Report recommends Haycock Road diet, ‘slow streets’ and sidewalks for West Falls Church Metro area

The pedestrian and bicycle network around the West Falls Church Metro station in Idylwood is uncomfortable to use in some places and nonexistent in many others, a newly released report found.

The West Falls Church Active Transportation Study confirms community complaints that local roads are unsafe and inadequate for current residents, let alone the influx of newcomers anticipated with 1.8 million square feet of new development planned in the transit station area (TSA).

Faced with transportation infrastructure often designed to move drivers at the expense of other road users like pedestrians and bicyclists, the report proposes an array of potential improvements, from new sidewalks to a road diet on Haycock Road.

“Providing active transportation accommodations in a built-environment can be challenging and costly, but it is vital, especially for areas that are focused on transit-oriented development,” the report said. “Safe and comfortable sidewalks and bicycle facilities may encourage transit usage as they can provide access to more people within transit station areas.”

Developed by Fairfax County staff and an advisory group of residents and road safety advocates, the study launched last December after the Board of Supervisors set the stage for redevelopments of the Metro station and Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center campus,…