Speak Up! for bike parking and bike commuter facilities to be included in plans for transforming the West Falls Church Metro Station area.
FABB is asking local riders to participate in a public information meeting next week to learn about the rezoning proposals that will get the redevelopment of the West Falls Church Metro Station area underway.
The in-person and virtual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 15, a 7:30 pm with an open house starting at 7:00 pm at the in-person meeting at Longfellow Middle School, 2000 Westmoreland Street, in Falls Church.
Fairfax County unanimously approved a comprehensive plan amendment in July 2021 supporting the vision to transform acres of parking lots at the West Falls Church Metro Station into a walkable, bike-friendly, transit-oriented community. The plans will make way for mixed-use development including affordable and workforce housing options, new bicycle and pedestrian connections, open space and linear parks, and upgraded and enhanced stormwater management, including green infrastructure.
The new bicycle connections are a great part of the plan. To optimize their utility, however, we need Fairfax County to require the new development to include ample bike parking and other amenities for bike commuters. Ideally, the parking would include an accessible and well-lit weather-resistant shelter for bicycle racks and lockers as well as a bicycle room with personnel lockers and shower facilities for riders.
Future employers in the new development should welcome these requirements because bike commuters have been shown to reduce business health care costs, increase productivity, and decrease absenteeism and turnover. Businesses could pay their share of bike commuter amenity costs from their health care savings and from the reduced costs for subsidizing employee parking and transit.
New development is a chance to get multi-modal transportation facilitation right at the start. Let’s not miss this opportunity.
To participate on line via Zoom, click here at 7:30 pm and enter passcode: 1437.
Let’s help make the West Falls Church Metro Station area into a “world class” bike-friendly, walkable, and transit-oriented community.
