Tag: Embark Richmond Highway

Take Action: Check out the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

Fairfax County is holding a virtual public meeting on June 30th at 6:30 pm on its Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and wants to hear from you. County staff will share the latest roadway design and next steps for the BRT station design. You can ask questions and offer input during the meeting, or provide feedback via an online survey through July 9th. 

Register for the Meeting

Take the Survey

The proposed BRT line and bicycle and pedestrian improvements will offer cleaner transportation options; improve access to jobs, especially for lower-income workers; and support walkable, transit-oriented communities. But we need to get it right!

Here are CSG recommendations to make the BRT plans safer, more equitable and better for the environment:

  • Design the Overall Corridor for a 35 MPH Speed Limit – Physically designing the roadway for 35 mph by narrowing travel lanes would help reduce speeding, allow for smaller buffers within the right of way, and minimize the crossing distances for pedestrians.
  • Provide Adequate Number of Safe Crossings – Fairfax County must ensure safe at-grade crossing options at intervals that are reasonable for pedestrians.
  • Ensure Affordability BRT – The BRT system will help improve access along the corridor but it must be affordable for those who need it most.
  • Use Clean Fuel Buses – The county should invest in a BRT that runs on electricity or even hydrogen fuel cells instead of fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.
  • Underground the Wires – Placing utilities underground would improve electrical reliability, allow for larger shade trees and improve the aesthetics of the corridor.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more and speak up for a safer, more accessible Richmond Highway. Check out the project website here for more information about the project, review proposed designs, and provide your feedback by July 9th. 

Event: A Virtual Walk & Talk Along Little Hunting Creek

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

If you missed our virtual stream walk with the Audubon Naturalist Society and Fairfax County staff, you can watch the presentation here.

From ANS: On September 10th, 2020, Fairfax County staff Charles Smith & JoAnne Fiebe led us on a virtual walk-and-talk of an area around Mount Vernon Plaza, part of Little Hunting Creek, one of the sites of a proposed “ecological spine“. This concept, introduced in Chapter 3 of the Richmond Highway Urban Design Guidelines, envisions how streams can be made part of the community again. Instead of burying streams and building on top of them, how can redevelopment integrate streams and their riparian buffers into walkable, bikeable areas where people and nature can thrive in urban settings?

Tune in to the webinar to hear about the vision for the Route 1 redevelopment and hear about how redevelopment can be tied to creating healthier streams, and therefore a healthier world for us.

ACTION ALERT: Because this design is unsafe

ACTION ALERT: Because this design is unsafe

Posted on by Ayesha Amsa

Higher speeds and wide roads that prioritize cars over people have led to rising pedestrian crashes and fatalities. Four people have been struck and killed along the Richmond Highway corridor already in 2020, the latest just a couple weeks ago.

Thanks to advocacy by CSG and local partners, VDOT is considering reducing the speed limit but we need your help to make sure it happens. Reducing the speed limit 10 mph increases the chances of surviving a crash by 40%. Would you take a moment to send an email to VDOT and Fairfax County showing support for lowering the speed limit to 35mph and redesigning the road to make it safer for people to walk, bike, and take transit?

Yes! I support a safer Richmond Highway. 

Pedestrian deaths increased by 10% in Virginia from 2018 to 2019 alone, many of them on wide high-speed arterials like Richmond Highway. Smart Growth America’s report Dangerous by Design finds that older adults and people of color are disproportionately represented among pedestrian deaths, primarily because of the high-speed arterials that divide communities like those along Richmond Highway.

VDOT’s own 2018 Pedestrian Safety Action Plan identified Richmond Highway in Fairfax as one of the state’s priority crash corridors and proposed safety improvements. Between 2011-2016, the crash rate along Richmond Highway was 60% higher than the state average. We can’t wait any longer!

Tell VDOT and Fairfax County to:  

  • Lower the speed limit to a safer 35 mph ASAP
  • Provide immediate safety improvements along the corridor
  • Reconsider the widening plans to physically design the road for 35 mph

Physically designing the roadway for 35 mph by narrowing travel lanes would help reduce speeding, allow for smaller buffers within the right of way, and minimize the crossing distances for pedestrians.

And there are other benefits: A 35 mph speed limit potentially eliminates the need for sound walls, further reducing the extent of the widening and getting rid of physical barriers that cut off neighborhoods. Money saved by buying less right-of-way and not building sound walls could go toward the cost of undergrounding unsightly overhead power lines, which also helps make room for bigger shade trees.

Speak up now for safer speeds and better design.

A safer roadway will not only reduce the tragic deaths and serious injuries to residents, it will ensure Fairfax achieves the vibrant, transit-oriented economic development the county and community desire for the corridor.