Wrapping up Virginia Bike Advocacy 2024 ????

As 2024 draws to a close, ‘tis the season to look back and reflect. Statewide, things didn’t go quite as we hoped at the General Assembly but here in Northern Virginia, we made tremendous progress together this year. And I do mean together – this project to grow the bicycling movement and the infrastructure that supports it is a collective effort built upon decades of hard work by residents, advocates, and allies. 

WABA simply couldn’t do what it does without the support, coordination, and insight from organizations like: the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Fairfax Healthy Communities Coalition; Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County and the People Before Cars Coalition; Alexandria Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, and Bike Falls Church; state-focused Virginia Bicycling Federation and Virginia Conservation Network; and most importantly, supporters like YOU!

So cheers to all who joined in our shared, noble fight to make Virginia a better place to bike. Read on below to revel in some of the year’s highlights from across the region, take two last surveys if you live in Fairfax, enjoy the year-end holidays, and get ready to join me again in January. 

With boundless gratitude,

Kevin O’Brien, Virginia Organizer

In Fairfax County…

• We welcomed the installation of the new bike/pedestrian bridge carrying the W&OD Trail over Wiehle Avenue plus new bike-friendly sidepaths along Route 7.
• Encouraged comments and suggested improvements to future projects on Annandale Road, Huntington Avenue, Wiehle Avenue, and Gallows Road – you can still take the Gallows Road survey through 12/31!
• Drew attention to the incredibly consequential ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan that will guide the development of the County’s bike network for years to come – you can still weigh in via survey or interactive map through 12/20! 
• Met with folks like you while tabling at Healthy Together Fairfax and the Tour de Mount Vernon, while on walking tours in Oakton and Tysons, and at our advocate meet-and-greet in McLean (shown above). 

In Falls Church…

• We celebrated City Council’s unanimous support for updating the Bike Master Plan focused on better, low-stress connectivity. 
• Confidently rode through new/widened/so much better W&OD Trail intersections at N Spring St and N Oak St (and we eagerly await the improvements underway at N West St).
• Met with folks like you at our trailside popsicle social in June and at the W&OD Trail’s 50th anniversary celebration in September (shown above). 

In Arlington County…

• We celebrated the opening of the Boundary Channel Drive Connector (shown above) between Long Bridge Drive and the Mount Vernon Trail (and talked up this new connection at the Pentagon’s Transportation Fair!).
• Advocated for enhanced bicycle & pedestrian connectivity to Gateway Park during its upcoming redesign, more robust funding for Complete Streets, and greater focus on active transportation to/from Arlington National Cemetery.
• Spread the word about Arlington’s Transportation Future, a comprehensive effort to update the County’s transportation plan to better deliver efficient, safe, multimodal options that residents by and large want to see. 
• Met with folks like you all across the County at our candidate forum in February, member meet-and-greet in April, and film screening in December. 

Finally, in Alexandria…

• We celebrated the tiny-but-critical addition of a two-way cycletrack on E Abingdon Drive between Bashford & Slater Lanes to fill a gap in the Mount Vernon Trail.
• Won a bike-friendly, multimodal redesign for King Street at the Bradlee Shopping and continue to valiantly defend the safety-focused, multimodal redesign of Duke Street.
• Supported near-term road diets featuring new bike infrastructure on South Pickett Street and Holland Lane, plus a better and more bike-friendly long-term plan for Eisenhower Avenue.

Met with folks like you and nearly every single candidate for Alexandria City Council and Mayor who ran in this year’s primary at our April candidate forum (shown above).