Dwight Avenue Improvements

As a Dwight Ave resident, I am adamantly opposed to the addition of a sidewalk. The addition of a sidewalk will not make the road safer. In fact adding a sidewalk is considered DANGEROUS near high speed roads such as Dwight/Orchard. The added sidewalk will not make the road safer for cars as the road will become more narrow. Vehicles parked on the street will have a higher chance of being hit by speeding vehicles. Many narrow streets with parking are forced to push in their sideview mirrors. The narrow street will also cause more congestion as we defer to the other vehicle to pass making the road a one way bottle neck (currently occurs on Dwight between Virginia and Roberts).

As Carolyn mentioned, more traffic calming measures should be addressed. In 2017 I'd requested a stop sign at the corner of Dwight Ave/Orchard and was told the it was not warranted. It is an extremely dangerous intersection. Horns are honked on a continuous basis due to confused/speeding drivers. I cross my children to the bus stop and do so with fear of being hit by a vehicle as there is no stop sign. We added a fence around our property to limit the danger our children are exposed to when playing in their own yard.

We were made aware of City Rights-of-way in 2017 when we were informed the proposed sidewalk would eat into "our property." The current proposal has our mail box being moved as well. Not only will the sidewalk be on our side of the road (more litter and animal waste than I currently have to pick up) but vehicles will ONLY be allowed to park on our side of the road as well. This creates an eye soar and takes away from curb appeal.

I appreciate the opportunity to raise my concerns. I am hopeful the issues we have all raised will be addressed.

I live on the corner of Dwight and Roberts. The proposed sidewalk will probably affect my property more than any other but I do see a need for it, although I am heartbroken that the azaleas my parents planted over forty years ago will need to be removed along with some other bushes, and a four-year-old tree. The shrubbery cannot just be moved because it would damage the root system of two trees I planted a few years back.

For those of us who live on Dwight Avenue, we must constantly deal with cut-through traffic, speeding cars, and much too frequently, loud exhaust systems that rattle windows. It's frustrating. Should funding be granted for this project, I hope more traffic calming measures will be addressed and implemented because a sidewalk doesn't always guarantee safety. One night a couple of years ago someone lost control of their car and ran into and plowed down two layers of my shrubs at the corner.
This is a wonderful, family-oriented neighborhood. Let's pull together to keep everyone safe.
As an aside, I thought I was the only person on the street who had lived here for decades. From the comments, it seems as though there are others whom I have apparently not yet met. Some might have otherwise assumed those comments came from me but alas, this is the only comment I have posted. Carolyn G.

Love the improvements, wish they could come faster, specifically the stop sign change. I drive that road often and was just nearly t-boned in my car yesterday turning from Dwight left onto Roberts because the person at the stop sign going towards Main Street could not see that it was my turn to go after the car in front of them went. I could also not see them coming at me around the giant tree and fence at the home on that corner until they were next to me. Moving the stop sign now would be best for a short term fix, but an overall timeline of 5 to 6 years to improve this barely two-block section of road is comical/sad/disappointing and way too slow.

Yes please would relieve some of the awkward not right angled intersection

We live on Dwight Ave and will be directly impacted by the construction, and we wholeheartedly support the proposed improvements. We look forward to being able to safely walk down our street in the future! These improvements will also make the Dwight/Roberts intersection safer for cars as well as pedestrians. The city staff at the open house were very helpful in understanding the reasoning behind the new plans.

I fully support the proposed sidewalk and intersection improvements. My family and I have been walking down Dwight Ave very often (almost daily over the winter months) with our daughter in the stroller and I always have a bad feeling on Dwight Ave, especially in the winter when visibility was poor or at certain times when traffic was really heavy. From what I’ve heard today at the open house, the sidewalk will be built mainly on the existing roadway, hence the private properties should see minimal issues, but I understand that any roadwork is an annoyance for the affected owners. However, the level of safety improvement with this project more than outweighs that. It may not matter much if all you do is drive a car, but it is an immense improvement for everyone who likes to use their legs or other non-car modes of transportation. I’m not surprised some neighbors say they don’t see many people walking along Dwight, as currently it is a safety issue. We would sometimes prefer to use it to walk into old town, but often choose the detour via Forst Ave to avoid Dwight with our little one, which is also not ideal as the gravel path is not lit and it adds about 15 min travel time per direction. If you make a neighborhood more pedestrian friendly, more people will take advantage of it. As the road is today, I couldn’t allow my kids to walk over to friends’ homes on Dwight, so for everyone who has kids or grandkids in the area this really should be a no-brainer. I’ve seen a few of kids playing on Dwight Ave and I’ve witnessed a few close calls. Narrowing the road hopefully reduces the traffic that bypasses Robers @ Main.

