We should also have equestrian trails throughout the western part of the county. The equine industry is very large in Loudoun, and having these sort of recreational facilities should be just as much of a priority as ball fields and square parks. If we don't start building such "greenways" into our Land Use policies now, it will become a costly proposition once further development is complete. Incorporating recreational trails of all sorts creates tremendous opportunity to have healthy and livable areas that are environmentally friendly and inexpensive to maintain.

Posted by adrienne.gardner (anonymous) on March 26, 2009 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

During the late '80s a concerned group of citizens saw the writing on the wall. They formed a group which put together a proposed trail network throughout Loudoun County. The network was to exchange tax breaks for landowners in exchange for voluntarily granting public access through their lands.
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The group put together a detailed proposal incorporating bike, pedestrian, and multi use trails for all of Loudoun's residents (especially the many who did not yet live here, but were coming soon- Ashburn, South Riding, Countryside, Belmont, Lansdowne, Potomac Station....). The proposal was extensive and many people donated their time and expertise to said project.
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The Greenways project presented their recommendations to the then Dale Polen Myers led developer dominated Board of Supervisors and were promptly laughed out of the room.
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Imagine what a different place Loudoun County would be for recreation pursuits for both visiting tourists and residents had any measure of their plan been implemented?

Posted by AFF3 (anonymous) on March 26, 2009 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is a case of "pay me now, or pay me (more) later." I recall one member of the 2003 board laughing at the idea that anyone in Loudoun would ever commute by bicycle. It probably doesn't seem quite so funny now.

Those lanes and paths could have been relatively easily incorporated into the development that has occurred since then, and it will now be more difficult than it needs to be to retrofit. But we have no choice but to facilitate as many alternatives to auto travel as possible. No single solution will be enough, and bicycle transit contributes to the solution of several costly problems at once - obesity related healthcare costs, dependence on oil, climate change, need for road expansion, etc. Let's do it now, before it becomes even more difficult.

Posted by daviddanaan (anonymous) on March 26, 2009 at 6:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What about the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan?

That postdates the Greenways Plan, and was either adopted late in the 99 "smart" growth board's term, or early in the 03 board.

Why would the Board have to "come up with" a bike plan when it already has an adopted one?

Implementation doesn't happen in a vacuum; development is now required to do the portions present in the county adopted plan, but that is a catch-as-can that doesn't fully address connectivity.

The same argument is being made as for the abortive school-advance suggestions, spend now to save.

It sounds nice, but bikes already have the use of the road system (and I think that both bikes and car drivers need to improve in general on sharing the road), and regardless of ther number of people who enjoy horseback riding, it hasn't yet returned to a major commuting mode.

Give us a few years of cap and trade though, and we'll be back in another century, so who knows!

I don't think this budget will bear the addition of a new government position, OR the adoption of a whole new plan when we already have one.

Posted by BarbaraMunsey (anonymous) on March 27, 2009 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Don't worry, Pat and other bicyclists. As soon as "The One" rams through his 'cap and trade' boondoggle, the price of fuel will become so expensive that folks will have to leave their cars in the driveway and join you on their bicycles. Even those cute, p-c little hybrids will be too expensive to run since they will need to be charged with electric power - power which will be as expensive as gasoline. In fact, the cost of ALL fuels will be exorbitant, in keeping with cap-and-trade.

And the Manchurian Candidate "The One" and his puppet master George Soros (the anti-American billionaire socialist) will be successful in their agenda to bring the USA to its knees.

Hmm. 'to its knees'. Wonder when "The One" will order mandatory conversions to I-Slam.

Posted by segeny (anonymous) on March 27, 2009 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)