VDOT Bicycle Advisory Committee

[Bruce Dwyer]

FYI
Unfortunately, Alexandria missed the train on supporting this proposal.

August 21, 2001

Mr. Thomas Farley, Administrator
VDOT Northern Virginia District
Avion Lakeside I
14685 Avion Parkway
Chantilly, Virginia 20151-1104

VDOT Northern Virginia District
Bicycle Advisory Committee

Dear Mr. Farley:

The Virginia Bicycling Federation (VBF) is the statewide advocacy
organization for the advancement of safe cycling opportunities within the
Commonwealth.  A key area of concern for VBF members is the quality and
availability of good bicycling routes in Northern Virginia, since a large
portion of the state’s cyclists live and work there.

On the state level, the Virginia Department of Transportation has supported
a Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) for more than a decade.  This BAC meets
periodically around the state with the representatives from all the state’s
major bike clubs and other organizations interested in cycling.  Major VDOT
offices are also represented around the table.  More locally, BACs have
operated for some years in Arlington County and the Historic Triangle area
of Virginia, providing design review of upcoming cycling projects and advice
on the prioritization of future trail and on-road facility improvements.  A
couple of years ago the VDOT Suffolk District established the first
district-level BAC.  By all reports it has been positively received by the
Tidewater cycling community and has contributed to a better understanding of
the facilities needed by Virginia cyclists.

The establishment of Bicycle Advisory Committees in the other VDOT
construction districts is long overdue.  This is particularly true in
Northern Virginia, which has the state’s highest population of commuter
cyclists and hundreds of thousands of residents who bike casually or
regularly on the region’s streets and trails.  Providing these citizens with
safe bicycle accommodations is a pressing need that a BAC can help to meet.

The Federation understands that the establishment of a VDOT Northern
Virginia BAC has been under discussion within your staff for some time.  Now
is the time to act and make this advisory group a reality.  The local
elected officials listed below have all personally endorsed the
establishment of a VDOT Northern Virginia District Bicycle Advisory
Committee.  The experienced cyclists on such a committee can contribute
greatly to your staff’s efforts to enhance safe cycling on the VDOT-managed
roads in our communities.

We urge you to call an early meeting of interested parties from the various
jurisdictions so that the framework for such an advisory committee can be
examined.  I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Robert Swennes, President
6101 N. 22nd Street
Arlington, VA 22205

c: Mr. Jay Fisette, Chairman, Arlington County Board
Mr. Dan Gardner, Mayor, City of Falls Church
Supervisor Cathy M. Hudgins, Hunter Mill District, Fairfax County
Supervisor Penny Gross, Mason District, Fairfax County
Mr. Ken Lantz, Director, VDOT