Alexandria’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee surveyed candidates for Alexandria Mayor and City Council to gain their perspectives on issues for people who walk and bike. Let’s take a look at how the candidates stack up. We received responses from one announced mayoral candidate: William “Bill” Euille, and five City Council Candidates: John Taylor Chapman, Tim Lovain, Monique Miles, Townsend “Van” Van Fleet, and Justin Wilson.
Disconnected and Missing Sidewalks
There are parts of the city where walking is made extraordinarily difficult by things such as disconnected sidewalk segments, such as on Seminary and Duke, and streets completely devoid of sidewalks, such as part of Crestwood. How will you address these issues?
William “Bill” Euille: Advocate for expansion of “complete streets” in these areas, in addition to sidewalk connectivity and repairs, landscaping, signage and lighting.
John Taylor Chapman: I will continue to work with city staff and citizens to highlight these areas in the city, and ask the Transportation Director to come up with an initiative designed to effectively and efficiently connect the city’s sidewalks that can be voted on within the city budget process.
Tim Lovain: I am proud of the efforts the City has made in recent years to greatly increase the number and quality of sidewalks in Alexandria, but we still have a long ways to go. I have fought for more City funding for sidewalks as part of Complete Streets funding. We need to keep in mind, however, that sidewalks can be very expensive, especially compared to crosswalks and bike lanes. I will continue, however, to advocate for robust funding for sidewalk construction in Alexandria.
Monique Miles: Pedestrian safety is extremely important, not only for residents and commuters, but for visitors of our City. Alexandria should have a complete street grid. All areas of the City deserve high-quality transportation infrastructure, and at the least connected sidewalks. If we continue to forget areas of the city, we are fundamentally failing in our most basic task. To address this issue, I would ask City Staff to spend time producing a map of our city that identifies where the sidewalk grid breaks down and disconnects. Each area of our city should have safe sidewalk systems that allow for pedestrians to move about the City in a safe manner without subjecting them to walking on a curb or through a dirt path. I will make sure that any improvements needed are prioritized and made in a timely manner. We must receive our fair share of tax dollars from Richmond and invest them in improving and expanding our transportation infrastructure system. I hope to work with developers to improve the street grid at their new projects and create a more connected and walkable community.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: Our infrastructure needs are extremely large over the next 10-20 years, however the problems you mention ought to receive priority maintenance.
Justin Wilson: I am strong supporter of continued funding to address sidewalk gaps throughout the City. Ensuring consistent sidewalks around our City is one of the easiest ways to promote pedestrian safety.
Sharing the Road on King and Union Street
If elected, what will you do to help people who walk, people who bike, and people who drive to share the road safely together in the King St/Union St neighborhood?
William “Bill” Euille: Improve the congestion impacts by increasing signage, markings and police patrols; until the proposed new pedestrian plaza is completed in future years. Safety is a must for all.
John Taylor Chapman: I will be pushing for signage improvements, sidewalk improvements and improved crosswalks for that neighborhood. I will also be reaching out to that neighborhood to ensure that open to resident suggestions on ways that we can improve the safety for everyone that travels within and through the neighborhood.
Tim Lovain: I strongly favor the current effort underway to enforce traffic laws and educate the public about those laws in the King Street/Union Street neighborhood. Many residents and visitors are unaware of the rules but willing to comply with them when they are informed. I favor the idea of constructing a continuous street/sidewalk around this intersection to emphasize to everyone that this is a space for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to share. Eventually, I would like the City to consider the idea of making lower King Street and maybe some additional side blocks car-free. We also need to work on an alternative north-south bicycle route through Old Town, such as on Royal. Any such bike route should be implemented carefully in close consultation with the neighbors, but I believe Royal has the right-of-way width to accommodate this.
Monique Miles: Traffic mitigation in the King/Union Street neighborhood (“K/U”) must be designed to accommodate all types of commuters, no matter which mode of transportation they use. In the K/U area especially, residents deserve creative solutions that push the envelope of urban planning. I support working with community stakeholders to come to an agreement on signage and road improvements that will make our streets safer for automobiles, bikers, and pedestrians alike. In an ideal urban Alexandria setting, adequate infrastructure is maintained to keep commuters safe as more people choose alternates to the automobile. First, for roadways to be safe, there must be appropriate and visible signage that warns all three groups (drivers, bikers, and pedestrians) of hazards and reminds them to take care on the roadways. While bike lanes are not always feasible, signage and street markings can make residents more aware of their surroundings.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: The Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan is currently being updated by the city appointed BPAC. However, there needs to be law enforcement (could also be traffic enforcement personnel or even school crossing guards) presence at that intersection during the weekend peak times as bikes, cars and pedestrians are all fighting to have access. Nothing moves. This has to change for the better.
