road & Maple Avenue: Grade F Comments (9)
January 28, 2010
Sidewalks already exist on one side of Courthouse ... Comments (7)
... 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.”
November 18, 2009
If FCPS Wants More Walkers, Build Sidewalks for Vienna! Comments (1)
Students may face an uphill climb
To help cut busing costs, Fairfax officials suggest getting more kids to walk to school
By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Almost everyone has a grandparent who claims to have walked two miles to school every morning. Uphill. In the snow. Etc.
In Fairfax County, it could soon be your 12-year-old trudging to school.
Hard times have a way of making old ideas seem new. With nothing but grim budgets ahead, some members of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors want the county's schools to save money on buses by encouraging more kids to walk to school, perhaps by moving back the boundaries for bus-riding eligibility.
It's an idea that has received more attention nationwide in recent years as a way to fight child obesity, reduce air pollution and ease traffic. It became especially popular when diesel fuel prices climbed to $4 a gallon a year ago, and it's popular now as governments struggle through the worst recession in generations.
The cost of putting a school bus on the street is approximately equal to keeping a teacher on staff, said Linda P. Farbry, director of transportation for Fairfax public schools.
It also doesn't hurt that the campaign -- especially the "Walking School Bus" that encourages parents to coordinate neighborhood routes, wear safety vests and share escort duty -- fits with the baby boomer habit of reviving childhood practices. An oft-quoted study found that in 1969, 41 percent of students walked or bicycled to school. By 2001, that figure had dropped to 13 percent.
Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee) has his own childhood memories.
"The schools do nothing to teach the benefits of walking and biking to school," McKay said. "Somehow we got away from that, because when I went through the schools, they had presentations by police and others talking about the importance of walking and biking to school."
McKay's suggestion that more kids walk also reflects the growing financial tensions between the School Board, which sets school policies and answers mostly to parents, and the Board of Supervisors, which controls school funding and answers mostly to taxpayers. McKay said that one of the biggest complaints he hears from constituents is about the number of half-full school buses they see.
But there are also plenty of reasons why bucking a 40-year trend of transporting kids to school is not going to be easy. Fairfax, which occupies 400 square miles, was built around the automobile.
Noreen C. McDonald, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill who studies children's transportation habits, said that walking has declined as distances to schools have increased, the percentage of working mothers has doubled and attitudes about safety have changed.
"People have some very strong fears about leaving their children unsupervised," McDonald said.
Susan Mosios, 47, a substitute teacher and jewelry designer who lives in Lorton, said she allows her 9-year-old son, Jacob, to walk to school, but only so far. "I'd like it to be like the old days, when people could walk. But I worry about the people who could take the child," she said outside Laurel Hill Elementary School.
Fairfax transportation officials said they understand the concern. "We're already having difficulty with parents who live inside these boundaries, saying it's already too far for a kindergartner to walk a mile," Farbry said. "And we don't dispute that."
By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Almost everyone has a grandparent who claims to have walked two miles to school every morning. Uphill. In the snow. Etc.
In Fairfax County, it could soon be your 12-year-old trudging to school.
Hard times have a way of making old ideas seem new. With nothing but grim budgets ahead, some members of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors want the county's schools to save money on buses by encouraging more kids to walk to school, perhaps by moving back the boundaries for bus-riding eligibility.
It's an idea that has received more attention nationwide in recent years as a way to fight child obesity, reduce air pollution and ease traffic. It became especially popular when diesel fuel prices climbed to $4 a gallon a year ago, and it's popular now as governments struggle through the worst recession in generations.
The cost of putting a school bus on the street is approximately equal to keeping a teacher on staff, said Linda P. Farbry, director of transportation for Fairfax public schools.
It also doesn't hurt that the campaign -- especially the "Walking School Bus" that encourages parents to coordinate neighborhood routes, wear safety vests and share escort duty -- fits with the baby boomer habit of reviving childhood practices. An oft-quoted study found that in 1969, 41 percent of students walked or bicycled to school. By 2001, that figure had dropped to 13 percent.