Dwight ave 100% needs sidewalks that connect from Orchard to sager. I live on Dwight ave in-between Roberts and Virginia and there is no safe space to walk. There have been many times trying to cross the street on Roberts from Dwight that have been extremely close calls. I am disappointed in other's comments that would not want a sidewalk put in for our communities safety. Sidewalks create a safer environment for everyone walking our neighborhood and even help increase our property values. Along with the sidewalks being a MAJOR NEED, the intersection between Roberts, Sager, and Dwight needs a drastic improvement not only for the safety of pedestrians, but the intersection itself is difficult to maneuver.
Thank you for your time and consideration for this project!

Those who support the sidewalks are not the ones having their yards, shrubs and fences dug up!! Would be a different story if it was their land.

Have lived in Dwight Avenue for over 50 years. We do not need our yards dug up, shrubs and fences destroyed just for sidewalks. There is not that much pedestrians walking to justify putting them in. What we do need in s a no left hand turn sign to Main Street onto Orchard. Our street is used has a cut through to Robert’s road and the cars fly down this street, barely stopping at 4 way stop signs, and since there is no stop sign at Orchard and Dwight, they fly around that corner.
Adding sidewalks also make the street parking on the street more dangerous since it will make the road more narrow. Bad idea that those of us on the Dwight/ Orchard End are highly against.

Thank you for the opportunity to review the proposed, and much-needed sidewalk on Dwight Ave. I’ve personally had many close encounters with cars on Dwight because there is no sidewalk; leaving one with no choice but to walk in the road-with heavy-fast-moving vehicles whizzing by. I saw a couple just law week with a stroller trying to traverse this area in the road with an infant and nowhere to go but the road. Thanks for looking at this in terms of safety, sidewalk-neighborhood connectivity, and overall improvements in the quality of life we’ve come to enjoy here in Fairfax City. For consideration: Add bike decals in the roadway and better crosswalks at the three-way stop at Dwight/Roberts/Sager, including removing the tree that blocks drivers view turning West/left onto Roberts. Crosswalk at Dwight and Orchard would be very useful as well as 3-way stop signs at Dwight/Orchard both directions.

I live on Sager Avenue less then a block from this intersection and fully support sidewalks and improvements in this area. My son has friends that live only a few blocks away but he would have to walk down this unsafe road to get to them. I appreciate the City making the streets safer for everyone. I look forward to seeing the proposed plans. I'm sure many of my neighbors may not realize that the property they think is theirs is actually City right-of-way. The wants and desires of the few should not outweigh the benefit to the community as a whole. Shrubs can be replanted. If you want less cars on the road then there has to be safe alternatives to travel.
That intersection of Dwight and Roberts is dangerous. It is very difficult to see from Dwight heading west if there is a car on Roberts heading north. We have a beautiful park and all of the children in our neighborhood should be able to safely walk to it with their parents. Our neighbors should be able to walk their dogs and not worry about getting hit by a car.

I am 100% against sidewalks. I have lived on Dwight Avenue between Virginia and Orchard for over 30 years and during that time there has never been a pedestrian related accident/injury due to the lack of sidewalks. The road is wide enough that this isn’t an issue. The bigger issue is the amount of cut through traffic and the inability of motorists to come to a stop at the stop sign on the corner of Dwight and Virginia. I have a natural hedge that separates my yard from the road. If the sidewalk project is passed I would expect the City to replace and pay for this hedge if affected. I’m not sure how they would replace a hedge that’s been there for over 40 years. I find it truly interesting that the City is so focused on preserving nature that there’s a limit on the amount of trees that can be cut down on your property but will have no problem removing my hedge and others on the street. Yes there are others. I’m just a little confused as how the City decides which items in nature are preserved and others are expendable. The money for this project can be spent better elsewhere. I fully believe that the homeowners on Dwight Avenue’s opinions should have more weight than anyone else weighing in. Perhaps you should survey the amount of foot traffic on Dwight Avenue before you make a decision. I don’t believe it’s as heavy as you think. A bigger hazard I’ve witnessed lately is the abandoned electric scooters that are left lying on what sidewalks exist.