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SURVEY >> Connecting trails and path maps needed Area bicyclists, pedestrians seek improved path system

September 6, 2007 12:35 am

By KELLY HANNON

People would ride and stride more often in the Fredericksburg area if there were a better network of paths.

A survey of local cyclists and walkers by the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization found the majority think area roads are ill-suited for recreational use.

Respondents also would bike or walk more if there were more safety considerations for bikers and walkers on roads, and if a map displaying the region's existing paths and trails were available.

Andy Waple, senior regional planner for FAMPO, organized the trails survey. He's overseeing the creation of a regional bicycle and pedestrian plan.

To be published this winter, the plan will look for ways to connect existing and proposed paths in area counties and the city of Fredericksburg.

Paths between residential and commercial centers will be considered, Waple said, so people can safely travel between home, work and shops without a car. The regional plan will look for more of these opportunities.

Waple is getting help from a committee of area planners and residents interested in cycling and walking.

"What we need to focus on as we plan this network is to get people from Point A to Point B, to get them from where they are to where they need to be," said Scott Howson, chairman of the Sierra Club's Rappahannock Group. The Fredericksburg resident serves on FAMPO's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

Waple isn't surprised by the survey results. People are frustrated because paths tend to stop abruptly, Waple said.

Dave Jones, president of the Rappahannock, Fredericksburg & Potomac chapter of BikeWalk Virginia, regularly commutes 20 miles to work on his bike from his King George home to his job at Dahlgren.

Jones shares the respondents' safety concerns. He's had close calls with cars on local roads and takes the long way to and from work for safety reasons.

"Typically people give you a wide berth, at least half a lane, three or four feet, but the rare people seem to be making a point when they whiz by at 55 miles per hour, and the rearview mirror passes inches from our head," Jones said.

Wider traffic lanes, shoulders and sidewalks would improve pedestrian safety on area roads, he said.

He's noticed people flock to the King George Courthouse area to walk, one of the county's few spots with sidewalks for long stretches. Jones bikes to the store to run errands, but he's one of the few people he knows that do so.

"If people felt safe, they would do it," Jones said.

Exercise was cited most frequently as the reason for biking and walking, followed closely by recreation.

Waple plans to tap into the public-health community as part of his work.

"Once we get a proposed network in place, and we run through the localities and elected officials, we will try to reach out to MediCorp and the different agencies and organizations that have an interest in those issues," Waple said. MediCorp Health System operates Mary Washington Hospital.

The Sierra Club wants to respond to one survey request immediately--the map of regional bike and walking paths. The club is gathering information from residents to compile a map it will try to distribute at libraries, bike shops and other public places, Howson said.