admin | Page 2 of 3

Fifteen Minute Fredericksburg Celebrates Washington Ave & Fall Hill Ave One-Way to Two-Way Conversion

By Aaron Frank

Fifteen Minute Fredericksburg has proudly supported the City’s effort to transform the one-way street triplet of streets including Washington Avenue, Fall Hill Avenue and Maury Street to two-way traffic and is excited for its implementation this fall. Repaving and restriping will soon begin and will be accompanied by new crosswalks, improved sidewalks and a pedestrian bump-out at the Virginia Avenue and Fall Hill Avenue intersection.

Where is the area we are discussing? Well, check out the graphic below:

map showing the 1-way to 2-way conversion — Image credit: September 26th FXBG City News, Jon Gerlach

Continue reading Fifteen Minute Fredericksburg Celebrates Washington Ave & Fall Hill Ave One-Way to Two-Way Conversion

Join Fred15 in Checking Out the New Chatham Bridge Connector on May 12th

On Thursday, May 12th, join Fred15 for the first of several family friendly social bike rides this summer.

This first ride will be from Downtown Fredericksburg to Falmouth, using protected trails and the new Chatham Bridge bike connection, with a stop off at Amy’s Café for a refreshment.

Continue reading Join Fred15 in Checking Out the New Chatham Bridge Connector on May 12th

Call to Action: Support the Kensington-Twin Lakes Pathway

This photo of the “desire path” along Lafayette Boulevard shows the urgent need for better pedestrian and bike infrastructure along the corridor.

Late last year, Fred15 member Alex Capshaw-Taylor blogged about the progress on the City of Fredericksburg’s proposed Kensington-Twin Lakes connector path. This 1,500-foot long, 10-foot wide protected multi-use path is the next phase of a trail network that will connect the communities along Lafayette Boulevard to amenities such as downtown Fredericksburg, the VCR Trail, local businesses and numerous schools and parks.

Continue reading Call to Action: Support the Kensington-Twin Lakes Pathway

Building Movement into our Lives for Health

Pedestrians on Caroline Street. Courtesy of virginia.org

By Lauren Bock

You may have heard the slogan ‘the more you move, the more you move’ – if you are a patient of mine, there is a good chance that you have heard that line from me a time or two. As a Lifestyle Medicine specialist in a busy Cardiology practice, much of my days are spent discussing healthier habits with my patients. While it is easy to focus on nutrition as ‘low hanging fruit’, movement is a core concept in health that is often misunderstood. It has enormous benefits, especially when it is built naturally into the rhythms of our daily lives. Therefore, cities that are built to make physical activity a natural part of our lifestyles are often the healthiest cities known to man. Continue reading Building Movement into our Lives for Health

Central Park Parking Lots and Black Friday

By David Durham

On December 8, 2021, the Fredericksburg Planning Commission voted unanimously (with one member absent) to recommend approval of various changes to the city’s Comprehensive Plan associated with the small area planning process for Area 1, the portion of the city west of I-95 (including the Central Park and Celebrate Virginia South developments among others). It is expected that City Council will begin its consideration of the proposed Comprehensive Plan changes in January, 2022.

Continue reading Central Park Parking Lots and Black Friday

Call to Action: Keep our “Stop for Pedestrian” signs in place this winter

Downtown Fredericksburg is a lovely place to walk, which increases its quality of life, the health of its small businesses, and its property values. But it is less safe to walk Fredericksburg’s streets during the winter months, because the City has a policy of removing the reflective “Stop for Pedestrian” signs marking crosswalks at many of our city streets during the winter months.