Justin Wilson: Congestion and contention between pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles is a significant challenge in most of our neighborhoods. In Old Town specifically, the high volume makes the area even more challenging. I support changes to the allocation of the limited road space that we do have to ensure that pedestrians, bikers and drivers can safely operate in the corridor.
Making Neighborhoods Safe
In just about every neighborhood throughout the city, one of the top concerns is drivers driving too fast, aggressively, and not yielding to pedestrians. What is your plan to calm traffic and make our neighborhoods safer and more comfortable in which to walk and bike?
William “Bill” Euille: We need to always be looking to enhance our “safe streets” and “complete streets” initiatives with proper funding.
John Taylor Chapman: I would like to work within the city budget to find resources to improve enforcement for those not following the traffic laws or driving aggressively. I also would push for the members of the traffic and parking board to meet more with the communities to hear the concerns of the neighborhoods and work more jointly with them to make needed traffic calming improvements.
Tim Lovain: Aggressive driving and disregard for pedestrians is a serious problem in Alexandria and elsewhere. According to the Transportation Planning Board of the National Capital Region, of which I am Vice Chair and Chair Elect, every 8 days in the DC region, a bicyclist or pedestrian is killed by a car. I am a strong believer in implementing traffic calming through Complete Streets principles. That means more sidewalks, brightly-marked crosswalks, and bike lanes. It even includes moving plantings closer to the curb to give drivers the appearance of a narrower right of way. Drivers naturally slow down when they see a lot of pedestrians and bicyclists. I think this more natural version of traffic calming is preferable to speed tables, bulbouts, etc., although they have their place as well. I am proud of the work I have done to increase City funding for Complete Streets and to secure funding from the Met Life Foundation to train City employees in Complete Streets.
Monique Miles: There are road improvement tools that we can use to reduce speeds, manage traffic, and infrastructure improvements that can be implemented to make roadways safer for bikers, pedestrians, and drivers alike. I would approach the improvements that need to be made with a holistic approach- connectivity in the context of the greater region, what is financially feasible, and what residents’ desire. Both the Alexandria City Police Department and City Staff should be activated to convene a safe roadways commission that studies how to best achieve a safer City. There is much to study such as the use of traffic circles, speed bumps, more diligent policing during certain hours such as school dismissal times, more sharrows, and more signage, including those with flashing lights.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: It is a law enforcement problem. The APD need to be more vigilant regarding speeders and those who do the California roll through stop signals/signs. Many bikers also need to obey the traffic laws regarding stop signs and signals as many currently do not.
Justin Wilson: While I do believe that increased enforcement of existing traffic laws can improve some of the challenges that we face, that is not a solution that scales throughout the City. I strongly support changes to the road space that are designed to force vehicle drivers to operate their vehicles more safely. Where we have been most successful around the City is with changes that affect driver visual cues, and help drivers adhere to speed limits, and grant greater visibility to bikers and pedestrians. Furthermore, I support the implementation of the Vision Zero initiative as part of the Pedestrian & Bike Master Plan process under way to ensure that City policy remains aligned with this goal.
Walking and Biking to School
Alexandria can combat traffic congestion, air pollution, and childhood obesity, and increase kids' happiness and effectiveness at school by encouraging them to get more exercise by biking or walking to school. How will you increase the numbers who choose to walk or bike, and make sure they can do it safely?
William “Bill” Euille: “Complete streets” initiatives, in addition to proposing a program to encourage bike riding and provide bikes to those in need.
John Taylor Chapman: I would work with the Alexandria City Public Schools to see if they would consider pushing out the radius for bus service, to help save on transportation money, but also make walking and biking a more explored option for families. To ensure safety, I would work with the school system to provide more crossing guards as well as work with the PTAs to provide parent volunteers that can help ensure safe travel for our students.
Tim Lovain: I am especially proud of the Complete Streets improvements that have been made recently near our City schools. I got personally involved with such improvements near George Mason and MacArthur Elementary Schools. I am also proud to have led the effort to lower the speed limit outside George Mason Elementary on school days. My Council Aide, Wendy Donohue, has devoted many hours to improving pedestrian access to George Washington Middle School and promoting bike and walk to school days. We have worked together to help promote bicycle safety awareness among students there.