Supervisor Jeff C. McKay (D-Lee) has his own childhood memories.
"The schools do nothing to teach the benefits of walking and biking to school," McKay said. "Somehow we got away from that, because when I went through the schools, they had presentations by police and others talking about the importance of walking and biking to school."
McKay's suggestion that more kids walk also reflects the growing financial tensions between the School Board, which sets school policies and answers mostly to parents, and the Board of Supervisors, which controls school funding and answers mostly to taxpayers. McKay said that one of the biggest complaints he hears from constituents is about the number of half-full school buses they see.
But there are also plenty of reasons why bucking a 40-year trend of transporting kids to school is not going to be easy. Fairfax, which occupies 400 square miles, was built around the automobile.
Noreen C. McDonald, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill who studies children's transportation habits, said that walking has declined as distances to schools have increased, the percentage of working mothers has doubled and attitudes about safety have changed.
"People have some very strong fears about leaving their children unsupervised," McDonald said.
Susan Mosios, 47, a substitute teacher and jewelry designer who lives in Lorton, said she allows her 9-year-old son, Jacob, to walk to school, but only so far. "I'd like it to be like the old days, when people could walk. But I worry about the people who could take the child," she said outside Laurel Hill Elementary School.
Fairfax transportation officials said they understand the concern. "We're already having difficulty with parents who live inside these boundaries, saying it's already too far for a kindergartner to walk a mile," Farbry said. "And we don't dispute that."
Continue reading "If FCPS Wants More Walkers, Build Sidewalks for Vienna!" »
November 04, 2009
Psst! We know where you can put some sidewalks ... Comments (4)
Vienna Council Defers Controversial Sidewalk Plan
by Brian Trompeter
November 4, 2009
After hearing protests from several residents, the Vienna Town Council on Nov. 2 deferred plans to build a sidewalk along the south side of Courthouse Road, S.W., between Ware and Nutley streets.
Neighboring residents expressed concerns about privacy, crime, inconvenience and vehicle speeds on the road, and also questioned the project’s necessity, given that there already is a sidewalk across the street.
“What makes this a priority project, when other streets in town have no sidewalks?” said Nancy Jordan, whose property on Stephen Circle, S.W., would be affected by the construction.
Rohit Saran, another resident of Stephen Circle, said he worried that bicyclists and skateboarders using the new sidewalk might injure themselves on his fence, and sue him.
Mike Harris, who lives at 501 Ware St., S.W., said he was unhappy at the prospect of moving his 70-foot long hedge again, after a battle with town officials 12 years ago.
“I didn’t plan for someone to come in and dig it all up,” he said.
The proposed 5-foot-wide sidewalk is listed in the second-priority group of the Sidewalk Task Force’s suggested project. Town officials wanted to move ahead with the project because Courthouse Road serves as an access route to Meadow Lane Park, commercial areas and the Vienna/Fairfax GMU Metrorail station.
Pedestrians find it easier to walk on grass on the south side of the street rather than cross the road to use a 4-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side, town officials said.
The site now has a worn pedestrian path, five mature trees and overhead utility lines.
Vienna work crews had planned to wind the new sidewalk around one of the existing trees, but remove the rest because they had been mangled by repeated utility-company trimming, said Dennis Johnson, an engineer with the Vienna Public Works Department.
Twenty-five new trees would be planted along the street as part of the project, Johnson said.
The project would be built mostly in the road’s right-of-way and affect only the back yards of most properties it touches, he said.
Town officials offered to build temporary fences so residents with children or dogs could let them play in their yards during construction.
The council voted unanimously to defer action on the proposed sidewalk until town officials could study why the project received such high priority and examine other sidewalk projects that might be built instead.
“The citizens make a pretty compelling argument,” said Council member Michael Polychrones. “This money could probably be spent on other projects around town.”