These signs, which are a critical piece of the city’s pedestrian safety infrastructure, are bolted into the asphalt along the center line and provide visual cues for drivers to slow down at intersections. These reflective signs were introduced in response to community concerns about speeding and pedestrian safety, and have become widespread across the City in the last decade. There are currently 23 signs in regular use, including three where the Heritage Trail and Canal Path intersect streets. Continue reading Call to Action: Keep our “Stop for Pedestrian” signs in place this winter

Twin Lakes-Kensington Bike/Ped Connector

By Alex Capshaw-Taylor

On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 the city held a virtual information session to discuss the next phase of the City’s Pathways Plan. The Twin Lakes-Kensington Bike/Ped Connector will extend the current multi-use trail along Lafayette Blvd from where it ends at St. Paul St. to Twin Lakes Dr. In addition, Springwood Dr. will serve as a connection route to the VCR Trail. This plan also includes placing a bike repair station on the VCR Trail at Alum Springs Park. Funding for this trail is provided by the state of Virginia through their SmartScale grant initiative.

Continue reading Twin Lakes-Kensington Bike/Ped Connector

Small Business Saturday is Saturday, November 27, 2021

by Ann Glave

Founded by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday has become an important part of small businesses’ busiest shopping season. According to the 2019 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, 70% of U.S. consumers are aware of Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday ensures that the consumers keep local businesses in mind as they buy gifts. Small businesses need our support now more than ever as they navigate and pivot from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic brought on in 2020.

Continue reading Small Business Saturday is Saturday, November 27, 2021

Fred15’s Take on the Area 1 Small Area Plan

What you Need to Know

The City of Fredericksburg updates its comprehensive plan using a “small area plan” model, which allows a deliberate and fine-grained neighborhood approach to City planning. The City planning staff are currently developing a Plan for Area 1, west of I-95, which includes all of Central Park and Celebrate Virginia South. The Plan is under review with the City’s Planning Commission, and is expected to receive its official public hearing in November.

Here is a link to the most recent draft of the Area 1 plan. As written, the plan lays out a bold new direction for Area 1 over the next several decades. Highlights include: Continue reading Fred15’s Take on the Area 1 Small Area Plan

Fred15’s Take on the Fall Hill Ave/Route 1 Intersection Redesign

What You Need To Know

VDOT has released a proposal to re-engineer the intersection of Fall Hill Avenue and Route 1. The project is an attempt to alleviate vehicle congestion along 2 roadways that frequently experience overflow traffic from I-95 and Route 3. This $7 million project, funded by VDOT, would add and extend turn lanes, substantially widen the intersection, and extend a concrete median by approximately 200 feet north along Route 1. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024. The project is based on a SmartScale funding application originally submitted by the City of Fredericksburg and approved in 2018.

On September 21, about 15 community members attended VDOT’s public hearing. Commenters expressed frustration over worsening traffic congestion in the area, but also expressed many concerns with several aspects of the proposed intersection design, including:

the proposal fails to provide crosswalk coverage at all 4 sides of the intersection
the proposal will invite more trucks and vehicles to use Fall Hill Avenue and cut through Normandy Village–a residential neighborhood– en route to Central Park and Celebrate Virginia
wider turning radii would allow vehicles to turn at higher speeds, greatly increasing riskto pedestrians
safety risks will fall disproportionately on students from James Monroe High School, which is located next to the intersection

VDOT is currently reviewing the proposal and is accepting public comment. Your opinion counts! You can submit a public comment by emailing Byrd Holloway, VDOT project manager at curtis.holloway@vdot.virginia.gov.

Fred15’s Take: Traffic congestion is a major disruptor to quality of life to residents in this area of the City, but unfortunately the proposed intersection design prioritizes vehicle movement over the safety of people using the intersection. More can be done to improve the pedestrian environment without sacrificing the congestion-related benefits of this project. We think VDOT should modify the proposal accordingly:

Add full crosswalk coverage at the intersection
Narrow the radius of all turn lanes to provide traffic calming at the intersection
Prohibit thru trucks on Fall Hill Avenue between Route 1 and Mary Washington Blvd.
Use the cost-savings from the tighter turn lanes to extend sidewalks and remove curbcuts along Route 1 north to Charles Street