Jay Jacob Wind, President
611 South Ivy Street
Arlington, Virginia 22204
703-920-5193
Arlington County Board
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22201
Dear Mr. Ferguson,
Arlington Heights Civic Association includes the south side of Highway 50 in Arlington between South Glebe Road and South Fillmore Street.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Right of Way (ROW) along this portion of Highway 50 includes the shoulder of the highway, a bicycle/pedestrian path, and access roads. Private residences, a large house of worship, a County middle school and recreational facility, a pedestrian bridge across Highway 50, and several bus stops are either adjacent to or in the VDOT ROW. The current condition of the ROW does not adequately support or compliment these uses. Pedestrian lighting is inadequate. There are no curbs and gutters along Highway 50 or along most of the access roads. Parking areas are undefined. The pedestrian bridge is poorly maintained. Planting areas are lacking or unkempt. There is a significant drainage problem, and the drainage ditches themselves are dangerous. They pose a significant bad weather hazard to cars that might drift just a little too far to the right in the right-hand lane, and the ditch at the northwest corner of Route 50 and Irving Street, at the base of the stoplight, has caused bicycle and pedestrian injuries.
We request that the ROW be improved with the installation of curbs and gutters along Highway 50 and the access roads. The curb and gutter plan should provide for adequate parking and create well-defined areas that contain attractive, appropriate plants. With the installation of curbs and gutters that separate pedestrian areas from automotive traffic lanes, the neighborhood can safely undertake the maintenance of the planted areas. Infrastructure improvements should also include the installation of Carlyle style pedestrian lights along the bicycle/pedestrian path and the access roads. These lights will provide necessary lighting along the path and the approaches to the cross-highway footbridge, both of which are mostly unlit today. Carlyle style lights are in character with the residential, non-business, and non-industrial nature of the neighborhood that fronts this side of the highway. The footbridge should be repaired and painted.
We have sent a similar letter to Mr. Sherrell Crow of VDOT.
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
cc:
Mr. E. Sherrell Crow, Transportation Engineer
Virginia Department of Transportation
3975 Fair Ridge Drive
Fairfax, VA 22033