New road designs make Tysons more inviting for people on bike and foot
A street in Tysons just underwent some big changes, swapping driving lanes for bike lanes. The new design will make it easier to get around the area by bike and on foot.
Greensboro Drive’s lane designs, before and after. Image from Fairfax County.
The stretch of Greensboro Drive from Spring Hill Road to Pinnacle Drive went on a road diet that cut its four lanes down to two. A center turn lane also went in, along with bike lanes in both directions.
The changes are the first of Fairfax’s Proposed Street Design Update, which VDOT rolled out last March. Similar changes are coming to Tyco Road and Westbranch Drive.
The new Greensboro Drive. Photo by the author.
Greensboro road feeds an employment hub that’s home to companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Cvent, and SAIC.
The new turn lane should lessen traffic backups since cars used to get stuck behind people waiting to turn left off of Greensboro. And the bike lanes should also make it easier to reach the new Silver Line Metro stations. Already, I’ve seen an increase of people walking to and from both the Greensboro and Spring Hill stations.
Greensboro Drive prior to the changes. Base image from Google Maps.
For the time being, Greensboro Drive between Pinnacle and International Drive, closer to the Tysons Galleria mall, is still four lanes wide. But it’s good to see the beginnings of a thoughtful, pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly design emerging in Fairfax County’s redevelopment of Tysons.
One of Greensboro Drive’s new bike lanes. Photo by the author.