Reston Road Diet Giving Residents Plenty of Heartburn (Centreville, Fairfax: lawyers, homes)

[SteelCityRising]

I was reading the web site of the Fairfax Times and came across an article about the current conversion of Lawyers Road in South Reston from a four-lane artery to a three-lane artery (one in each direction with a center turning lane and bike lanes on both sides of the road) along a two-mile stretch between Reston Parkway and Myrtle Lane. As with all minor mole hills in Reston, this has very quickly turned into a "mountain" with people flapping their gums, waving their arms around, going into mass panic attacks, and complaining on both sides of the issue. This "road diet" is wildly supported by pedestrian/bicyclist-oriented advocates and is admonished by those who have fears that the increasingly busy commuter shortcut between Reston and Fairfax will be unable to handle being only one lane in each direction. According to the article one resident even expressed concern that more elderly drivers would cause accidents by being "too confused" to know how to use the center turn lane (if that's the case then they shouldn't even be driving in the first place!)

One person commented on the article and encouraged the Restonians bickering about this apparent "story of the century" to come down to Centreville to look at a successful prior road diet of Pleasant Valley Road. Personally ANYTHING to reduce speeding, heighten driver vigilance, and promote a safe environment for cyclists and pedestrians in a community that is in sore need of work in all three of these departments is a positive in my book. I don't care if the elderly drivers "might not know how to use the center turn lanes." Tough. If they hit me, then I'll sue them. Simple as that!

What do others think? Are road diets a good idea? Should people's front lawns instead be claimed through eminent domain to make safety improvements for cyclists? Shouldn't issues like these have been considered BEFORE the affected areas were even developed, or is "long-term planning" impossible in a region that builds first and asks questions later?

[JfromReston]

I've never seen enough trafffic on that stretch of road to justify two lanes each way except when Mass is about to start or just gets out at the big Catholic Church.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by JfromReston

I've never seen enough trafffic on that stretch of road to justify two lanes each way except when Mass is about to start or just gets out at the big Catholic Church.

That's pretty much in accordance with what VADOT is asserting as well. I don't know why such relatively minor issues in Reston always get blown so out of proportion---must be too quiet in Mayberry when....gasp...a BIKE LANE...(or also an indoor recreational center) freak people out!

[lchoro]

Lawyers squeezes into one lane in each direction at both ends. If there was a lot of traffic on that road, they wouldn't be reducing the number of lanes in the four-lane section. Except for the excessive number of stop lights and the close proximity of homes, that section of Lawyers is well designed to attract teen drag racing.

[RedKnightt]

I think that the change is a good idea. The road doesn't see enough traffic to make this change anything but an improvement. I'm not a cyclist, but I'm glad to see them get a safer area to ride in. And as for taking people's front yards via eminent domain, that's a terrible idea. Eminent domain should be used as a last resort for extreme cases, not for something as inconsequential as bike lanes.

As for making mountains out of molehills, that's what you get when you have a community with too much free time.

just my $0.02