Arlington County Board Candidate Peter Fallon on Cycling

Peter Fallon answered our questions about cycling on his Facebook page.  Here is what he had to say:

I fully support sharing the road (sharrows and bike lanes, or travel lane) with cyclists. Biking is not just a recreational choice, it's a key modal element of transportation in Arlington. For 5 years, I served on Arlington's Master Transportation Plan (MTP) Plenary Group, which included adding a bike element. I support the adding more safe bike lanes throughout the County and better connections to our trails. As a member of the Long Bridge Park Task Force, I can say that establishing a trail connection from the Mt. Vernon trail, over the GW parkway and Roaches Run, linking up to our new park and beyoned is a priority. We do need Natl. Park Service approval. Congressman Moran is said to be seeking the funding for the connection too.

One accident is too many, and there are far too many accidents happening in Rosslyn. We need to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of the cyclists at the Lynn St. intersection and anywhere else we have a danger point. As a planning commissioner, I've always supported additional bike lockers in new commercial and residential buildings, and shower facilities in the office buildings. Our streetscapes have been adding more bike racks for cyclists convenience. I have supported Arlington's participation in Capital Bikeshare, and recommended potential new locations. Arlington is a leading community in recognizing the importance of using bikes as a transportation option. Many buses are equipped with bike racks for multimodal commuting, While snow is not frequent most winters, we can do a better job of clearing the streets vs just plowing the snow into the bike lanes. We can do more, and with the help of the cyclist community, we will do more. My vision includes making biking a desirable option for more potential riders. expanding our bike lane network as part of our street redesigns, partnering with APS to encourage more students to ride to school, and increasing driver awareness of sharing the road.

No, I don't commute via bicycle. I drop my 3 year old off at preschool on my way to work, so a car is more practical. However, I do telework frequently, so I'm not on driving on the roads, but not getting exercise from cycling either!