Fairfax County transportation staff will present bike lane proposals for four stretches of Reston road on Wednesday, Nov. 4: three on Glade Drive in South Reston and one on Bowman Towne Drive, just north of Reston Town Center. The Virginia Department of Transportation would paint the changes during its 2027 repaving season, when crews repave and restripe each road on its list.
The virtual meeting runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. An online survey opens afterward, and the county will take comments through Nov. 18. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) then sends its final list to VDOT, which maintains most of the roads in the county and has to approve every change.
Glade and Bowman Towne join more than a dozen bike projects that Fairfax County, the Town of Herndon, VDOT and NOVA Parks have in planning, design or construction across Reston, Herndon and Oak Hill, on both sides of the town line.
Four stretches of Reston road are on the county’s 2027 list
The county’s Oct. 21 announcement lists “proposed bike lane improvements” at these locations:
- Glade Drive from Reston Parkway to Shire Court, past Hunters Woods Village Center
- Glade Drive from Shire Court to Charterhouse Circle
- Glade Drive from Glade Bank Way to Soapstone Drive, ending at Glade Pool
- Bowman Towne Drive from Town Center Parkway to Reston Parkway, past the Reston Regional Library
The announcement does not say what kind of bike lane the county wants, or whether any travel lane or parking space would change. In past years the county’s presentations included proposed lane widths and parking for each street, and the county posts slides and a recording after each meeting. FFXnow’s coverage and the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling list the same four segments with no more detail.
The Hunter Mill District meeting covers only these four segments. The county’s other 2027 meetings, on Nov. 5 and Nov. 9, cover streets in other parts of the county.
Each of the three Glade Drive segments looks different today
Fairfax County keeps a public map of every bike facility painted or built today, and on Glade Drive it shows three conditions in three segments.
Reston Parkway to Shire Court. About a third of a mile past Hunters Woods Village Center and the Colts Neck Road intersection, with no bike lane or bike marking on the road. The county map shows a trail alongside part of it.
Shire Court to Charterhouse Circle. Standard bike lanes, a painted line separating a bike lane from the travel lane. They continue east past Charterhouse Circle to just beyond Glade Bank Way.
Glade Bank Way to Soapstone Drive. About seven-tenths of a mile. After the first tenth of a mile, the bike lane gives way to sharrows, short for shared-lane markings: painted bicycles topped with two chevrons. On a street with sharrows, drivers and cyclists share the travel lane, and cyclists get no space of their own.
So the county could be adding lanes on the first segment, upgrading existing lanes on the second, and replacing sharrows on the third. It will show which treatment goes where on Wednesday.
In 2017 the county kept Glade Drive’s parking and painted sharrows
In April 2017, FCDOT proposed restriping 1.93 miles of Glade Drive, from Glade Bank Way to Twin Branches Road, during that year’s repaving. Reston Now reported three options:
- A bike lane on the south side with no parking there, and parking plus a sharrow on the north side
- The same layout, except parking would stay on both sides from Old Trail Drive to Quartermaster Lane, near Glade Pool, the Walker Nature Center and the Quartermaster soccer field
- Parking on both sides, sharrows in both directions and no bike lane
The county held an open house at Hunters Woods Elementary School that April. Jeff Anderson, then president of the Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, backed a south-side lane for the full stretch. “There’s not a lot of cars parking on the south side on a daily basis,” he told Reston Now. One resident, who described himself as an avid cyclist, said the lane was “not going to be safe.”
FCDOT chose option three. “We’re not going to take any parking; we’re sticking with just sharrows,” Adam Lind, the county’s bike program manager, told Reston Now in May 2017. The lanes kept their width, and the parking stayed. Colts Neck Road got a road diet that year instead. A road diet removes travel lanes to free space for other uses, such as turn lanes or, on Colts Neck, bike lanes.
In 2020 the county came back to the western part of Glade, proposing bike lanes between Colts Neck Road and Glade Bank Way. That plan kept parking on both sides, though it raised converting underused parking west of Charterhouse Circle into bike lane space. The lanes on the county map today cover most of that stretch.
The 2027 proposal’s third segment covers the western seven-tenths of a mile of the 2017 stretch, including the blocks between Old Trail Drive and Soapstone Drive, near Glade Pool, where the county’s second 2017 option would have kept parking on both sides. It stops at Soapstone, short of the Walker Nature Center.
Bowman Towne Drive has a bike lane in only one direction
Bowman Towne Drive runs about four-tenths of a mile between Town Center Parkway and Reston Parkway, north of the Reston Town Center core. It passes the Reston Regional Library and the county land Fairfax plans to redevelop under its Reston Town Center North plan.
