Fair Lakes walking excursion (Fairfax: townhouse, live, shopping centers)

[brooklynborndad]

DW and I had errands in the fair lakes/fair oaks area on Sat, so we decided to get our walking in there. Weather - clear, sunny, blue skies - we considered it great, some might find it too cold for outdoors.


Walked in the little battlefield park - history was interesting, but we prefer longer walks to going around a short loop. We saw a couple of other people in the park. We drove across the street (would have walked, but DW had a fit of the discomforts leaving our car in the relatively isolated lot at the park) to the sort of urbanish looking new apt complex (camden at monument?) We walked around there, around the office buildings, and the EYA townhouse development. On the roadside multiuse path, on the development sidewalks, and the trail that connected among them. Not many people out - a couple of folks, mainly dog walkers, IIRC.

We then went to Fairfax Corners, the lifestyle center, and walked through there to the other Camden complex - the Camden at Fairfax Corner, I think. While not as busy as say a DC or Old town alex nabe, it (the apt complex beyond the shops, not just the commercial area or the apts right over shops) had more pedestrian activity than the areas on the other side of I66. In addition to several walkers within the complex or heading to or from the lifestyle center, there were also a couple of runners/cyclists around the area.

While I KNOW its not really scientific, I found it in an interesting "almost experiment" Same weather, similar housing styles, presumably similar demographics, availability of sidewalks, multiuse paths on both sides. The difference being that north of I66 the main destination for errand based walking would be Fair Oaks Mall (though there are also a nearby shopping centers) - to which access from the Camden development would mean walking along Fair Lakes Parkway - wide, traffic moving fast, and no street facing retail along the way - and then crossing the service road that goes around Fair Oaks Mall, and then the mall parking lots. Daunting, at least I think so. While the access from Camden at FFX corner to the lifestyle center is a short walk along a narrow street, down which auto traffic moves slowly, past some shops, with crossings only of narrow streets, with good crossing protection for pedestrians. How many of the Camden at FFX corner pedestrians were actually out for errands, Im not sure - I think that at least in this area, the conditions conducive to errand walking are also conducive to recreational walking. (I know of course that another deterrent to walking to the mall is that many errands will involve large packages - but I suspect thats true for the lifestyle center as well)

[choff5]

I shop regularly at Wegmans and go by Fairfax Corner. I'm always amazed to see people out walking. I don't live there but it seems to be very walkable and people take advantage of it.