New Sidewalks, Westmoreland Street Improvements Coming

Some McLean residents on the east side of town might be able to walk to the new subway station at Anderson Road. Dranesville Supervisor John Foust recently announced a series of new transportation projects that includes building a sidewalk on the south side of Dolley Madison Boulevard between Great Falls Street and Anderson Road.

"A major goal of my office is to make the new Metro stations accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists," said Foust, who is running for reelection to the Board of Supervisors. "The sidewalk along Route 123 will create a safe way for many McLean residents to access the Tysons-McLean Metro station that will be constructed near the Capital One campus."

The projects include many improvements to Westmoreland Street and other pedestrian and bike improvements. Foust held a public hearing with Westmoreland residents in November to talk about improving pedestrian safety on Westmoreland, especially around McLean High School.

Jim Phelps, co-chair of the Transportation Committee of the McLean Citizens Association, said, " We are very happy to see these projects. They will improve the quality of life in the McLean area by making non-motor vehicular travel safer. I am particularly pleased to see the supervisor’s office facilitating pedestrian access to the Tysons East Metro station."

The newly funded projects are:

DOLLEY MADISON BOULEVARD (RT. 123): Fairfax County Department of Transportation will install a sidewalk on the south side of the street between Great Falls Street and Anderson Road. This is a critical stretch of sidewalk for pedestrian access to the Tysons East Metro Station.

BIRCH STREET: Fairfax County Department of Transportation will install a sidewalk on the north side of the street, completing a missing link between Grove Avenue and the Falls Plaza Shopping Center.

DEAD RUN DRIVE: Fairfax County Department of Transportation will install a sidewalk on the south side of Dead Run Drive in McLean, between the western end of Carper Street and Congress Lane.

WESTMORELAND STREET AND ROSEMONT DRIVE: VDOT will install new "School Crossing Pedestrian" signs and re-stripe the crosswalk in a high-visibility block pattern, across from McLean High School.

WESTMORELAND STREET AND BONHEIM COURT: Fairfax County Department of Transportation will work with VDOT, as part of its overall update of signage and striping of crosswalks, to install two ADA curb cuts to revamp this school crosswalk. This work complements recent enhanced signage and striping.

WESTMORELAND STREET AND LEMON ROAD: Fairfax County Department of Transportation will work with VDOT, as part of its overall update of signage and striping of crosswalks, to install two ADA curb ramps and new crosswalk on the north leg of this intersection. The existing south crosswalk will be eradicated. This work complements recent enhanced signage.

WESTMORELAND STREET AND SOUTHRIDGE DRIVE: Fairfax County Department of Transportation will work with VDOT as part of its overall update of signage and striping of crosswalks.

"One of my goals is to make the Dranesville District safer and more accessible for pedestrians and bicyclists," Foust said."When I took office, my staff and I conducted an exhaustive review to identify pedestrian, bicycle and minor road projects that were needed in the Dranesville District. Over 160 projects have been identified. We work with the county staff to determine what projects are feasible based on cost, engineering and land acquisition requirements. We have also worked with the community to prioritize the projects. So far, I have obtained the necessary funding for more than 50 of those projects," he said.