October 23, 2025 PC Transportation Committee - Oct 23, 2025
meeting
Fairfax County Planning Commission
1h 1m
5 speakers
7 agenda items
transcribed 7 days ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What agenda items were approved at the start of the Transportation Committee meeting?
I'm Mary Cortina, and I'm the acting chair for the evening. Walter Clark, our chairman, and Jeremy Hancock, our vice chairman, are traveling this evening. And I want to welcome everyone here and our staff from FCDOT, from the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. And I'm calling to order at 8.30 this meeting of the Transportation Committee of the Planning Commission. First order of business is approval of the minutes. Do I have a motion from a committee member?
Madam Chair, I move for approval of the October 10, 2024 minutes.
Second. All in favor?
Aye.
OK, that passes. And with that, we just have one item on the agenda, which is the draft Active Transportation and Trails Plan and the Active Transportation Plan Study, which is coming before us as a plan amendment. And we have our staff from FC DOT. If you'll just say your name and introduce yourselves. for the record, that would be great. And then I'll turn it over to you.
I'm Laura Ghosh. I am the Active Transportation Section Chief at Fairfax County DOT. Welcome.
Good evening. I'm Nicola Winans. I'm with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. I'm an Active Transportation Planner 4.
I'm Mike Garcia with the Transportation Planning Section of FCDOT.
Wonderful. Okay, so we'll get started with your presentation, and then we'll have a discussion afterwards with the Planning Commission. Go ahead. Thanks. Do
you want
to?
Okay.
Perfect. So thanks again for having us today. So we appreciate the opportunity to give you an update on the draft Active Transportation and Trails Plan tonight as part of the Active Fairfax Transportation Plan Study Plan Amendment 2025-CW-T1. Today I will walk through the purpose and structure of the plan and summarize community feedback, review the draft plan map and facility typologies, and close with next steps. This plan builds on several years of work. So phase one, which we launched in 2020, established the foundation through public outreach, the initial map, and a county-wide gap analysis. In phase two, which we began in 2022, we focused on developing the active transportation toolkit and detailed active transportation network recommendations.
In May 2025, the board authorized drafting the Active Transportation and Trails Plan Amendment to consolidate and replace the Bicycle Master Plan and County Ride Trails Plan. We are now in the refinement phase following the public comment last month, with adoption anticipated in spring 2026. The plan's goals are to streamline active transportation planning guidance, fill gaps in the plan network, and bring facility selection guidance up to current best practices, including a safe systems and complete streets approach. The plan prioritizes all ages and abilities design, integrated planning with land use, and environmental stewardship. Public input has been collected over several years through surveys, online mapping tools, and community meetings.
During the initial engagement in 2021, we heard from the community strong support for expanded trails and bicycle facilities, concern about pedestrian safety and sidewalk connectivity, requests for completing missing network links, a desire for more off-street facilities such as cycle tracks and multi-use trails, and appreciation for the outreach opportunity. In 2024, the project conducted outreach on the draft active transportation network, facility selection guidance, and the toolkit. Common themes focused on the safety and convenience of current condition, as well as barriers limiting active mobility, such as wide roads and busy intersections. Comments related to the proposed plan network were largely supportive and constructive, including requests for additional connections to schools, parks, and transit.
Other supportive feedback focused on using road diets and speed limit reductions to implement active transportation projects. Respondents expressed a strong preference for separated facilities that reduce interactions with vehicle traffic and emphasize the importance of safety and comfort for all users and users of all ages and abilities.
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Agenda
7 items
1
What agenda items were approved at the start of the Transportation Committee meeting?
0:00–14:47
2
How does the Active Transportation and Trails Plan update address community feedback?
14:47–26:11
3
What are the main goals and typologies of the draft Active Transportation Plan?
26:11–36:10
4
How are the different facility selection tables organized and used?
36:10–46:37
5
What does the Active Transportation Toolkit provide for planners and developers?
46:37–52:49
6
How can developers and the county leverage resources to fill network gaps?
52:49–58:02
7
What questions did the public raise about map access and implementation details?
58:02–1:01:36
Speakers
5 identified
Mary D. Cortina 10 min
Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner 8 min
John A. Carter 5 min
Evelyn S. Spain 3 min
Timothy J. Sargeant 1 min
Officials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.