City of Fairfax Plans Bike Lanes Pilot Program

Fairfax, Virginia, is getting designated bike lanes for the first time, but it's only a pilot program and could be ripped right out.

Plans for a larger bike lane network already have been scaled back.

Fairfax City Council member Nancy Loftus voted against the plan for the bike lanes, saying it doesn't make sense and doesn't strike a balance between need and safety.

"There is an existing bike trail that I think is better and safer for both the cyclists and vehicles," she said.

A section of University Drive will change from two lanes of traffic in each direction to just one lane of traffic along with a bike lane on each side and a turn lane down the middle.

Cyclists are happy to have it.

"It also gives you that sense of, I have a safe place to be in," Spokes bike shop service manager Buck Strouther said.

Strouther said he's been pushing to get more of his type of infrastructure around the city, but he also understands the dynamic that plays out on the roads.

"In any culture there are respectful and non-respectful cyclists,” he said. “I think everybody has to follow the rules of the road."

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