Safe Routes to School (Bike/Walk 2 School)

 

 

There are three new improvements on Beulah Road for bike and pedestrian safety!

 

1. There are new bike lanes! New re-striping on Beulah Road near Wolftrap Elementary School includes improvements for pedestrian and bike safety. When part of Beulah Road was resurfaced with a slurry seal to prolong the time between paving, VDOT coordinated with FCDOT to add striping for bike lanes and turn lanes. These lane-narrowing measures should help slow traffic to make biking and walking nearby safer. Bike lane plans came from the existing Countywide Bicycle Master Plan:  https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/bike/master-plan

 

2. A crosswalk was added across Beulah Road at Abbotsford Drive. There have been multiple requests in the community over the years to increase pedestrian safety at that location. This is a great start. There is not yet signage for the new crosswalk so cars approaching cannot see it from a distance. Also, drivers are not expecting it since it is new. It is not the recommended crossing when walking or biking to and from school. The speed limit is 35mph at this location, unlike 25mph at the Talisman/Beulah crosswalk in front of the school.

 

3. A safer crosswalk will be built across Beulah Road at Talisman Dr. Future crosswalk improvements are planned at Beulah Road and Talisman Drive, the crosswalk for Wolftrap Elementary School. This will be funded through a federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant, which has been a years long effort of the Wolftrap Elementary community. The future work at the Beulah/Talisman Drive crosswalk is projected for August 2022 through July 2023. These improvements should make the crossing at Talisman Drive safer for neighborhood residents, elementary students, ​transit bus riders using the Beulah/Talisman stop, and middle and high school students who cross to bus stops.

 

Questions? Contact Alison Gramann and the Beulah Road Safety Committee at alison.gramann@gmail.com.

 

 

 
 

Beulah Road Crosswalk Update 

 

Good news! In June 2018, our crosswalk was awarded a Transportation Alternatives Project (TAP) Grant through VDOT of $200,000. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will be designing the improvements in early 2019 and will set a schedule for completion. Initial expectations are that work will be completed by 2021. The many completed parent surveys in October 2017, and letters of support from our crossing guard, Mrs. Edie Adcock, and Mrs. Khuluki all contributed to this win for our community. Thank you! We look forward to seeing what FCDOT will design to improve safety at our crosswalk. See below for updates from March 2019.

 

The safety issues we hope the crosswalk improvements will address include:

1) It is only safe to cross if our crossing guard is present.

2) Cars do not stop for pedestrians at the crosswalk.

3) Cars drive around cars stopped for pedestrians at the crosswalk.

4) Cars are driving over the speed limit, and the speed limit is ambiguous, either 25 or 35mph.

5) Traffic volume and speed is so great that we cannot walk home safely from after-school or evening activities when the crossing guard is not present.

 

In January 2019, members of the Beulah Road Safety Committee inquired with VDOT if the 35mph speed limit on Beulah Road would meet criteria to be lowered to 25mph to increase safety of pedestrians crossing. Vehicles with speeds well above 35mph approach the crosswalk from the north direction, endangering pedestrians in the crosswalk. Updates will be posted as information becomes available.

If you would like to contact the Beulah Road Safety Committee about the crosswalk or other concerns, email alison.gramann@gmail.com and peterwintermute@gmail.com .

 

The March 2019 Hunter Mill Highlights newsletter from Supervisor Hudgins included this update with other transportation notes:

 

Beulah Road Crosswalk

Pedestrian improvements are coming to Wolf Trap Elementary School in Vienna. The project will bring improvements to the school’s main crossing on Beulah Road at Talisman Drive. The improvements will provide 7-foot to 15-foot bump outs and an 8-foot median refuge for the crosswalk (which creates a possibility of a future pedestrian beacon device), and creation of a southbound right turn lane, on-road bike lanes, and transitional median striping as road diet treatments. This will help further the protection of the crosswalk while enhancing the features of the road diet and help de-ter illegal passing on the road. Peak arrival and departure hours will still be patrolled by a crossing guard. 

 

Check out the local update on our crosswalk from the Tysons Reporter, on February 6, 2019:

https://www.tysonsreporter.com/2019/02/06/new-pedestrian-improvements-planned-for-dangerous-wolftrap-elementary-crossing/?fbclid=IwAR2wV6ekbFPVuH-8KwDsW7PTFps2z--j7D1eo2T1GcIBW3utk0Ax1RDPkSM

 

 
Walking Wednesday will be twice monthly in 2017-2018.  It has been a few years since we gave out tokens so look for them to come back.  Look for a signup page in the fall.
   
Bike Trains will continue, details coming in the fall. The Bike Train route can be found here:  Bike Train 2016   It leaves promptly at 8am and arrives at the school at 8:17am.
 
 Click on Map to link to the Bike Train!
 
Vienna Bike/Walk Challenge 2017 Results  
Vienna-area elementary schools took a combined 6473 trips to school by foot, bike, skateboard, and scooter.  1250 of those trips were by bicycle.  That is 4 years in a row where Vienna students have exceeded 5000 trips to school during the Bike/Walk Challenge Week and the second time in four years where over 6000 trips to school were taken.  Wolftrap won back the 2nd place Bike Trophy.
 
Challenge Cup:
  1. Vienna
  2. Cunningham Park
  3. Westbriar

Biking Cup

  1. Vienna Elementary
  2. Wolftrap
  3. Marshall Road

                                                   Final Bike Train of 2017

 

 
Safe Routes at Wolftrap
 
History of SRTS at Wolftrap 
 
Starting in 2009, Wolftrap ES has been active with Safe Routes to  School (SRTS) (www.saferoutesinfo.org). SRTS is a movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to school. Safe Routes to School provides a variety of important benefits to kids and their communities, including improved health, reduced traffic congestion, better air quality, and enhanced neighborhood safety. This movement is part of the solution for the alarming nationwide trend toward child obesity and inactivity.  Wolftrap students themselves have helped spread the word to other FCPS schools. The Bike Train was featured on Nickelodeon in 2012, featured with other schools by Salud America and in a PSA Safety Video with the Fairfax Police Department.
 
Please remind your children of basic safety practices and/or watch this video with them.
 
 
Resources & More Information
 
Bike Rack Rules/Guidelines
Check the schools rules and guidelines for the bike rack.
 
Interesting Articles/Blogs
Go to http://fabb-bikes.blogspot.com/ to see an interesting blog entry about kids riding bikes to school by Bruce Wright - Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling
 
Northern Vienna Trail Network
Information about sidewalks being added in the Wolftrap neighborhood.
 
For more information: Contact saferoutes@wolftrappta.org.