But Vienna Mayor M. Jane Seeman said the Courthouse Road sidewalk is a worthwhile idea.
“If this project goes forward, I think people will be more pleased with the outcome than [they] are imagining it,” she said.
After hearing protests from several residents, the Vienna Town Council on Nov. 2 deferred plans to build a sidewalk along the south side of Courthouse Road, S.W., between Ware and Nutley streets.
Neighboring residents expressed concerns about privacy, crime, inconvenience and vehicle speeds on the road, and also questioned the project’s necessity, given that there already is a sidewalk across the street.
“What makes this a priority project, when other streets in town have no sidewalks?” said Nancy Jordan, whose property on Stephen Circle, S.W., would be affected by the construction.
Rohit Saran, another resident of Stephen Circle, said he worried that bicyclists and skateboarders using the new sidewalk might injure themselves on his fence, and sue him.
Mike Harris, who lives at 501 Ware St., S.W., said he was unhappy at the prospect of moving his 70-foot long hedge again, after a battle with town officials 12 years ago.
“I didn’t plan for someone to come in and dig it all up,” he said.
The proposed 5-foot-wide sidewalk is listed in the second-priority group of the Sidewalk Task Force’s suggested project. Town officials wanted to move ahead with the project because Courthouse Road serves as an access route to Meadow Lane Park, commercial areas and the Vienna/Fairfax GMU Metrorail station.
Pedestrians find it easier to walk on grass on the south side of the street rather than cross the road to use a 4-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side, town officials said.
The site now has a worn pedestrian path, five mature trees and overhead utility lines.
Vienna work crews had planned to wind the new sidewalk around one of the existing trees, but remove the rest because they had been mangled by repeated utility-company trimming, said Dennis Johnson, an engineer with the Vienna Public Works Department.
Twenty-five new trees would be planted along the street as part of the project, Johnson said.
The project would be built mostly in the road’s right-of-way and affect only the back yards of most properties it touches, he said.
Town officials offered to build temporary fences so residents with children or dogs could let them play in their yards during construction.
The council voted unanimously to defer action on the proposed sidewalk until town officials could study why the project received such high priority and examine other sidewalk projects that might be built instead.
“The citizens make a pretty compelling argument,” said Council member Michael Polychrones. “This money could probably be spent on other projects around town.”
But Vienna Mayor M. Jane Seeman said the Courthouse Road sidewalk is a worthwhile idea.
“If this project goes forward, I think people will be more pleased with the outcome than [they] are imagining it,” she said.
October 14, 2009
Sidewalk Reconstruction in NW Comments (0)
No new sidewalk just a $130,000 repair for one block? When do new sidewalks begin in NW?
September 11, 2009
Sidewalk Petition Help ... Comments (2)
A special prize will go to anyone who can scan and send HV a copy of the petition circulated last year trying to stop the sidewalks on Windover Avenue NW. We'd like everyone to see who signed against sidewalks.
September 10, 2009
JOAN LILLIS, MARTY HAVERKEMP, and DAVID MEDWEDEFF do not want Sidewalks on Windover Avenue. Comments (11)
Yes, this is old news but it's still very much a vital concern to MANY people.
NW Vienna residents learned this week when school started that Fairfax County, in an effort to save gas due to budget cuts, got rid of bus stops in neighborhoods. Children are now walkers from even further distances or have to walk to bus stops along routes with no sidewalks.
NONE OF THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF SIDEWALKS WERE ALL OVER VIENNA.
Once again, the priority sidewalk list:
PROPOSED SIDEWALKS – PRIORITY GROUP 1
• McHenry Street, S.E., from Park to Fardale Streets (This project has been completed.)
