Mid-Atlantic

On November 2, bicycle advocates in Fairfax County, Virginia came together for the second Fairfax Bike Summit hosted by the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB).

The Greater Washington communities in Virginia gained four new Safe Routes to School coordinators in the last round of Virginia Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School funding!

“Wear lights, especially at night,” “no texting while walking,” “make them see you.” It seems to be that time of year in the Greater Washington, D.C. metro region where every jurisdiction is finishing up or rebranding their Pedestrian Safety Campaigns.

We have all been waiting to learn how the new federal transportation bill, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21, will be implemented. The new Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) is of particular interest since it now includes Safe Routes to School and Transportation Enhancements funding.

The Greater Washington DC region was recently ranked in a report as #1 for congestion.

It is important to assess where we are, where we have been and where we are going. This time of year naturally leads us to those thoughts. At the risk of being cliché, I welcome the opportunity to think about what worked well with the Greater Washington, DC network in 2012 and what we might do differently in 2013.

I recently had the privilege of speaking at the Fairfax County Bike Summit. It was the first Bike Summit in the county. Fairfax County has come a long way through the work of the Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling.