Advancing active mobility in greater Prince William, Virginia

Category: Bicycle Parking

Active Prince William Policy Positions for Active, Equitable, and Sustainable Mobility in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park (Revised 1/20/2020)

Proposed Prince William County Trails Network from 2007

1) Establish Citizen Transportation Advisory Commissions for Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

2) Provide Meaningful and Robust Public Participation Processes for the Coming Comprehensive Plan Updates for the County and Cities.

3) Expand and Enhance Public Transportation as an Effective Travel Choice:

a) Add midday, evening, and reverse-commute VRE trips, possibly as shortened runs to/from Alexandria and/or Springfield/Franconia.

b) Add local and commuter bus service along Rte 28 and Sudley Rd, ideally in dedicated lanes.

c) Extend Richmond Hwy BRT south through Prince William County along the Rte 1 corridor to Quantico.

4) Build Complete Streets, especially a Primary Bikeway Network that Crosses Major Barriers (e.g., rivers, freeways, land parcels):

a) Build a continuous “I-66 Trail”, largely along Balls Ford Rd and across Bull Run into Fairfax County.

b) Build a quality bike/ped crossing of I-66 at or near Sudley Rd/Bus 234.  In short term, ensure space for paths beneath all new I-66 overpasses of Sudley Rd.

c) Retrofit quality bike/ped crossings of I-95, especially at/near Prince Wm Pkwy/Horner Rd and at/near Dale Blvd/Opitz Blvd, but also at/near Rte 123, 234, & Joplin Rd.

d) Complete a continuous trail along Rte 234, from Rte 1 to I-66, including the totally missing segment between Brentsville Rd and I-66.

e) Include quality bike/ped access along and across Flat Branch and Bull Run in the proposed Godwin Dr Extension (Rte 28 environmental assessment).

f) Improve US Bike Route 1, a Maine-to Florida bikeway:  Retrofit paved shoulders along Aden Rd (Joplin Rd to Fleetwood Dr) and Fleetwood Dr (Aden Rd to Fauquier line), fix the Hoadly Rd bike lanes, and sign all of USBR1 in PWC.  Plan and create a paved shared-use path along the perimeter of Quantico Marine Corps Base as a long-term project.

g)  Improve bike/ped crossings of Bull Run and the Occoquan River, including at Old Centreville Rd/Ordway Rd, Rte 28, Yates Ford Rd, I-66 Trail (connect Balls Ford Rd to Bull Run Dr), and Rte 1.

h) Improve bike/ped access along the Rte 29 corridor (Bull Run to Fauquier line).

i)  Establish continuous ped/bike access along Old Bridge Rd.

j)  Plan and develop a bikeway and trail network in Manassas Park.

5)  Develop Livable, Walkable, and Vibrant Transit-Oriented Communities:

a) Plan to revive aging suburban retail corridors and malls for higher-density, mixed-use, bus-transit-oriented redevelopment (e.g., Manassas Mall and the Sudley Rd corridor, Rte 28 in Yorkshire, Rte 1, Dale Blvd, Old Bridge Rd).

b) Remove or scale back all or part of numerous proposed road widenings from the Comprehensive Plan, including Brady’s Hill Rd, Carver Rd, Catharpin Rd, Dale Blvd, Dumfries Rd, Farm Creek Dr, Featherstone Rd, Gideon Dr, Godwin Dr Extension, Gordon Blvd, Groveton Rd, Gum Springs Rd, Horner Rd, Lucasville Rd, Manassas Battlefield Bypass, Neabsco Rd, Old Centreville Rd, PW Pkwy, Signal Hill Rd, Station Rd, Sudley Manor Dr, Sudley Rd, Rte 15, Rte 29, Rte 55, and Wellington Rd.

c)  Innovation Town Center: Plan and develop a robust pedestrian and bicycle network, including a high-quality connection to the north side of the expanded Broad Run VRE Station.

6)  Operate a Vibrant Safe Routes to School Program:

a)  All new public schools, including the 13th high school, should be walkable and bikeable and include quality bicycle parking accommodations.

7)  Make Walking and Bicycling Safer:

a) Improve pedestrian crossings of multilane arterials (e.g., add missing pedestrian crossing signals, Leading Pedestrian Intervals, conspicuously  marked crosswalks, sidewalk bulb outs, and/or streetlights; remove Right-Turn-Only Lanes).

b) Retrofit missing sidewalks along arterial roadways and on walk routes to schools and transit.

c) Provide a signed detour when pedestrian or bicycle facilities are closed for construction or maintenance activities.

8)  Build a Comprehensive Recreational Trails Network:

a) Complete the East Coast Greenway/Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail shared-use path through PWC, generally between Rte 1 and the Potomac River.

