County Response 6/8/18: A pedestrian will have to cross the street two (2) times, at Dearborn Drive and Kerns Road, to walk from Columbia Pike to Route 7.

County Response 6/8/18: The design presented in April 2018 calls for the installation of three (3) retaining walls at the following locations:

• Wall #1, located at Dearborn Drive, has a maximum height of 5.5’. The total length of this wall is 226’.
• Wall #2, located north of Valley Brook Drive, has a maximum height of 7’. The total length of this wall is 146’.
• Wall #3, located adjacent to the church property, has a maximum height of 6.5’. The total length of this wall is 224’.

County Response 6/8/18: Sleepy Hollow Road will not be widened as a result of this project.  Generally, the April 2018 plans propose the installation of the walkway within the existing parking lane north of Holmes Run Road. There will be a reduction of impervious area within this segment of the project. South of Holmes Run Road, the walkway was shown to be installed behind the existing curb.

County Response 6/8/18: The project will not be continuous from Bay Tree Lane to Route 7. Please reference the graphics submitted for the April 2018 citizen meeting to review the work locations proposed.

County Response 6/8/18: VDOT standards call for a 4’ grass buffer area between the edge of the walkway and the back of the curb. The April 2018 project plans show a 2’ grass buffer area. When the project typical section is finalized, the project team will submit a sidewalk buffer waiver request to VDOT for approval for the non-standard design. The request will detail the need for the reduced buffer width to avoid additional impacts to private property and trees.

County Response 6/8/18: The April 2018 plans call for the removal of the street parking on the westside of Sleepy Hollow Road between Holmes Run Road and Aspen Lane. This idea was first mentioned at the community meeting held in 2017. The citizens that attend the 2017 meeting indicated that the parking along Sleepy Hollow Road was not heavily used. A parking study was performed during the summer of 2017. The information obtained during the parking study verified the feedback received from the community. For this reason, the sidewalk was proposed within the existing parking lane to limit impacts to private property. Further parking reductions are under consideration in other areas of the project that have property impacts.

County Response 6/8/18: The April 2018 design plans indicate that there are impacts to 32 entrances as a result of this project. The County will reconstruct the entrances that are impacted by the project in accordance with VDOT standards. The material type for the entrance will match the material type that exists today. Entrance profiles are shown in the project plans and are available to the public to review upon request or they can be viewed at the next citizen’s information meeting. Due to the early design stage of the project, not all entrance profiles are finalized. There are open County and VDOT comments that will impact future iterations of the plans for this aspect of the project.

County Response 6/8/18: A developer has recently completed a site plan submission with the County for the redevelopment of this property. The developer will be required to install a walkway along their Sleepy Hollow Road frontage that will tie-in with the County walkway project. A timeline for the developer project has not been established at this time however, they are actively moving forward with their site plan submissions. The walkway in this area will be connected to Malbrook Drive.

County Response 6/8/18: The schedule presented in the public meeting indicated that the project would begin construction late in 2020. This schedule will be delayed while additional iterations of the design are presented to the community for public comment. The project schedule will be updated when the scope is finalized. The current construction schedule for the project allows one (1) year for construction. This schedule is an estimate based on the current scope of the project and may be adjusted as the project moves through the project development process.

County Response 6/8/18: The schedule presented during the last public meeting assumed no further scope changes. There are still several open questions on the project that were raised during the April 2018 public meeting that the design team is currently addressing. The project will not achieve 90% plans this fall as a result of the feedback received in April.

County Response 6/8/18: The utility relocation design will proceed when the project scope has been finalized and the 90% level plans are created. This step will not begin until after the next public meeting for the project. The project design team will seek to minimize utility conflicts during the design process. The current drainage design shown in the April 2018 plans is expected to impact the existing waterline north of Holmes Run Road at several locations. Utility impacts will be shared with the public, along with a schedule for the work, as the project progresses.

County Response 6/8/18: A homeowner would not be liable for incidents that occur within the public right of way. The plan presented in April 2018 locates the sidewalk entirely within the public right of way. There are locations that the purchase of land rights will be necessary. A property owner is not required to remove the snow from a sidewalk installed near their property. There is no public agency, VDOT or County, that will remove snow from a sidewalk following a snow storm.