The county’s map shows a climbing lane on Bowman Towne today. A climbing lane is a bike lane on the uphill side of a street only. Cyclists climbing slowly get their own space, and cyclists heading downhill ride in the travel lane. The 2027 proposal covers the full length of the street. The county has not said whether it would add a lane in the second direction. A Capital Bikeshare station sits at the west end, at Town Center Parkway and Bowman Towne Drive.
Wednesday’s slides will show the parking and lane changes
To take part:
- Join online. The county’s restriping program page has the Microsoft Teams link for the Nov. 4 meeting, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
- Join by phone. Dial 571-429-5982 and enter conference ID 319 383 342#.
- Comment afterward. The survey opens after the meeting and closes Nov. 18. The county also takes comments by phone and mail for the same two weeks and posts the phone number, mailing address and instructions with the meeting materials.
The slides should show three things for each segment: whether parking on each block stays, moves or goes; whether any travel lane is removed or narrowed; and the type of bike lane. A standard lane is a single painted line. A buffered lane adds a striped buffer, which the county defines as three feet wide or more, between the bike lane and traffic.
VDOT has the final say, and it does not approve everything. The county’s program page marks some past proposals approved and others not. In Reston, the page lists bike lanes on Center Harbor Road as approved in 2024. The same year, it lists proposed bike lanes in the Braddock District as not approved. VDOT repaves and restripes from spring through November, and the county posts exact dates about ten days ahead of the work.
In 2017, comments from residents changed what the county painted on Glade Drive.
Reston’s larger bike projects center on the Toll Road crossings and the W&OD
The countywide plan. On May 5, 2026, the Board of Supervisors adopted the Active Transportation and Trails Plan, known as ActiveFairfax. The board folded the county’s bicycle master plan and trails plan into that one document and dropped the separate bike network map from Reston’s comprehensive plan. Reston’s planned bike routes now appear on the countywide map.
Soapstone Connector. VDOT is designing a new road and bridge over the Dulles Toll Road from Sunrise Valley Drive to Sunset Hills Road, near the Wiehle-Reston East station. The county’s project page lists one bike lane in each direction, a sidewalk on one side and a shared-use path on the other. FFXnow put the cost at $269.5 million in September, and VDOT expects a public hearing in late 2026 or early 2027. A 2025 county schedule put construction around 2032.
Town Center Parkway underpass. This proposed extension of Town Center Parkway under the Toll Road would link Reston Town Center to Sunrise Valley Drive. The 2021 concept included a 10-foot shared-use path on one side. A 2025 county estimate put the cost at $420 million, with about $227 million identified.
Fairfax County Parkway trail crossing. The trail along the parkway crosses the eastbound Toll Road on-ramp at street level. The county is buying land for a project of roughly $4 million to make that crossing safer and expects to finish construction in early 2028.
The W&OD Trail. The Wiehle Avenue trail bridge opened in July 2024. Fairfax County and NOVA Parks have proposed signs telling drivers to stop for people in the crosswalk at five Reston-area trail crossings, including Sunrise Valley Drive, Sunset Hills Road and Hunter Mill Road, pending VDOT approval. The NOVA Parks board takes up a new set of trail regulations on Nov. 19.
Capital Bikeshare. We counted 41 Capital Bikeshare stations in Reston and around the Innovation Center and Herndon Metro stations in the system’s live station feed on Nov. 2. The county’s 2026 expansion added 27 stations elsewhere in the county and none here.
Fox Mill Road, Sunrise Valley Drive and the Innovation Center area lead the county projects in Herndon and Oak Hill
The Herndon mailing address covers more than the town. Outside the town limits, in ZIP code 20171 and the Dranesville District land north of town, Fairfax County builds the roads and trails.
Innovation Station North path. A 10-foot shared-use path now links Farougi Court and Apgar Place to the Kiss-and-Ride lot at the Innovation Center station. The county opened it on Feb. 27, 2026.
Fox Mill Road. The county’s program page marks its 2026 Fox Mill Road bike lane proposal approved. The October 2025 presentation showed bike lanes from Covered Wagon Lane to Marcey Creek Road, made by narrowing the travel and parking lanes rather than removing parking.
Sayward Boulevard. The same presentation showed a short westbound bike lane on Sayward Boulevard between Carta Way and King Johns Way, near the Innovation Center station, made by removing a travel lane. The county marks that proposal approved as well.
