Saturday, April 27, 2013
Annual ceremony marks Vienna's 12th year as a Tree City USA.
This year, the town's new golden weeping willow is just an infant, guided by two wooden stakes in a small square of dirt near the Old Caboose. But in 10 years time the top of the branches will reach 35 feet, stretching toward Church Street and the W&OD Trail to form a canopy of shade for residents and passerbys enjoying one of the town's most popular green spaces. That was the vision shared by officials and residents who planted the tree on Friday during the town's annual Arbor Day Ceremony — part of what helped it earn the title of "Tree City USA" for the 12th consecutive year. The title is given by the Arbor Day Foundation, along with the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, "to…
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Walkers, runners and spectators invited to 8 a.m. walk/run on the W&OD Trail.
Though police captured the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings late Friday night — ending a week-long search for the two men police believe are responsible for killing three and injuring 170 in the city's most iconic event — the country is continuing to rally around the victims who still have a long road to recovery. In Vienna, a run is being planned for 8 a.m. Sunday on the W&OD Trail. The event was posted by "RunnerPirateGirl" in a blog named "Vienna Runs for Boston." It's not clear who exactly is organizing the event. "We are all touched by the Boston Marathon bombings. We can all do a mile for Boston. We come together as runners, walkers and people who love us," reads the posting about the event. Runners, walkers, family, …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Incident happened last week on the W&OD Trail in Vienna.
Vienna Police are looking for two men who reportedly grabbed the buttocks of a passing female jogger last week on the W&OD Trail in Vienna. A woman reported to police she was jogging on the trail around 5:05 p.m. last Tuesday near Talahi Road SE when she saw two men with bicycles sitting on a bench. The jogger told police that after she passed the men, they rode up behind her on their bikes. One of the men reportedly grabbed her buttocks before both men fled the area. Vienna police are investigating the case. Anyone with information should call the Vienna Police Department at 703-255-6396. Stay on top of all Vienna news with Patch's free daily email newsletter.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Bicycle camera captures car driving along trail for a minute before exiting into a neighborhood.
You're cruising along one morning, commuting by bike on the W+OD Trail, when you run into a car. You read that right: A car. That's what happened as one cyclist was traveling the trail last week. In a YouTube video, reposted by Vienna's Spokes Etc., a local bicyclist with a handlebar camera comes upon a black sedan, idling in the middle of a trail also being used by bicyclists and runners. Though the video lacks sound (watch in media player at right), the bicyclist apparently asked what the driver was doing, to which the driver responded "I'm lost." The bicyclist suggested turning around and then followed the car a ways down the trail until the car exited into a pulloff area, which connected to a nearby neighborhood. Commenters on Spokes …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Users can now walk or ride on Vienna trail from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling will be giving out free lights this week.
Sunrise and sunset will no longer bind walkers, runners and cyclists using the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. On Friday, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority extended the hours of the trail for the first time, posting nearly a dozen signs from Shirlington in Arlington County through the far town limit of Herndon announcing new hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. The NVRPA said the decision was driven largely by the needs of commuters, who — especially during winter months — have no other choice but to use the trail after dark. Many of those commuters pass at some point through Vienna, the trail's midpoint between Northern Virginia's northwestern suburbs and the top of the trail near Arlington. “As we all look for ways to reduce our …
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Residents are invited to a public meeting Sept. 20 about parks, including those in Vienna
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, which operates the W&OD Trail and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, released a draft of its five-year strategic plan this week. Residents are invited to a public meeting to discuss the plan at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at the NVRPA headquarters in Fairfax Station. Residents can also send comments via email to executiveoffice@nvrpa.org. Some highlights of the 2012-2017 Vision and Plan: The draft can be downloaded to the right or obtained online. The authority controls 100 miles of trails, including some of the longest in the region—W&OD at 45 miles, and Bull Run/Occoquan at 18 miles—and has plans expand its role as a leader in developing and promoting major trail systems in Northern Virginia. …
Friday, August 10, 2012
No charges in Wednesday incident because of conflicting eyewitness accounts, police say
Update (Saturday): In an email to Vienna Patch, the cyclist maintains he stopped at the stop sign before crossing the street. ----- A cyclist was struck by a car around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday where the W&OD Trail crosses Park Street in Vienna. The cyclist was transported to the hospital with abrasions and an apparent bump on his head, but is in good condition, Vienna Police spokesperson Gary Lose said. A driver heading northbound on Park Street SE stopped to allow the cyclist, who did not adhere to the stop sign, to cross the street, police said. The cyclist was then struck on the back wheel of the bicycle by a car traveling southbound. Cyclists and pedestrians on the trail have a stop sign before crossing Park Street; drivers do not. Because…
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A reader confrontation on the "horse path" has our bike columnist searching for answers
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Tim Fricker
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Tuesday, June 26, 2012
It seems that just when I think I’ve covered all I can about the W&OD, something else comes up. Often it’s a comment from a reader, which I think is great, as it makes this column somewhat of a conversation, rather than simply me putting out my thoughts. The latest issue comes from a reader, an avid cyclist who I know to be a reasonable person and a true advocate and ambassador for cycling. They brought to my attention a recent interaction they’d had on the gravel path that parallels the paved trail, an incident which pointed out both how different users perceive things and also the somewhat ambiguous nature of the rules of the trail. I have to confess to having never really given a lot of thought to there being any distinction between the…
Friday, May 18, 2012
Pit stops in Vienna, Falls Church were bustling with cyclists Friday morning.
Dirk Harris found a way to greet most of the cyclists taking part in National Bike to Work Day 2012 at a Vienna pit stop along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail Friday. Harris, from Annandale, has been an avid cyclist for the last 30 years and a member of the trail patrol for the last three. Urging people to pedal their way to work instead of driving should be a constant push, Harris said. “I think it should happen every week,” Harris said. “It keeps cars off the road and lowers your stress levels.” The one-day event is part of a month long celebration of the famed two-wheeled mode of transportation. Karl Mohle, park manager of the W&OD Railroad Regional Park said he didn’t have an actual number of how many people hit the trail on bikes …
Monday, April 30, 2012
The trail is not a personal training or playing ground. Whether you are a cyclist,
walker, or runner, safety comes first.
I wasn’t planning to re-visit the W&OD and folks’ behavior out there so soon, but given the feedback I’ve gotten on my articles, and some recent experiences of my own and others, I feel I need to say a bit more about it. The most upsetting news I heard in this regard came from one of our W&OD Trail Patrol members who came by the shop the other day. He told me that a long-time member of the Patrol, who patrols on foot in the Vienna area, has decided to quit the Patrol after having been hit TWICE by speeding cyclists. Not passed too closely, but actually hit, while wearing a high visibility Trail Patrol vest. There is NO excuse for this sort of occurrence. None. And as a result, we are losing a member of the Trail Patrol, the very people who…
Racepirategril
10:04 am on Sunday, April 21, 2013
Thank you to everyone who showed up to run for Boston! Great turn out. A crisp morning run :) more ›