• Windover Avenue, N.W., from Lawyers Road to Nutley Street
• Plum Street, S.W., from Cottage Street to Harmony Drive
• Park Street, N.E., from Church Street to Hilltop Road
• Moore Avenue, S.E., from Park Street to Ninovan Road
• Lewis Street, N.W., from Orchard Street to Windover Avenue
• Orchard Street, N.W., from Lewis Street to Windover Avenue
• Harmony Drive, S.W., from Cottage Street to the swim club
• Lawyers Road, N.W., from Blair Court to Abbottsford Drive
• West Street, N.W., from Lewis Street to Windover Avenue
• Dogwood Street, S.W., from Cottage to Center Streets
• East Street, S.E., from Maple Avenue to Echols Street
• East Street, N.E., from Maple Avenue to Church Street
• Talahi Road, S.E., from Park Street to Ninovan Road
• Nutley Street, N.W., from Maple Avenue to Knoll Street
September 02, 2009
Windover Avenue Death Wait Comments (15)
The Vienna Town Government knows Windover Avenue is a child death waiting to happen. Every study says it is the number one sidewalk issue in Vienna. However, since people like Paul Layer, Maud Robinson, Laine Hyde and Jane Seeman want the dead cedar trees along Windover Avenue saved, we get no sidewalks. What will the reaction be when the first child is run down? A tragic accident or something that could have been prevented?
August 20, 2009
Bikers: 1. Town of Vienna: 0. Comments (1)
Vienna Council Holds Back on New Bicycle Ordinance
by Brian Trompeter
August 19, 2009
The Vienna Town Council on Aug. 17 deferred action on a new bicycle ordinance after cycling advocates said the rules would assign less responsibility to drivers and potentially discourage riders from using sidewalks when traffic conditions are dangerous.
Several bicyclists who spoke at the public hearing said they had been struck by vehicles in the town. One of them, Vienna resident Hunter McCleary, opposed the ordinance.
“Anything that reduces the attentiveness of drivers is not a good thing,” McCleary said.
The council voted unanimously to send the proposed ordinance back to the Vienna Transportation Safety Commission, which soon will form a Bicycle Advisory Committee.
Unlike some jurisdictions, Vienna allows children 11 and under to bicycle on sidewalks at any time and permits adults and children 12 and older to ride on sidewalks if road conditions are too hazardous.
One version of the proposed ordinance would have required bicyclists riding on sidewalks and bike paths to stop at all intersections, crosswalks and street crossings. An alternate version would have required those riders to yield or obey posted signs at those areas.
The proposed ordinance also would have allowed riders accompanying children ages 11 and younger to bicycle on sidewalks at any time.
Bruce Wright, a Reston resident representing Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, said the new ordinance would unfairly single out bicyclists and not apply to runners and in-line skaters, who use the same sidewalks and paths.
“Riding on the road is really safest, but it takes educated cyclists,” Wright said. “It will be easier to blame cyclists if they're required to stop or yield.”
Vienna police this fall will roll out their Eye-to-Eye program, which will encourage bicyclists and pedestrians to make eye contact with motorists crossing each other's paths.
Town police since January 2006 have recorded 27 accidents, including one fatality, involving bicyclists who were struck by vehicles, said Vienna Police Chief Robert Carlisle.
Bicyclists who spoke at the public hearing encouraged town officials to improve safety by cutting back brush along Vienna's roadways, clearing slush and snow from sidewalks after snowplows pass by and installing bicycle lanes on Nutley Street and Tapawingo and Courthouse roads.
Council member Laurie Cole commended residents for turning out in such large numbers at the hearing and recommended they support state Sen. Patsy Ticer's (D-30th) pedestrian-safety bill, which keeps getting killed in the General Assembly.
“Please channel this energy also in the direction of Richmond,” Cole said.
by Brian Trompeter
August 19, 2009
The Vienna Town Council on Aug. 17 deferred action on a new bicycle ordinance after cycling advocates said the rules would assign less responsibility to drivers and potentially discourage riders from using sidewalks when traffic conditions are dangerous.
Several bicyclists who spoke at the public hearing said they had been struck by vehicles in the town. One of them, Vienna resident Hunter McCleary, opposed the ordinance.
