They’ve Lost Their Way

By Charles Houston

The Board recently approved a $1.7 million “wayfinding” program but directed Staff to rethink a proposed 40.5-mile western Loudoun route. I applaud the Board of Supervisors for hitting “Pause” on that ill-considered portion of Staff’s “Wayfinding” proposal. I also thank Supervisor Briskman for pointing out that a 40.5-mile route is simply too long for most recreational cyclists. 

The proposed wayfinding program would be a system of signage that designates a planned bicycle loop on western Loudoun roads, as well as several other loops elsewhere. 

Kudos to the Board for directing Staff to work with the group Bike Loudoun as the principal stakeholder. The Heritage Commission should also be involved.

However, there’s scant succor since the Board just approved this luxury project which we don’t need. (A luxury project is something that might be nice to have, but which is not truly a necessity. The wayfinding is a perfect example of a luxury project.)

This wayfinding scheme was first considered in 2017 and resurfaced in late 2023. The proposed routes and signage were set out in a 233-page report by consultants VHB.  

I question their local knowledge, highlighted by its inclusion of high-traffic segments in the western loop, and its general lack of seriousness—such as its outreach to “stakeholders” like the Gallaudet University Alumni Association and the Chinese American Parent Association.  

 Wayfinding 

“Wayfinding” is a system of carefully located signs that provide directional information. For example, a suburban office park may have signs that say, “2275” with a right arrow (thus, turn right to find building 2275) or “2150” with a north-pointing arrow (thus, continue straight ahead) to that building. The system can be as simple as a street sign, and in commercial projects, as deluxe as the budget allows.

Fancy Signs for Cyclists

Staff’s proposal, via the consultant, calls for fancy wayfinding signs celled “kiosks” that would be suitable for a high-end commercial development. These kiosks are pricey at about $5,000 each, and the County has no problem spending $1.7 million of taxpayer money to implement the overall program.

Loops

A proposed loop in eastern Loudoun seems to have no issues. The main western loop, on the other hand, has sparked intense concern.

That proposed western loop is 40.5 miles long, and utilizes long portions of high-traffic, higher-speed routes such as Hamilton Station Road and Loyalty Road, which have no shoulders, blind curves and blind hills. Bicyclists would have to share lanes with motorists, an idea fraught with danger.  

Ideas

As proposed, the western loop would be promoted to bicyclists and others as a way to get to breweries and wineries, which are the primary businesses already currently shown on the wayfinding map. 

However, the beverage industry already pays to be noted on VDOT signage. These establishments also have custom signs at their entrances. This prompts an idea: Make any brewery or winery pay to be noted on the wayfinding map or any of the signs. The precedent has already been set with VDOT signage. 

And a second idea: Any map should first emphasize historic sites and important natural features.    

It’s Your Money

I’m dubious about the wayfinding concept in general and clear-headed about the taxpayer’s cost of this luxury. Fiscal prudence would reject the entire $1.7 million project … and any luxury project.

Is a Wayfinding System Needed?

Nope, and here’s an example: On a recent weekend. I saw eight cyclists strung out along one of our pretty unpaved roads. A minute or so behind them was a tight group of a dozen cyclists and following that group was a convoy of perhaps twenty antique military Jeeps, all painted Army green. A pair of pedestrians was next, and following all this was a large two-rider-wide cycling group. That was a collective total of at least sixty people, finding their way without a wayfinding map or wayfinding signs. 

 A New Topic: Taxpayers’ Money

The County has a “fund balance” of $250 million. As I understand it, a “fund balance” is money on hand for which the County has not yet found a use. I, though, can suggest a use for this money: Eliminate the personal property tax on automobiles. Voters would see the Supervisors as heroes.

The real fiscal villain is the school system. It is proposing $1.5 billion, yes, billion, of new capital spending, even as enrollment has been flat. Among that proposal is $221 million for construction of a new Park View High School. That seems insane.

Here’s an idea called the 5% Plan. The County and every one of its departments must cut their next-year’s budget by 5%. For the year after that, the budget gets another 5% cut, and so on. In five years, the County’s spending would be cut by around $2 billion, leaving government $5 billion to spend. That should be sufficient if luxury projects like the wayfaring project and like some Board travel, are eliminated and if the Board has the nerve to reject the School Board’s spending addiction.

This budget cutting would cause our government some pain, and assuredly prompt it to review its programs and staff, eliminating anything that’s not critical. 

In my former profession, we always said that the most expensive part of a building’s budget was its architect’s pen or keyboard. We’d go through the cost estimates line-by-line, cutting out fluff, until the budget was tight.

Charles Houston’s career was developing around $6 billion of major office buildings throughout the south. The tallest was 617 feet, the largest was 1.2 million square feet. Every single building came in on time and within budget. He consulted on real estate with several familiar corporations that rank high on the Fortune 500 list, served as an expert witness in litigation regarding real estate, and occasionally lectured on real estate at the university level.