How can Arlington Boulevard be safer for all road users?

Arlington Boulevard as it passes underneath Leesburg Pike. Image by Famartin licensed under Creative Commons.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is thinking about the future of Arlington Boulevard/Route 50 where it runs through West Falls Church. Lined by frontage roads, suburban shopping centers, and older homes and apartment communities, the road faces heavy congestion and is subject to routine backups, and is dangerous to people on foot or bike.

Attempts to deal with this congestion before helped create a network of frontage roads. Unfortunately, like most of the roads in the area, not a lot of thought was given to people who may be walking, biking, or taking transit. This mix of local roads with freeway-like elements is not only frustrating but dangerous for everyone, especially more vulnerable road users. Over the weekend a woman was struck and killed by a police officer in a Fairfax County Police Vehicle.

Now VDOT is studying solutions for the area, and want to know what people who use the road think. The survey covers the section of Arlington Boulevard that runs from Jaguar Lane near the Beltway to where the road passes through the maze of Seven Corners. (It’s that part of Falls Church which we don’t know why is called Falls Church.)

Arlington Boulevard and Graham Road. There are apartments and shopping centers on both sides of the road, but good luck to anyone trying to walk between the two. Image created with Google Maps.

How the survey works

Survey takers can rank what they think are the most important priorities including pedestrian and bicycling safety measures, transit improvements, or focusing on speeding up cars through the area.

There’s also a section in the survey where you can highlight specific areas that you think need attention. At the end of the survey you can see how your choices rank with others’ feedback.

When I took the survey, the need for a safer roadway and improved public transportation was ranked pretty highly among the survey’s categories. That’s similar to an earlier survey about Fairfax County Parkway which indicated too that there’s an appetite for improved public transportation across the county.

In the survey you, can point out specific issues on a map of the area. Image created with Google Maps.

Big plans for the area

A lot of changes have been proposed or are happening through the area. Seven Corners at the eastern end of the study is going through its own redevelopment with plans to create a wider grid of streets to ease the congestion around the eponymous tangle of roads that gives the area its name.

Planned Bus Rapid Transit along Leesburg Pike will also sync up with the buses that travel down Arlington Boulevard today.

Another plan is to connect different trail segments that exist along Arlington Boulevard today into one long trail that could run from DC out to the City of Fairfax. But since the original proposal in 2014, there has not been a ton of progress with only a few segments being improved or completed. Bikes can use the existing frontage roads in the segment VDOT is studying but there are no specific protections in place for anyone on a bike.

Here's what some of the priorites looked like when I took the survey.

At the western end of the corridor, the planned redevelopment of the former Exxon-Mobil Headquarters Campus and areas around Fairview Park could have a big impact on Arlington Boulevard.

The survey will be up until October 31. Be sure to let them know your thoughts about how Arlington Boulevard can be a road safely used by everyone.

Thanks for reading!