Vienna Secures $800K in Federal Funds for Sidewalks

The Town of Vienna is another step closer to fulfilling its Walk to Downtown initiative with a federal grant to fund the construction of sidewalks leading to its main commercial corridor.

The Federal Highway Administration has awarded $800,000 to the Town of Vienna to build sidewalks in the first blocks of side streets off Maple Avenue.

Though the town's Department of Public Works does not expect the money to stretch to every side street, it does see it making it a significant dent in the priority list of streets involved in the Walk to Downtown initiative, DPW Director Dennis Johnson said.

The latest federal grant joins the $235,000 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation earmarked for Vienna's Walk to Downtown initiative. 

"We would like to establish a walking a bicycling route that connects the commercial corridor to the residential communities. This would reduce auto use and provide safe sidewalks for everyone," Mayor Jane Seeman wrote in a December 2011 letter to U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly requesting his support for the grant.

U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-11th District) wrote to the Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez in support of the Town of Vienna's application later that month.

"These improvements are of particular importance because Maple Avenue experiences severe congestion on a daily basis, and any pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements will be well utilized and relieve congestion and auto pollution," Connolly said in a statement.

The town will have three years to use the $800,000, Johnson said, including surveying, design, citizen input, bidding and construction with check-ins with the federal government along the way. 

Because the town Johnson expects work to begin in that area within a month or two.

"I've already reached out to the Council to verify the next six streets on the priority list. I want to try to get six going at once," Johnson said.

Though grateful for the funding, sidewalks advocates acknowledge

"All this funding is great, but there are still a lot of sidewalks needed in town. DPW recently completed a cost estimate to completesidewalks on one side of most streets in Vienna that came in at about 21 million dollars ...," wrote Sean McCall, the Safe Routes to Schools coordinator for Vienna Elementary, in an email to Vienna Patch. "My understanding is that this does not include replacing or upgrading many of the older asphalt paths that are inadequate as sidewalks."

Click here to see the town's list of sidewalk construction priorities.

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