Kudos for Biking in Alexandria

[Bruce Dwyer]

At the annual meeting of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) ,
Executive Director
"Ellen Jones presented the Hewitt Kenyon Award to Bruce Dwyer of
Alexandria, VA. The Kenyon Award was established by WABA in
1998 to honor the memory of Hewitt Kenyon and his service in
maintaining the Rock Creek Trail for safe cycling. Dwyer’s selection
for the award was based on his years of commitment to
improving conditions for cyclists in Alexandria."

I would like to thank the Bike Committee members and the Alexandria city
staff for all that they have done to promote bicycling in Alexandria.  I
look forward to all of us continuing to work together making Alexandria a
bicycling and walking friendly city.  The following article appeared in the
January/February issue of the WABA newsletter Ride-On, which can be
downloaded from the WABA website: www.waba.org

"Alexandria Bolsters Support for Bicyclists
By Bruce Dwyer

The Alexandria Bicycle Committee got a boost this fall when the city
assigned a staff engineer from the transportation department to serve as a
liaison to the committee. Increasingly, the city has taken steps to
incorporate
bicycles in transportation planning.
On a warm sunny Saturday in late September, four city staff joined
eight bike committee members for a bike tour of bicycle and pedestrian
facilities throughout the city. The tour visited projects proposed in the
city’s Bicycle Master Plan, as well as existing bike facilities that work
and
problem areas in need of maintenance. The tour lasted five hours and
covered 25 miles with ample time spent examining and discussing the
projects. Within a month of the tour, the city went to work:
- Bicycle accommodations were included in the design for the VDOT
improvements to Van Dorn St.
- Traffic light activation devices were installed at 10 intersections to be
sensitive to bicycles.
- Several tons of rock were removed that had washed over the Holmes
Run path that runs underneath I-395 and a sinkhole was fixed.
- “On Sidewalk” signs were removed from the Braddock Rd bikeroute.
- Initial cost estimates were developed for 4 projects in the bike plan.
The city took additional bike-friendly actions earlier in the year:
- Increased its bicycle facility budget to $75,000 per year.
- Applied for TEA-21 funds for the Eisenhower Valley path.
- Sponsored Alexandria’s second annual Bike-To-Work Day.
- Built a path between Holland Lane and West St that will open
when bridge restoration work is completed soon.
The Alexandria Bicycle Committee was established in 1992 for the purpose
of developing a master bike plan for the city. City Council adopted
the Bicycle Transportation and Multi-use Trail Master Plan into the
City’s Master Transportation Plan in June 1998 and the committee
remains active in supporting bicycle (and pedestrian) activities in many
ways in addition to the above.
If you are interested in promoting bicycling in Alexandria, contact the Bike
Committee Chair, Bruce Dwyer at 703-549-3263 or ouibike at worldnet.att.net.
Committee meetings will be on the third Tuesday of every month at 7:30 pm at
the Lee Center, 1108 Jefferson St."
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