Bike Lanes, New Street Grids: Richmond Highway Transportation Projects To Be Proposed

HYBLA VALLEY, VA — Plans for enhancing the Richmond Highway corridor into a more multimodal area with new development are moving forward.

Fairfax County staff are planning to present a funding plan with recommended transportation projects for the Richmond Highway corridor at community meetings on May 24 and 25. The recommended projects resulted from the Embark Richmond Highway comprehensive plan amendment the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved in 2018 with a vision for a multimodal corridor centered around mixed-use development and Bus Rapid Transit. As part of the approval, supervisors directed county staff to create a funding plan for recommended transportation improvements.

The recommendations include community business center sidewalk projects, grid of streets projects and various pedestrian and bicyclist improvement projects.

The proposed community business center sidewalk projects would construct sidewalk connections that are currently missing to connect residents to the county's planned Bus Rapid Transit stations and existing shopping centers. They include sidewalk additions in the community business centers of North Gateway, Huntington, Penn Daw, Hybla Valley/Gum Springs, Beacon/Groveton, South County and Woodlawn.

The grid of streets projects plan for improved streetscapes built mainly through private development. The county's funding plan calls for covering 25 percent of the costs in case the county needs to build small parts. The projects include new grids of streets for North Gateway, Penn Daw, Beacon/Groveton, Hybla Valley/Gum Springs and Woodlawn.

Other recommended projects address pedestrian or bicyclist improvements, including trail and bike lane projects:

• Buckman Road Bike/Ped Improvements
• Dart Drive Bike/Ped Improvements
• South Kings Highway Bike/Ped Improvements
• Lukens Lane Bike/Ped Improvements
• Ashton-Grey Goose-Hybla Valley Trail
• Pole Road Shared Use Path
• Old Mill Road Shared Use Path
• Jeff Todd Way Shared Use Path
• Douglas Street-Derek Road Connector Trail
• Davis Street-Arlington Drive Connector Trail
• Sherwood Hall Lane Bike Lane
• Frye Road Bike/Ped Improvement
• Beacon Hill Road Spot Improvement (bike lane)
• Quander Road Bike Lane
• Southgate Drive Bike Lane
• Memorial Street Bike Lane
• Arlington Drive Bike Lane (Option A and Option B)

The Quander Road, Southgate Drive, Memorial Street and Arlington Drive proposals have alternative proposals that would require less right-of-way acquisitions. Final concepts will be chosen during the design phase of the projects with community feedback.

More information about the transportation funding plan will be provided at May 24 and 25 meetings. The Wednesday, May 24 meeting will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. through Microsoft Teams or by phone at 571-429-5982 with access code 2392240#. The Thursday, May 25 meeting will be held from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. through Microsoft Teams or by phone at 571-429-5982 with access code 858865420#.

The transportation projects are being recommended while Richmond Highway widening and Bus Rapid Transit projects are in the planning phases. The Board of Supervisors had already endorsed recommendations from a Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation's Route 1 study calling for widening areas of Richmond Highway with four lanes to six lanes, continuous pedestrian and bicyclist facilities along the corridor, a Bus Rapid Transit system from Huntington to Route 123 in Woodbridge, and a long-term aim for a Metro Yellow Line extension to Hybla Valley.