Pedestrian improvements slowly coming to Route 1
By James Cullum
What has kept road, sidewalk and signal improvements from being implemented along Richmond Highway (Route 1), one of the busiest roads in Fairfax County, has been the hope that the roadway would be widened, a county trails coordinator told The Times.Three years ago the Virginia Department of Transportation completed a corridor study for the widening project. But the problem is money, and without funds available for such a project in the foreseeable future, county staff have shifted their focus to more short-term goals, like pedestrian improvements.
Long segments of Richmond Highway have no sidewalks, and it is common to see pedestrians running across dangerous portions of the road.
“What we're planning is that there will be a non-stop sidewalk or trail on all eight miles of Route 1 from the City of Alexandria to Fort Belvoir,” said Chris Wells, manager of the county's pedestrian program.
“We’ve already made this corridor more transit-friendly with our REX bus service and improved safety with countdown signal heads, improved crosswalks and easier access to bus shelters,” said Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay.
But the problem of pedestrian safety will not be solved by more sidewalks, bus shelters or crosswalks, said Capt. Mike Kline, commander of the Mount Vernon District Station.
“The main problem is that people don't want to walk the extra 50 yards to get to a crosswalk. They just cross anywhere,” said Kline, who has noticed a pedestrian safety problem along the roadway throughout his 26 years on the force.
One pedestrian was killed along Route 1 in 2006 and five were killed in 2007.
“Route 1 is our single worst roadway in the county for pedestrian fatalities,” Wells said.
Although educating the community through outreach programs and workshops is effective, Kline said that one of the men killed last year was carrying letters from the county on pedestrian safety when he was hit.
“I've seen ladies with strollers crossing in the middle of the road,” Kline said, and reflecting on one difficult incident, added, “A lady was walking her kids back to their apartment complex, a kid backed away from her, got hit and got killed.”
Funding is a complicated mix of federal, state and Fairfax County transportation bonds, of which $18 million has been allocated for 5.6 miles of pedestrian improvements for more than 50 intersection and sidewalk projects, meaning that of the $47 million in pedestrian-related funding, more than a third has been set aside for Richmond Highway. Wells estimates that costs for the project run between a half million dollars to $1.5 million per mile of work.
“Money is not the issue. It's really the complexity of design. That $18 million figure is our estimate for the entire project, but as costs go up, I anticipate we'll need more,” said Wells, adding that building new sidewalks is similar to a road widening project because “utility relocations are necessary and property acquisition has to be taken into account, since some of the land rights to Route 1 literally go back to the 1600s.”
Other challenges for the county include planning for growth from business developments and base realignment-related growth, where transportation proffers may save the county from using public funds. Planning for certain sections proves difficult, especially when potential widening projects will result in the demolition of sidewalks, Wells said.
One criticism made at public hearings has been that Fairfax County does not have a policy regarding lighting of roadways.
“The question was asked, 'Why would you build all this without lighting?' It's a personal safety issue and we've been asked to look at that by the board,” Wells said.
Officers from Mount Vernon will begin a pedestrian education initiative on March 17.