“Anything that reduces the attentiveness of drivers is not a good thing,” McCleary said.
The council voted unanimously to send the proposed ordinance back to the Vienna Transportation Safety Commission, which soon will form a Bicycle Advisory Committee.
Unlike some jurisdictions, Vienna allows children 11 and under to bicycle on sidewalks at any time and permits adults and children 12 and older to ride on sidewalks if road conditions are too hazardous.
One version of the proposed ordinance would have required bicyclists riding on sidewalks and bike paths to stop at all intersections, crosswalks and street crossings. An alternate version would have required those riders to yield or obey posted signs at those areas.
The proposed ordinance also would have allowed riders accompanying children ages 11 and younger to bicycle on sidewalks at any time.
Bruce Wright, a Reston resident representing Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, said the new ordinance would unfairly single out bicyclists and not apply to runners and in-line skaters, who use the same sidewalks and paths.
“Riding on the road is really safest, but it takes educated cyclists,” Wright said. “It will be easier to blame cyclists if they're required to stop or yield.”
Vienna police this fall will roll out their Eye-to-Eye program, which will encourage bicyclists and pedestrians to make eye contact with motorists crossing each other's paths.
Town police since January 2006 have recorded 27 accidents, including one fatality, involving bicyclists who were struck by vehicles, said Vienna Police Chief Robert Carlisle.
Bicyclists who spoke at the public hearing encouraged town officials to improve safety by cutting back brush along Vienna's roadways, clearing slush and snow from sidewalks after snowplows pass by and installing bicycle lanes on Nutley Street and Tapawingo and Courthouse roads.
Council member Laurie Cole commended residents for turning out in such large numbers at the hearing and recommended they support state Sen. Patsy Ticer's (D-30th) pedestrian-safety bill, which keeps getting killed in the General Assembly.
“Please channel this energy also in the direction of Richmond,” Cole said.
July 27, 2009
Tour de Maple Avenue Coming to an End? Comments (6)
Vienna Council to Tackle Amendments to Bicycle Rules
July 26, 2009, Sun Gazette
At its Aug. 17 meeting, the Vienna Town Council will hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Vienna Bikeway Plan, a portion of the Town Code, concerning bicycle riding on sidewalks.
The meeting will begin at 8 p.m. at Town Hall.
Unlike some local jurisdictions, the Town of Vienna permits children under 11 years of age to ride a bicycle on a sidewalk at any time, and bicyclists of all ages can ride on the sidewalk when it is hazardous to ride in the roadway.
With the overall increase in traffic in Northern Virginia, pedestrians are having to share the sidewalks with more and more bicyclists, town officials said.
“Bicyclists sometimes seem to forget that while riding on a sidewalk, they must follow the duties and obligations of a pedestrian when crossing a roadway or at a crosswalk,” town officials said in a statement. “The proposed bikeway plan amendments clarify the legal duties and obligations of bicyclists riding on sidewalks and bike paths.”
July 16, 2009
The Sidewalk Debate Continues... Comments (10)
From vienna kid:
well you people are all pretty stupid. i walk in the middle of the streets all the time and i have been hit by cars 0 times. killing all the trees in vienna (quote from viennamommy: Icannot think of one tree I value more than a human life. And, that goes for the Cedars along Windover Avenue or the Black Walnuts along Lewis Street. Take 'em all down and put in sidewalks and storm water management.) We can't do that, because all of you idiots drive big gas guzzling SUVs and that would kill the earth. Have a little respect for the earth, cuz if we cut down all the trees, there isn't going to be any more oxygen and we wont be able to live. I would be willing to bet that viennamommy is one of those idiots that supports cutting down all trees in sight. And about all of your arguments about sidewalks, I think I would know more about the effects of them more than any of you, considering I'm 14 and had to walk to my bus stop at 6:30 in the morning, every morning. Honestly, sidewalks don't help a bit when you have to cross lawyers and none of you horrible drivers will stop at a stop sign even long enough to actually stop. When kids in school who are running around are told to stop, they stop. They don't simply stop running and jog or walk, and if they don't stop, they are punished. All you people need to realize that sidewalks don't save lives, better drivers do.