Monique Miles: The City should identify opportunities to incentivize alternative modes of transportation. Possible incentives could include carpooling opportunities to reduce traffic and the exploration of public transportation incentives. Tantamount to increasing the number of residents who choose alternative modes of transportation is developing connected communities with adequate resources. Mixed-use transit oriented development around current and future transportation hubs to minimize traffic congestion are key. Careful and deliberate planning, zoning, and economic development present the opportunity to improve the connectivity of our City. If the City works with developers to increase access to wider roads, connected street grids and nearby public transportation, commuters will feel more comfortable to avoid driving and enjoy more sustainable modes of transportation.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: Safety is the most important element. The schools and parents need to educate the children regarding safe practices when walking or biking and again police and crossing guards need to provide the safety net and enforcement of those who choose to break the law.
Justin Wilson: As a parent who walks or bikes both of my children to school every day, I do agree that doing so is a benefit to all children. I support expansions of the City’s Safe Routes to Schools efforts to improve the approaches to our school buildings so that children can safely walk or bike to school. I also believe that biker and pedestrian education efforts need to be part of school curricula (as detailed in the new ACPS Strategic Plan) to give students the tools they need to participate.
Complete Streets Policy Implementation
A few years ago, Alexandria joined communities such as Indianapolis, IN and Portland, ME to pass a complete streets policy, which is meant to ensure that all streets provide a comfortable experience for all users: people who walk, people who bike, people who drive, and people who use public transportation. But this policy needs continued council and staff support to achieve its purpose. If elected, how will you promote the implementation of Alexandria’s complete streets policy?
William “Bill” Euille: Through education, communications, outreach and advocacy. I am proud that this was an initiative under my administration.
John Taylor Chapman: I will continue to fund the Complete Streets Policy and push for staff to continue to work with neighborhoods to have local projects and improvements implemented in a way that is transparent and ensure that we are continuing to make progress year after year.
Tim Lovain: As noted above. I have made Complete Streets a special priority of mine. I fought for increased funding for Complete Streets projects. I am also a member of Smart Growth America's Local Leaders Council, which helps promote Complete Streets policies throughout the U.S. I have also fought for Complete Streets principles on the Transportation Planning Board for the National Capital Region, which I will chair next year if I am re-elected. I can promise that, if I am re-elected, I will make sure that Alexandria continues and enhances its focus on Complete Streets in the years ahead.
Monique Miles: The Alexandria LocalMotion program should continue to implement common-sense repairs to our transportation system. As mentioned earlier, complete communities lead to a healthier, happier, and more sustainable population. City Council and staff must be more diligent in implementing those important recommendations to improve the street system of Alexandria and engage community members when discussing small area plans. I would also engage with both the Transportation Commission and Urban Design Board to make sure citizens are involved in the process of improving our City’s transportation infrastructure. I would also use the criteria set forth in 2011 by City Council and Staff and make sure that the criteria is continually being revisited as Small Area Plans are discussed, studied, and implemented. An example of this would be to focus on the upcoming implementation of the Beauregard Small Area Plan and ensuring that important road safety measures are included.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: I would endorse it.
Justin Wilson: As a member of the Transportation Commission and later as a member of the Council, I supported our Complete Streets Policy, and I have worked to ensure its faithful execution. Ultimately, to be successful, we must have resources as well as support and education of our City Staff. I would continue to work to expand resources as well as work with the City Manager and applicable department heads to build awareness of Complete Streets concepts across the City workforce and within its processes.
Achieving Transportation Plan Goals for Walking and Biking
A recent audit by the city of its own performance shows that the improvements called for in the 2008 bicycle and pedestrian chapters of the transportation master plan were only partially implemented. How will you ensure the city achieves community goals such as this one when they are articulated through plans?
William “Bill” Euille: I will advocate for full implementation for an updated plan with adequate funding.
John Taylor Chapman: We need to renew our commitment to the implementation of these improvements, and I will work with city staff to highlight the unfinished improvements and determine a plan to address them, which will be shared with the community.
Tim Lovain: I regret that the bicycle and pedestrian chapters of the transportation master plan have not yet been fully implemented and I am pleased that those chapters are being reviewed for possible updates. Sometimes implementation occurs more slowly than intended, especially when City budgets are tight as they have been in recent years. We need to keep our eye on the community goals in our City plans and move towards implementation as promptly as we can. We should also prioritize unfinished efforts to make sure that the resources that are available to us are being well-spent. The City also needs to engage with its citizens to help determine these priorities and to find ways to better engage our citizens in helping us achieve our plan goals.
Monique Miles: One of the reasons that I am running for City Council is because I believe we can do better. The half-way solutions offered by the current Council are not sufficient. Our neighbors deserve better, well-thought, and thorough planning. There is no reason that the 2008 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan should not have been completely implemented. Instead, City Council and Staff revisited the plan in 2014 and spent more time studying and updating the plan before the original plan had even been completely implemented. Given proper implementation and time, the 2008 plan would have been a vast improvement for pedestrians and bikers. With responsible oversight and a dedication to solutions, we will change the culture of kicking the can down the road and instead achieve solutions that will improve the lives of Alexandrians. As I mentioned earlier, the development and implementation of Small Area Plans represents one opportunity to constantly revisit how progress in various Master Plans is being made.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: Plans need to be followed up to ensure compliance.
