New Sidewalks, Improvements Planned Near Chesterbrook in McLean

The latest in a series of proposed sidewalks to make McLean more walkable is a pair of quarter-mile long sidewalks along Kirby Road near Chesterbrook.

One project, north of Chesterbrook, is planned to add a roughly 5-6 feet wide sidewalk with a curb and gutter along the south/east side of Kirby Road between Chesterbrook Road and Mori Street. A crude path currently exists along the roadside, though in parts it blends with the right shoulder lane.

A community meeting on the northern extension is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Chesterbrook Elementary School cafeteria. The meeting will feature a presentation of the project’s preliminary design and offer the public a chance to ask questions and provide input.

The new sidewalk improvements will also include a pedestrian crossing and median refuge at the intersection with Mori Street, connecting the sidewalk to the shared use trail on the west side of Kirby Road.

To the south, the sidewalk will connect with an existing path separated from the road that leads into Chesterbrook neighborhood and shopping center along Old Dominion Drive. To the north, the new sidewalk won’t quite reach the Marie Butler Leven Preserve, but the park is accessible from the trail on the west side of the street.

A new sidewalk is also currently planned for Kirby Road on the other side of Chesterbrook, connecting Chesterbrook Elementary School to Halsey Road. Like the northern sidewalk, the southern extension covers a quarter-mile with a proposed 5-6 foot width.

At a Nov. 9 meeting on the southern Kirby Road sidewalk improvements, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation presented a plan that would include new concrete infrastructure improvements along the roadside. The white painted fences along Kirby Road may be removed and replaced during the construction.

The construction schedule for the north project is unknown, but the southern sidewalk extension is scheduled for final design in early 2019 and construction later that year.

Photo via Google Maps