September 30, 2008
Sidewalk Hearing Update. Comments (11)
Vienna Residents Split on Need for More Sidewalks
by BRIAN TROMPETER, Staff Writer
(Created: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 7:42 AM EDT)
Sidewalks are great, in theory, but the proverbial shoe leather meets the concrete when it comes time to build them in one's own neighborhood.
The Vienna Sidewalk Task Force on Sept. 22 presented the Vienna Town Council with a prioritized list of 50 projects designed to improve pedestrian access and safety.
Town officials estimated the bill for all the projects would be just over $16 million. Sidewalks would cost about $185 per linear foot - up 50 percent since the task force reported to the Town Council in March 2007.
The sidewalks would cost $340 per linear foot if curb and gutter were included and a whopping $738 per foot if drainage and street improvements are added to all of the above, town officials said.
Several residents who attended the meeting said sidewalks and other improvements were not appropriate for their neighborhoods.
Most of the opposition arose from residents on Windover and Moore avenues.
by BRIAN TROMPETER, Staff Writer
(Created: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 7:42 AM EDT)
Sidewalks are great, in theory, but the proverbial shoe leather meets the concrete when it comes time to build them in one's own neighborhood.
The Vienna Sidewalk Task Force on Sept. 22 presented the Vienna Town Council with a prioritized list of 50 projects designed to improve pedestrian access and safety.
Town officials estimated the bill for all the projects would be just over $16 million. Sidewalks would cost about $185 per linear foot - up 50 percent since the task force reported to the Town Council in March 2007.
The sidewalks would cost $340 per linear foot if curb and gutter were included and a whopping $738 per foot if drainage and street improvements are added to all of the above, town officials said.
Several residents who attended the meeting said sidewalks and other improvements were not appropriate for their neighborhoods.
Most of the opposition arose from residents on Windover and Moore avenues.
September 01, 2008
The Big False Hope: Sidewalk Priority Hearing Comments (1)
This sham will take place in September. HistoricVienna.com highly doubts NW Vienna will ever get decent sidewalks:
At its September 22 meeting, the Town Council will hold a public hearing on a pro-posed list of sidewalk construction priorities. The meeting will begin at 8 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Town Hall, and all interested citizens are encouraged to attend.
In 2006 the Vienna Sidewalk Committee, composed of representatives from the Town’s Planning and Transportation Safety Commissions, conducted a survey to get citi-zen input on the need for additional pedestrian facilities. Based on the responses to that survey, the committee prioritized projects into four groups to recommend to the Town Council, giving top priority to areas without any sidewalks followed by areas with side-walks already on one side of the street. Other criteria included providing walking routes to schools, bus stops and shopping, and infill where sidewalks are not continuous.
The proposed sidewalks in Priority Group 1 are listed below. For a complete list of all four priority groups, go to www.viennava.gov or call the Public Works Department at 703-255-6381.
PROPOSED SIDEWALKS – PRIORITY GROUP 1
• McHenry Street, S.E., from Park to Fardale Streets (This project has been completed.)
• Windover Avenue, N.W., from Lawyers Road to Nutley Street
• Plum Street, S.W., from Cottage Street to Harmony Drive
• Park Street, N.E., from Church Street to Hilltop Road
• Moore Avenue, S.E., from Park Street to Ninovan Road
• Lewis Street, N.W., from Orchard Street to Windover Avenue
• Orchard Street, N.W., from Lewis Street to Windover Avenue
• Harmony Drive, S.W., from Cottage Street to the swim club
• Lawyers Road, N.W., from Blair Court to Abbottsford Drive
• West Street, N.W., from Lewis Street to Windover Avenue
• Dogwood Street, S.W., from Cottage to Center Streets
• East Street, S.E., from Maple Avenue to Echols Street
• East Street, N.E., from Maple Avenue to Church Street
• Talahi Road, S.E., from Park Street to Ninovan Road
• Nutley Street, N.W., from Maple Avenue to Knoll Street
June 23, 2008
Again, It All Comes Back to Sidewalks. Comments (2)
School budgets are not looking good but factor in the rising cost of fuel, some local districts (like Montgomery County) are going to, gasp, ask kids to walk to school from even further distances away.
