A more active Legislative session than usual, with one good win, one that got our hopes up before it went down, and a number that failed but seemed to get a little closer to passing than ever before.

The win was with Senate Bill 546, which was patroned in masterful fashion by Senator John Edwards of Roanoke, and sailed all the way through both houses, with hardly a hitch. This bill specifically mentions the railroads as a landowner with limited liability when they permit recreational users to cross their owned, or easement acquired, property for recreational purposes. Though primarily pushed for by the paddlers and fishermen, and spearheaded by Roanoke’s Bill Tanger of the Friends of the Rivers of Virginia, VBF joined the coalition of groups supporting this bill in order to help the railroads remove the “liability” argument they have often used when access along, or across, their tracks has been requested.

We got our hopes up with the major bills we were working on which would change the Code of Virginia to require that [continue reading…]

Take action now: write to the Fairfax Board of Supervisors.

In a flurry of budget-cutting and who-knows-what other politics, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors wants to eliminate, permanently, the bike coordinator position, and all County bicycle programs. This is at odds with recent efforts to develop a bike master plan, to improve quality of life and transportation options, and make Fairfax a more desirable location for businesses.

30% of Fairfax residents do not drive motor vehicles. To simply stop development of other options is a big step backward indeed.

Politicians need to hear from their constituents. Kate Schwartz of the Potomac Pedalers Touring Club asks all cyclists in Fairfax County to write to their Board of Supervisors, and provides some language for doing so:

“Please act now to write to the FFX county board of supervisors and spread the word since bicycling programs are at risk of permanent elimination. This proposed budget cut will create a lasting loss of future cycling & pedestrian facilities, trails, equipment and resources.

I urge you to sustain Fairfax’s bicycling programs since the county’s future business viability depends upon these programs. Creating new and maintaining existing cycling and pedestrian facilities must remain permanent pillars of the county; they are essential to fostering more innovative transportation solutions in an area that’s desperate for transportation alternatives. The Board has always emphasized that Fairfax County must preserve its national reputation as an attractive location for businesses and their employees. Bicycling programs, such as trails and on-road bike accommodation directly improve businesses’, residents’ and visitors’ quality of life by reducing traffic congestion, pollution and obesity, boosting employee productivity, and increasing cardiovascular health & fitness. What other county programs and facilities can claim these wide-reaching benefits?

How can the Board of Supervisors reconcile Supervisor Cook’s position (“bicycles are not transportation devices”) with the Board’s December 7 meeting, where the board discussed the need for the county to explore new and innovative approaches to transportation?

Dedicated bicycle and environment facilities and staff partnered with private- and public-sector employers can formulate and execute new transportation solutions, as we witness today with Tysons Corner’s new multi-modal transportation solutions plus walking and bicycling facilities integrated into the replacement bridges during the Beltway HOT lane construction. Eliminating bicycling programs will only increase congestion, pollution and obesity, while slashing employee/employer productivity. Fairfax County’s future business viability depends upon having a dedicated & permanent bicycling program.“

Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling are on top of this story. Check with them for updates, and follow them on Twitter (@WABADC, @BikeFairfax).

Please help spread the word. Use the Share This link below to forward this to your mailing lists, and share it in social media.

As expected, Senator Norment’s SB517 banning cell phone usage by motor vehicle drivers, except in hands free mode, was tabled by the Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee 2 by a 2 -1 vote. Athey & Cline for tabling; Shuler opposed; Cleaveland & Gilbert absent. After the vote was taken, Athey remarked to the Patron, “maybe next year” to which Sen. Norment replied, “see you then.”

Several seat belt bills, including Senator Blevins’ SB9, which would make failure to have the seat belt buckled a primary, rather than secondary offense, were similarly tabled with only Delegate Shuler from Blacksburg (the lone Democrat on the sub committee) voting against tabling (for the bill). The committee voted this way despite testimony from DMV that such a law in effect by Sept. 1 of this year, would make the state eligible for $16.5 million of federal Highway Safety funds.

I believe that closes out the VBF legislative agenda for this session, although John Saunders of DMV stated after the meeting that he was looking forward to working with me to improve the bicycling safety message in DMV’s motor vehicle driver’s materials and to include a question or two on the driver’s exam.

An interim on-road routing of the East Coast Greenway  through Virginia has been mapped based on meetings held across Virginia by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.  

Starting in Calais, Maine and ending in Key West, Florida, when completed, the ECG will be nearly 3000 miles long and connect the major cities along the Atlantic Coast.  Plans call for 90% of the trail to be off road.

A traveler’s guide, funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation, is under development for release in 2010.