The Arlington County board unanimously approved a plan Tuesday to help encourage more people to use bicycles as a mode of transportation in the Virginia county, its first comprehensive update to the county’s Master Transportation Plan since 2008.
The new multifaceted plan calls for expanding and improving Arlington’s bicycle transportation infrastructure by adding new facilities along key bike paths such as Columbia Pike, Glebe Road and Lee Highway, and creating safer conditions for existing bike paths through additional education and enforcement of traffic laws.
The plan also accounts for the additional riding options, such as Capital Bikeshare, dockless bicycles and scooters.
“Arlington is all about providing transportation choices,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement. “This plan, developed through a lot of thoughtful work by our community and staff, provides a blueprint for upgrading our existing bicycle facilities so that people of all ages and abilities feel safe and comfortable riding bicycles in Arlington.”
The county points out it has already begun enhancing some of its 52 miles of shared-use trails and 36 miles of marked bicycle lanes with marked buffer strips or flexible barriers to further separate vehicle traffic from the bicycle lanes.