Is Fairfax County going to announce the same thing? Quite frankly, nearly every single child in the Town of Vienna could/should walk to school. Problem is that if you live in many areas of Vienna, you cannot even walk to school three blocks away because there are ZERO sidewalks (NW and NE Vienna springs to mind).
From the Washington Post:
Fuel Costs May Force Some Kids To Walk Montgomery Weighs Altering School Bus RulesBy Daniel de Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 23, 2008; A01Here's how rising fuel prices affect an organization with a fleet of 1,273 school buses: The Montgomery County school board today will consider giving Superintendent Jerry D. Weast emergency powers to make students walk farther to school, if need be, in the coming academic year.
The school system's diesel costs have more than doubled in four years, from $3.6 million in fiscal 2005 to a projected $7.9 million for fiscal 2009, which begins next month. It's a hardship shared by the Fairfax County school system, with more than 1,500 buses; the Prince George's County system, with 1,285 buses; and other area systems that transport tens of thousands of students daily and are paying more for fuel than the average parent at an Exxon pump on Rockville Pike.
"The last purchase we made was $4.40 a gallon," said John Matthews, Montgomery schools transportation director. A one-penny rise in price costs the school system $33,000 a year.
June 20, 2008
Vienna Politicians are Big Fat Liars, Case Study No. 2,456: Sidewalks Comments (8)
In March 2007, the below list was published by the Town stating their "sidewalk priorities." One year later, priority number one was completed - the smallest strip of walkway. Has any other piece of sidewalk been built?
The price of gas is $4 and rising. Getting out of our cars and walking to Town is no longer just a whimsical thought - it is a necessity. Town residents must DEMAND safe and plentiful sidewalks in our town. These fifteen priority spots are just some blatant missing pieces in the bizarro Vienna sidewalk puzzle. Everywhere you look, sidewalks disappear so you forced to hop back and forth on streets. We all know this is hard enough for an able body person but what if you have a stroller, a disability, etc.? The Town must stand up and do their jobs.
Do not set priorities if you never, ever have an intention of fulfilling them. Was the list just a feel good measure and the act of creating it was actually an end unto itself?
* A 150-foot-long section of McHenry Street, S.E., between Park and Fardale streets.
* A 2,805-foot area along Windover Ave., N.W., between Lawyers Road and Nutley Street.
* A 1,660-foot section of Plum Street, S.W., between Cottage Street and Harmony Drive.
* A 1,025-foot area along Park Street, N.E., between Church Street and Hilltop Road.
* A 640-foot stretch of Moore Avenue, S.E., between Park Street and Ninovan Road.
* A 1,024-foot section of Lewis Street, N.W., between Orchard Street and Windover Avenue.
* A 625-foot area along Orchard Street, N.W., between Lewis Street and Windover Avenue.
* An 810-foot section of Harmony Drive, S.W., between Cottage Street and the neighborhood's pool and park.
* A 505-foot area along Lawyers Road, N.W., between Blair Court and Abbottsford Road.
* A 750-foot section of West Street, N.W., between Lewis Street and Windover Avenue.
* A 715-foot stretch along Dogwood Street, S.W., between Cottage and Center streets.
* A 1,600-foot area along East Street, S.E., between Maple Avenue and Echols Street.
* A 160-foot stretch of East Street, N.E., between Maple Avenue and Church Street.
* A 300-foot section along Talahi Road, S.E., between Park Street and Ninovan Road.
* A 510-foot area along Nutley Street, N.W., between Maple Avenue and Knoll Street.