9)  Improve VRE Bicycle Access:

a)  Provide covered bicycle parking and rental bicycle storage lockers at every VRE station in Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.

b)  Improve bike/ped connections to VRE stations from all directions, including the expanded Broad Run station (including the Broad Run Trail), to improve bike/ped access to VRE from Bristow, the Landing at Cannon Branch, and Innovation Town Center.

c)  Expand VRE bike-on-rail access (long capped at 34 bikes on 17 daily trains).

10)  Provide Ubiquitous, Quality Bicycle Parking Accommodations.

2018 Manassas Community Conversations and Comprehensive Plan Update

Content derived from http://manassascity.org/2431/Comprehensive-Plan-Update

Using an 18-month process, the City of Manassas will update its Comprehensive Plan–the City’s key policy document for land use, development, preservation and related economic and social issues.  As part of that update, the City will also develop its first Transportation Master Plan to guide future transportation investments and improve mobility in the City.  This is an exciting time for City residents as the Manassas community envisions its future!

Citizen input in updating the Comprehensive Plan is vital to a more livable Manassas.  Throughout the summer and fall, the City will host a second round of Community Conversations on key topic areas, like land use and transportation.  These conversations began on June 19th with a visioning session on land use.  Additional meetings are scheduled throughout the summer and fall.  City Staff will also be available to meet with neighborhood and community organizations to gather feedback. Please contact 703-257-8223 for more information about hosting a meeting.

Upcoming Meetings

Parks & Recreation Community Conversation
hosted by the Parks & Recreation Committee
Wednesday, July 11th – 7 PM @ Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William Street

Community Appearance & Environment Community Conversation
hosted by the Manassas Beautification Committee
Thursday, July 19th – 7 PM @ Public Works, 8500 Public Works Drive

Economic Development Community Conversation
hosted by the Manassas Business Council
Thursday, August 2nd – 12 PM @ Centerfuse, 9071 Center Street

Infrastructure Community Conversations
hosted by the Utility Commission
Thursday, August 9th – 7 PM @ Public Works, 8500 Public Works Drive

Culture & Historic Resources Community Conversation
hosted by the Historic Resources Board
Tuesday, September 4th – 7 PM @ Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William Street

Community Conversation Town Hall
hosted by the Manassas City Council
Monday, September 17th – 7 PM @ Location TBA

Past Meetings

Comprehensive Plan Kickoff & Community Conversation on Land Use
hosted by the Planning Commission
Tuesday, June 19th– 7 PM @ Boys and Girls Club, 9501 Dean Park Ln.

Land Use Community Conversation Meeting Materials

Land Use Community Conversation Presentation

Additional Resources

About the Update

Current Comprehensive Plan

Community Conversations Phase 1

Sign Up for Updates

View coverage of the Community Conversations Kick Off meeting:

community conversations link

Please visit www.manassascity.org/planmanassas for additional information and additional meeting dates.

Active Prince William’s Bicycle Parking Campaign Highlighted by What ‘s Up Woodbridge News Site.

Improving the availability of bicycle parking in Prince William and Greater Manassas Area is a stated goal of Active Prince William. Recently we have been working with Prince William County and VDOT officials and staff to encourage installation of bicycle racks at transit stations. Just recently new bike racks were installed at the Woodbridge VRE station both outside (see photo below), and inside the parking garage so bikes can be stored out of the elements.

New bike rack installed at Woodbridge VRE Station

New bike rack recently installed at Woodbridge VRE Station.

County Bicycle Parking Guidelines. Fairfax County recently adopted Bicycle Parking Guidelines, and we hope to see Prince William follow suit. We have been engaged with the County via the Trails and Blueways Council (TBC) and PW DOT to officially establish bicycle rack installation guidelines in the County’s construction manual.  This will help ensure that any new bicycle racks that are installed by the County, developers, or businesses, follow best practices.

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Map of Route from Old Town Manassas Bike Rack Inventory Ride.

Mapping Existing Bike Racks. In order to better understand and address bicycle parking availability in the area, Active Prince William is actively mapping all the existing bicycle racks that we can find in Prince William County and Greater Manassas.  We are using a website developed by Bike Arlington, called Rackspotter to map bicycle parking and enable users to find the locations of bike parking when they need it. So far, we have mapped 82 bike racks and lockers across the area. In an effort to find and map every available bike rack in the Old Town Manassas vicinity, we conducted a bike rack inventory by bicycling over 9 miles through the area searching for racks (see map of our route).

Here is the article by What’s Up Woodbridge about Active Prince William and our Bicycle Parking Campaign:

Where are all the bike racks in Prince William?