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Fairfax County residents have until 4:30 p.m. March 31 to weigh in on dozens of proposed bicycle and pedestrian projects as officials face pressure to accelerate a long-delayed $100 million infrastructure initiative.
Virtual meetings will be held at noon Wednesday and 7 p.m. Thursday to present the proposals and gather public feedback.
The projects range from new crosswalks and bicycle lanes to roadway medians and other pedestrian safety upgrades. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation developed the preliminary list using community requests and unfunded recommendations from previous traffic studies.
County staff ranked the proposals based on anticipated safety and access benefits, proximity to schools and parks, importance within the regional transportation network and other factors.
The Board of Supervisors set a goal in fall 2021 of investing $100 million in infrastructure for bicyclists, pedestrians and other non-motorized travelers by 2027. It committed an initial $5 million in 2022.
Progress has fallen well behind that target. As of last September, the county had spent only $12 million of the $82.1 million officials had approved for infrastructure projects.
“How completely unacceptable — it has to change,” Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said during a Sept. 16 budget discussion.
Bierman, whose district has 15 projects on the new preliminary list, sharply criticized the pace of the work.
“I’ve had it up to here,” he said. “Everyone who works on those projects needs to understand.”
Board Chairman Jeff McKay shared that frustration and asked “why it takes so long.”
“The frustration is clear here,” McKay said as he urged county staff to “speed up the pipeline” of projects.
The highest-ranked proposal in the current round would create a pedestrian refuge at Burke Lake Road and Signal Hill Drive in the Braddock District. The project would also upgrade curb ramps and install lighting designed for pedestrians.
Other high-ranking proposals include roughly 4,000 feet of bicycle lanes along Coppermine Road between Centreville Road and Sunrise Valley Drive in McNair, as well as improvements to a trail crossing on the south side of Little River Turnpike at the Interstate 495 North exit ramp in Wakefield.
The complete project list and public survey are available through the county transportation department’s website.