Justin Wilson: As a member of Council, I was proud to support the 2008 Transportation Master Plan, which provided for a dramatically different direction for transit and pedestrian policy in our City. As with many master plans, implementation can be slow when resources are not plentiful. I remain committed to the vision of the 2008 Plan, and will work to provide the resources to see it to completion.
Improving Access to Metro for People who Walk and Bike
How will you improve access to the Metrorail stations for people who walk or bike?
William “Bill” Euille: Add designated bike lanes and bike racks where appropriate, in addition to “Wayfinding.”
John Taylor Chapman: I want to continue to push Metro to have our stations redeveloped and in doing so, aggressively push opportunities to improve the access of pedestrians and bikers.
Tim Lovain: Two recent studies, one by WMATA (Metro) and one by the Transportation Planning Board, came to the same conclusion---one of the most cost-effective transportation improvements that we can make in this region is to improve pedestrian and bicycle access to Metro stations. There are several such improvements that we should make in Alexandria in coming years. The new path from the southern end of the Potomac Yard development to the Braddock Road Metro station is great, but soon we should built a tunnel to shorten that route. We need to proceed with the multi-modal bridge connecting Cameron Station to the Van Dorn Metro station. Filling in some missing links in our bike/ped paths in the Eisenhower Valley will help improve bicycle and pedestrian access to several of our Metro stations.
Monique Miles: The Metrorail system is an advantage our City has access to and we should be doing all we can to reap the benefits. First and foremost, we should make sure that there are ways for people to get to the Metro station. The Old Town Trolley is a great example of a successful system, but that is not available in all areas of the City. In areas on the periphery of the City such as the West End or Beauregard, the City should explore creative solutions to offer transportation alternatives allowing residents to use the Metrorail system that they previously may have had difficulty reaching. I would work with developers to increase connectivity and improve the street grid. With concentrated development around Metro stations, residents will naturally have easier access to Metro stations. But, we must do even more than that. We must extend our reach beyond the ½ mile around a Metro station and ensure shuttles and other forms of transportation offer all residents the opportunity to have easy access to Metro stations. We must encourage residents to participate in public transportation and help encourage more sustainable uses of our public transportation infrastructure.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: Make it safe for those walking and biking to the stations. For those who bike we need to ensure they have bike racks available at all 4 metro stations.
Justin Wilson: We are fortunate to have extremely high usage of our existing Metro stations by bikers and walkers, however I believe we do have opportunities to improve accessibility. Improvements to bike storage, as well as better connections to non-vehicular access points (sidewalks and trails) can help improve the accessibility of these transit hubs.
Capital Bikeshare
When you are in office, what will you do to support the continued expansion of Capital Bikeshare?
William “Bill” Euille: I will continue to seek “Grant Funds,” and find ways to identify additional general funds in future budgets.
John Taylor Chapman: I will advocate for expansion of Bikeshare in neighborhoods that do not have stations but have infrastructure to support it. Also, I will work to with city staff to add supporting bike infrastructure to neighbors where it does not currently exist.
Tim Lovain: I am proud of the continued funding this City Council has provided to expand the Capital Bikeshare system in Alexandria. We should continue that expansion, but strategically. Bikeshare stations that are in easy biking distance from other Bikeshare stations are much more valuable than isolated stations. We are facing continued budget constraints, but we need to continue this important effort.
Monique Miles: I do not think it is good policy to have only one bike rental company receiving city subsidies. However, we should work with Capital Bikeshare and other bike rental companies to study where access can or should be expanded in the City. In some cases across the Washington region, residents do not have access to stations either at their point of origin or destination. Alexandria can set itself apart from its peers and identify areas where the demand is high for rental bike stations and work with the companies to provide access. Moreover, the City of Alexandria should encourage expansion across all areas of the city and ensure to the best of its ability equal access to the bike rental programs.
Townsend “Van” Van Fleet: I would not spend any city funds on Bikeshare, as it is a money making corporation. Expansion of Bikeshare would have to be predicated strictly on need.
Justin Wilson: I am a regular user of Capital Bikeshare and continue to support its expansion to further the important role it has in our City’s overall transportation picture. Through both City appropriation, leveraging Federal and State grant dollars, and developer contributions, we will continue to have opportunity to expand the network Citywide.
I do not think it is good policy to have only one bike rental company
Oh, dear...
Posted by: oboe | October 29, 2015 at 07:56 AM