Sunrise Valley Drive. A cycle track is a bike lane separated from both the traffic lanes and the sidewalk. The county is designing cycle tracks on Sunrise Valley Drive, starting with the stretch from Monroe Street to the Fairfax County Parkway near the Herndon station. The estimate is about $32 million, and no construction date is set. Farther west, the regional Transportation Planning Board granted the county $84,000 in November 2025 to study protected bike facilities on about a mile and a half of Sunrise Valley, from the Innovation Center station to Frying Pan Road, including the effect of removing a travel lane.
Route 7. VDOT built 10-foot shared-use paths on both sides of the widened Route 7 between Reston and Jarrett Valley Drive, fully open since 2024.
The county has put on hold a proposed bike and pedestrian bridge over the Toll Road at Monroe Street, part of its Herndon station access program.
The Town of Herndon runs its own bike network
The Town of Herndon governs its own streets, separate from the county. The Town Council approved its first Bicycle Network Master Plan in August 2019, and the town has built that network corridor by corridor. Bike lanes on Van Buren Street, between Old Spring Street and Herndon Parkway, opened in 2023.
East Elden Street. As part of its Elden Street widening, VDOT plans bike lanes from Monroe Street to Herndon Parkway and cycle tracks from Herndon Parkway to the Fairfax County Parkway. Utility relocation begins this fall, and VDOT plans to start road construction in mid-2028. The total estimate is $73.2 million.
South Elden Street. On the 0.4 mile of Elden between Sterling Road and Herndon Parkway, the town plans an 8-foot shared-use path and would rebuild the five-lane road as four lanes with a raised median. The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority awarded it $4.4 million in July.
Herndon Parkway at Sunset Park Drive. The town plans to replace the roundabout there with a signal, raised medians and cycle tracks, with construction expected in fiscal 2030.
Sterling Road. The town’s concept plans for Sterling Road, starting at Elden Street, include accessible sidewalks and bike facilities along the full length of the project.
Worldgate Drive. In its Roadway Safety Action Plan, adopted April 28, 2026, the Town Council set a goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries on town roads by 2038. The plan’s recommendations include bike lanes and a road diet on two stretches of Worldgate Drive and continued study of bike lanes on Dranesville Road.
The W&OD in town. The town and NOVA Parks added Herndon’s first push-button flashing pedestrian beacon at the W&OD crossing at Crestview Drive; town staff listed it among recently completed projects in June.
The town has no Capital Bikeshare stations inside its limits. Its pedestrian and bicycle advisory committee backed exploring bikeshare and other options this spring, and staff are refreshing the town’s Master Trails Plan alongside the Herndon 2050 comprehensive plan.
Reston and Herndon bike projects at a glance
| Project | Where | What it adds | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glade Drive restriping | Reston Pkwy to Charterhouse Cir; Glade Bank Way to Soapstone Dr | Bike lane changes, details due Nov. 4 | Proposed for 2027 paving |
| Bowman Towne Drive restriping | Town Center Pkwy to Reston Pkwy | Bike lane changes, details due Nov. 4 | Proposed for 2027 paving |
| Fox Mill Road | Covered Wagon Ln to Marcey Creek Rd | Bike lanes | Approved in the 2026 program |
| Sunrise Valley Drive cycle track | Monroe St to Fairfax County Pkwy, first phase | Separated bike lanes | In design, about $32M |
| Soapstone Connector | Sunrise Valley Dr to Sunset Hills Rd | New bridge with bike lanes, path and sidewalk | In design, about $269.5M |
| Town Center Pkwy underpass | Under the Dulles Toll Road | Shared-use path in 2021 concept | Partly funded |
| East Elden Street | Monroe St to Fairfax County Pkwy | Bike lanes and cycle tracks | Construction mid-2028 |
| South Elden Street | Sterling Rd to Herndon Pkwy | 8-foot shared-use path | Funded in part |
| Herndon Pkwy at Sunset Park Dr | Town of Herndon | Cycle tracks at a new signal | Construction fiscal 2030 |
| Innovation Station North path | Farougi Ct and Apgar Pl to the station | 10-foot shared-use path | Opened Feb. 2026 |
The paint comes in 2027; the bridges and cycle tracks come later
On Glade and Bowman Towne, the county can change what the road looks like within a single paving season, for the cost of paint. The separated bike lanes on Sunrise Valley and Elden Street, the Soapstone bridge and the Town Center Parkway underpass are years and tens or hundreds of millions of dollars away. FCDOT settles the near-term piece after the comment period closes Nov. 18.
If you live on Glade or Bowman Towne, check the county’s slides for your block. We will update this post once the county publishes them.
See something missing or wrong? Email us at [email protected] and we will check it and update the post.
