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TextSupervisor Cook Announces Sidewalk Construction in Front of Terra Centre School to Begin Soon
Supervisor Cook announces that Fairfax County will soon begin building a
sidewalk from the corner of Pond Spice Lane to Terra Centre Elementary
School in Burke. Construction is set to begin within the next few weeks,
months of ahead of schedule. Cook hopes the sidewalk will be one step
among many to improve pedestrian safety and access along the
parkway.
This past spring, he set up the Burke Centre Parkway (BCP) Pedestrian
and Motorist Safety Task Force to address growing concern among residents
of Burke that the BCP was not safe to cross, especially in front of Terra
Centre. The Task Force includes members of the Burke Centre Conservancy,
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), Burke Walks Safe and Green, the
Terra Centre Parent Teacher Association, and staff from the Virginia and
Fairfax County Departments of Transportation. A report from the Task
Force is due back to Mr. Cook in August.
“Since I was elected, this has been one of my two spot improvement
priorities, and I believe it will better allow parents to walk their
children to school. It supports the work of the Task Force to create
safety improvements for pedestrians and motorists along the Parkway, and
is a step in the right direction,” stated Cook, who submitted the
sidewalk improvement in 2009 as part of the County’s Spot Transportation
Projects list.
In May, the Board of Supervisors voted to endorse a Safe Routes to
Schools (SRTS) application, submitted jointly by Task Force
representatives from FCPS, the County, parents at Terra Centre Elementary
School and the Conservancy. The application has been submitted to the
Virginia Department of Transportation for review by the Commonwealth
Transportation Board for possible funding in fiscal year 2012.
If approved, the $400,000 grant request will improve sidewalks along the
north side of the Parkway from Burke Commons Road all along the front of
the shopping center. It will also improve the un-signalized crosswalk at
Marshall Pond Road/Schoolhouse Woods Road by widening the concrete median
and narrowing the travel lanes to better facilitate pedestrian crossing.
The application is a test case for infrastructure improvements that could
serve as a model for future County SRTS requests.
“I applaud the efforts of the Task Force to date, especially those of
Bill Harrell its chair and Mr. Andrew Lentz, who spear-headed the
application. This is a great example of government working as facilitator
to support a community-lead initiative,” stated Cook.
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