George Snyder Trail Extension

I believe that there should be a new vote on this trail now that it has become knowledgeable that the members of the council were given misinformation and let to believe they owed all of the 3.7 million dollars back. The City Council should vote to disapprove this project now that we have all of the facts as it would have originally been voted for.

We have walked all the trails in and around Fairfax City. Everybody should experience them before passing judgement. They are a window on nature and a strong breath of cooler fresh air. Not only that, they do the following;
1. Allow people to travel between neighborhoods without hitting the streets and what they are used to, traffic. Children especially enjoy it.
2. Experience our ever decreasing forests that we constantly are seeing developed.
3. Checking directly the health and condition of the forest, without getting poison Ivy’s , ticks, bit by animals such as snakes.
4. Join the rest of the country and world, for that matter, in creating parks for humans to enjoy.
5. The trees removed will have their canopies fill back in, in no time.The tree parts will be recycled and not burned, as they used to be.
6. The money will be spent developing it in our area and will improve the area desirability (recreation, travel, and overall sense of well being).
You are always are going to hear nay sayers for anything that could bring possible danger. If you watch the news daily and believe it is too dangerous outside, you will be joining the inside crowd. Worry warts, some people call them.

There are so many dangers that we could get into, but that would be wasting every bodies time.

These ventures are worth gaining and not have to travel too far to enjoy. Money & energy well spent for generations to come.
Robert & Carol Singer

Based on the misinformation regarding the $3.7M payback requirement should City Council have voted to disapprove this project, which they would have done otherwise, they need to retake the vote ASAP to cancel it.

It's getting increasingly hot with each passing summer. But, by all means, let's tear down trees and add more blacktop. That will definitely help.

This is absolutely WONDERFUL news, and LONG overdue. Thank you to the City Council for taking the long view, and not bowing to pressure from poorly informed NIMBY groups. The woodland multipurpose trail that will be created by this project will serve to: A. provide a wonderful way of enjoying the forest for the next 100 years or longer for people of all ages, and levels of ability, B. ensure the preservation of those forest tracts by creating thousands of stakeholders out of Fairfax citizens who might never have had an opportunity to enter without the trail extension, and C: increase property values significantly in the neighborhoods adjoining the project (according to the National Association of Realtors). The increased tax revenues will more than offset operating expenses.

For better or for worse, Fairfax City is in fact, a city. We can't turn back the clock. Better to embrace change so that we can properly shape it than allow events to overtake planning.

Now that the George Snyder Trail has been approved, I would encourage you to accelerate the planning and approval of this vital link between GST and the Wilcoxon Trail to provide safe passage along busy Fairfax Boulevard where only 3 feet of sidewalk separates pedestrians from oncoming high speed traffic.

I am a member of Fairfax Families for Safe Streets and know it is extremely important for the safety of Fairfax City residence to complete this trail. It will improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and prevent personal injury to people. There has been an increase in pedestrian accidents in Fairfax City due to vehicle traffic so by providing more path away from traffic will only improve more walkability in our beautiful city.

No! We do not want this! This unnecessary, wasteful project would tear down 500-600 native trees, destroy an already limited ecosystem, cause downstream flooding from the lack of trees, and is so disgustingly unneeded when there are ALREADY EXISTING cycling paths that are perfectly usable but in need of repair. This project is made in ignorance of any scientific understanding and never should have been accepted to begin with. Shut it down.

Bicyclists using the future Snyder Trail definitely need this connection. Without it, they will get dumped out on a narrow sidewalk with cars heading toward them at up to 50 mph -- a very intimidating prospect that will not encourage people to take the trail to its eastern end. I agree with wfranz that exiting and entering vehicles will be a big concern. Without traffic calming measures on Route 50, bicyclists could still be exposed to motorists who are not adjusting their driving habits in this area for pedestrians and bicyclists. As it is this road is designed solely to push through automobiles.

This is an essential link between the Wilcoxon trail and the George Snyder trail and should be funded.

I'd like there to be some "extra" pavement space next to the crosswalk so if several people or bicycles are waiting to cross they have space & others can pass by.

Also, at least during daytime hours, the crosswalk should trigger automatically and not require a button press.

The Snyder trail has allegedly been underway for several years. No sign that any work will be done in the foreseeable future, notwithstanding an extraordinary budget. In predict the I-66 project (source of funding for the trail) will be completed before the trail. Can we just build it?

I enjoy riding the Cross County Trail to the Wilcoxon Trail, but unfortunately the trail stops at Fairfax Blvd. A safe connection to the shops and eating places near the future George Snyder Trail will be a welcomed, new bicycle friending destination.

This trail will be an excellent edition to the network we have in Fairfax City. Every little bit helps.

I'd like to know more about how exactly driveways would be reconstructed to make this possible. I am a cyclist who currently gets around this problem by taking Ranger Road, the trail that goes to Draper park, and then down Draper road over to the Harley Davidson dealership and pop onto the Wilcoxon Trail. It's not perfect but it works fairly well. I like the idea of a more connected trail, but I worry about a trail going across all those driveways. Crossing any driveway or entrance is a huge issue for cyclists and can be the most dangerous parts of a trail. So without knowing exactly how those entrances that cars will cross over the path, it is hard for me to say whether I would use this extension. If entrances remained where cars would cross over the path, I likely would avoid this extension and instead use my current route as Ranger Road is a very safe road to drive on, and cutting through Draper park is also very safe.