County Response 6/8/18: VDOT is responsible for maintenance of Sleepy Hollow Road. It is the County’s intent to provide a pedestrian facility that meets VDOT design standards to allow VDOT to maintain all of the proposed features of the project. VDOT will review the project plans to ensure the design meets all state standards. VDOT will not contribute to the funding for the design or construction of the project.

County Response 6/8/18: We are unable to use trees as retaining walls for the project. In the event a retaining wall is necessary to preserve existing grade near the walkway, the County will need to use a slope retention option that could be approved by VDOT.

County Response 6/8/18: A pedestrian signal was initially proposed for the project at Dearborn Drive and Bay Tree Lane. VDOT standards require a minimum of 20 pedestrians crossing the roadway in any one hour period of the day to warrant the installation of a pedestrian signal. These intersections did not meet this condition during our field investigation.
 

County Response 6/8/18: The design team will need to acquire several permits necessary to construct the project from County agencies as well as from VDOT. There are no formal Board of Supervisors votes required to move forward with the project.

County Response 6/22/18: The Commonwealth Transportation Board does not have oversight of this project. This project is funded using Commercial and Industrial Tax Revenues. The distribution of funds from this source is the responsibility of the County.

County Response 6/22/18: The April 2018 plans indicate there are impacts to 53 parcels as a result of the project. Impacts typically extend further from the roadway at driveway entrances  The County must reconstruct entrances in accordance with VDOT standards  Excluding entrance reconstruction, there are 13 properties shown in the April 2018 plans that propose grading limits in excess of 10’ from the existing right of way line. The majority of the parcels impacted on the project require minimal grading behind the proposed walkway to tie-in with existing grade. Further revisions are currently under review which will reduce the impacts shown in the April 2018 plans.

County Response 6/22/18: The project will not require regrading 15’ beyond the existing curb line all along Sleepy Hollow Road. Excluding driveway entrance reconstruction, grading 15’ from the right of way line can be found at 7 properties as depicted in the April 2018 plans.

County Response 6/22/18: The sidewalk is proposed on the west side of Sleepy Hollow Road, between Kerns Road and Route 7, because this side of the road offered a lesser impact to the surrounding community than a sidewalk installed on the east side of the road.  There is already an existing sidewalk located on the west side between Kerns Road and Marlo Drive as well as from Aspen Lane to Route 7. Additionally, the topography of the land on the west side of the roadway generally allows the project to tie-in with existing grade closer to the roadway. A tie-in point closer to the roadway limits tree removal and the impacts to private property. The project team is considering the installation of a cross walk at the Congressional School Entrance. This feature will have to be reviewed by VDOT on future design submittals for the project.

County Response 6/22/18: The bridge near the school entrance will not be modified with this project. Pedestrians will use the sidewalk on the shoulder of the existing bridge structure.
 

County Response 7/9/18: Sidewalk will not be added on the eastside of Sleepy Hollow Road from Kerns Road to Congressional School. A crossing point will be marked in the vicinity of the Congressional School entrance to allow pedestrians to reach the school from the sidewalk planned for the eastside of the roadway.

County Response 7/30/18: Speed bumps are not an option for Sleepy Hollow Road. VDOT will not allow speed bumps on an Urban Minor Arterial.

County Response 7/17/18: The County Bicycle Master Plan calls for the installation of a bike lane on at least one side of Sleepy Hollow Road. The opposing travel direction of travel will be marked with “Sharrows.” Sharrows are pavement markings that indicate to the traveling public that cars must share the road with bicyclists. The dedicated bike lane would typically be placed in the uphill direction with the sharrows installed in the downhill direction. It is not known at this time if a bike lane will be marked with the current project. This will be an ongoing coordination effort with VDOT as the project moves forward. The April 2018 design does not accommodate the typical section provided in the Bicycle Master Plan. For this reason, the proposed curb line shown in the April 2018 plans will be shifted 1’ towards the existing curb.  As a result of this change, the proposed walkway width will be reduced by 1’, from 7’ to 6’, between Holmes Run and Aspen Lane to ensure that the grading limit does not extend further into private property. The wider walkway is proposed to accommodate less experienced bike riders such as children so they do not have to ride in the roadway.