Fw: Budget for Bikes, Ped, & Trails

[Bruce&Linda Dwyer]

I think that the new Council may be more sympathetic to bikes, peds and trails.  I sent the following letter and urge you to let the Council know your feelings.  They do keep count on the numbers of people that speak up.  Even better, if you are so inclined, is to speak before Council at the public hearing on the budget Monday 12 April  at 4:30pm, Council Chambers. 

Bruce


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Bruce&Linda Dwyer 
To: William D. Euille ; Rob Krupicka ; Redella S. Pepper ; Paul Smedberg ; Ludwig Gaines ; Joyce Woodson ; Andrew MacDonald 
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 11:08 PM
Subject: Budget for Bikes, Ped, & Trails


March 31, 2004

Dear Mayor and City Council:

As former Chair of the Alexandria Bicycle Committee, I urge you consider the following recommendations for bicycle and pedestrians in the 2005 budget: 

  a.. to designate a full time position to plan and coordinate bicycle, pedestrian, and trail projects 
  b.. double the funding for trails and bicycle project from $77,000 annually to $150,000 annually
Alexandria is really a small town within a large urban/suburban area. Most of the city has a wonderful street network well suited for bicycles and pedestrians. The city needs to improve the safety of the streets for bicycles and pedestrians and to provide paths where people are safe from road traffic where it is bad. This will encourage our citizens to get out of their cars to walk and bike more in getting around town.

The City Council adopted a Bicycle Transportation and Multi-use Trail Plan in 1998. The plan identified suitable bike routes in the city as well as projects for trails and safety. The plan also called for a bicycle coordinator/planner. It is now six years later and very little has been done to implement the plan.

With a population of 128,283 in an area of 15.41 square miles, we are the tenth most densely populated city (8,452 people per square miles) in the country with a significantly growing residential and workday population that is bringing about unwarranted levels of vehicular congestion. On the positive side we have four metro stations, a good internal bus line, and lots of neighborhoods with a mix of residential and commercial/retail all within a relative small area. These conditions make Alexandria an ideal location for bicycling and walking to be effective modes of transportation. However, the city development and transportation planning decisions have been slow to recognize the virtues of bicycling and walking. Further, while many Alexandrians live here because of its convenience, we are like most of America in our overdependence on cars; for example, there are more registered vehicles than licensed drivers in the city.

A comparison with Arlington that has successfully embraced bicycling and walking in meeting its transportation challenges is useful:

  a.. Arlington has had a bicycle/pedestrian planner for over 15 years and recently hired a pedestrian professional to augment this capability. 
  b.. Arlington aggressively encourages bicycling and pedestrian transportation with substantial investments, for example, by spending more in one year on trails than Alexandria has spent in 10 years, by investing in excess of $ 500,000 annually in Safe Routes to School, by adding over 25 miles of well marked bike lanes compared to Alexandria's 1.5 miles of faded bike lane, and more. 
You may ask what a bicycle/pedestrian would do to move this agenda forward. Listed below are duties summarized from other jurisdictions.

I believe that the city must do more if it is to become bicycle and pedestrian and hope that you agree with my assessment.

Thank you for you consideration.

Sincerely,

Bruce Dwyer

604 Melrose Street

Alexandria, VA 22302

Possible list of duties for a bicycle, pedestrian, trails planner/coordinator:

  a.. Coordinates the development of multi-use trails and bicycle routes 
  a.. Develops and manages bikeways and pedestrian projects
  a.. Develops traffic calming plans for streets and neighborhoods
  a.. Reviews technical, regulatory and legal materials concerning development and implementation of the multi-use trails and bicycle routes
  a.. Coordinates with neighboring jurisdictions and Federal government officials on regional transportation projects and participates on a regional bikeways planning subcommittee
  a.. Prepares position papers, grant applications and operational proposals, letters, and reports based on technical analysis of proposed trails and bikeways, and on needs and requirements for other departments
  a.. Develops annual budget requests for inclusion in the Capital Improvement Program and accounts for project expenditures
  a.. Assesses project status, analyzes performance and progress as measured against program objectives, and ensures successful completion and adherence to contract terms
  a.. Prepares periodic status reports and briefing papers related to trail and bikeway implementation
  a.. Makes presentations to elected officials and their advisory groups and to agencies and citizen organizations
  a.. Staffs citizen bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees
  a.. Develops materials and strategies specifically geared towards the public and interest groups to solicit their participation and support in trail and bikeway development and implementation. Considerations may include traffic right-of-way, street and bridge design, and construction engineering 
  a.. Develops maps and other resources for promotion of bicycling and walking
  a.. Tracks pedestrian and bicyclist crashes
  a.. Identifies measures to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety
  a.. Assists in strategies to manage transportation demand
  a.. Develops and updating of Master Plan elements