Jay Jacob Wind, President
611 South Ivy Street
Arlington, Virginia 22204-2429
703-920-5193
Virginia Department of Transportation
3975 Fair Ridge Drive
Fairfax, Virginia 22033
Dear Mr. Crow,
I am president of Arlington Heights Civic Association, bounded by South Glebe Road (State Route 120). Traffic on Route 120 poses serious safety problems to students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, one block east of Route 120.
Approximately 100 students must cross Route 120 each day at 2nd Street South. These students live north of 5th Street South, the next stoplight down on Route 120. These students must wait for a break in the 35-MPH traffic at rush hour, between 7:30 and 8:30 am, and again between 2:30 and 3:30 pm.
I wish to propose a stoplight at 2nd Street South and Route 120. The stoplight should be push-button activated so that it would not impede traffic flow during non-school-crossing hours. I know that a proposal to install a stoplight will take years to implement, but I would like to start the process immediately. Can you contact me about this proposal?
One block north, at 1st Road South and Route 120, there is another serious problem. Fortunately, this problem is easier to solve. Heading northbound toward Route 50 on South Glebe Road, the sign for Route 50 East appears BEFORE 1st Road South. Seeing the sign, many times a day, drivers unfamiliar to the neighborhood turn their cars into 1st Road South, thinking it's a ramp to Route 50. When they discover their error, they either turn around in a driveway and head back to Glebe, the wrong way on the one-way street; or they continue to South Old Glebe Road, find themselves completely lost, and turn around in front of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, compounding its traffic safety problems. This is a significant danger to the school children, and I want to put VDOT on notice immediately of our concerns.
I request that VDOT immediately move the Route 50 sign from its current location SOUTH of 1st Road South to the greensward just NORTH of 1st Road South.
Thank you for your assistance. If you need more information or have any questions, please contact me at 703-920-5193 or via e-mail at JAY.WIND@ATT.NET.
/s/
Jay Jacob Wind, President
Arlington Heights Civic Association