To this end, Fairfax County has completed a bike map of the entire county. Essentially detailing all of the trails and public roads that cyclists already use. There were public meetings this past winter to obtain input from local cyclists about all of the various routes that they already use, and this data was used to help produce the new map.
The Post did a review of the map earlier this week.
The map features two types of bicycle routes: preferred and not preferred. The point was to identify how to get from point A to point B in ways that are easy, enjoyable and safe, Strunk said. The map plots a route, for example, from the Braddock District to Fairfax City without requiring a ride along busy Little River Turnpike. Similarly, it plots a route from the Vienna-Fairfax Metro station to George Mason University that takes advantage of a paved path connecting Five Oaks Road and Plantation Parkway.
Wright and Strunk emphasized that the map is a beginning for Fairfax for identifying where bike lanes, signs and other facilities are needed."We really have very few," Wright said. "We need to make the 'less preferred' routes 'preferred.' Where there are missing links or dangerous links, we need to concentrate on those first."
The county has begun designing its first major bicycle improvement, a $400,000 project to create a route along Gallows Road from the Washington and Old Dominion Trail south to the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station. The route will include a dedicated bike lane and signs, Strunk said. Eventually, the route will stretch to Springfield, following Annandale and Backlick roads most of the way.
If you wish, you can download pdf of the map directly from the Fairfax County website. You can obtain hardcopy versions free from area bicycle shops or the Fairfax County Government center. The hardcopy is printed on very sturdy waterproof stock (not paper), so it should hold up well.
Note also that all Fairfax County connector buses have bicycle racks on the front of the bus. This provides further options for cases where the distance or lack of safe routes continues to be an obstacle.
My big complaint has been, and probably will continue to be for a long time, the lack of safe biking routes. While this map looks good in terms of routes, it sounds like much of it reflects not just safe trails but also where bikes share the road with cars - which is not particularly safe in my book.
We're heading the right direction, but we've got a long, long way to go.