(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A handful of main roads in Arlington may be getting speed limit reductions.
At its meeting this Saturday, the Arlington County Board is slated to vote to advertise a potential reduction in the speed limit on four arterial streets, per a staff report.
The reductions would target road segments with high volumes of pedestrians walking to and from transit stations, schools, apartment buildings and commercial areas, the county says. Among them:
- Washington Blvd from Arlington Blvd (Route 50) to N. Pershing Drive (35 to 30 mph)
- S. Joyce Street from Columbia Pike to Army Navy Drive (35 to 30 mph)
- Columbia Pike from S. Dinwiddie Street to the Fairfax County line (35 to 30 mph)
- Lorcom Lane from Cherry Hill Road to Military Road (30 to 25 mph)
The segments also have more serious and fatal crashes than other roads, the report said.
The selected segment of Washington Blvd, south of Clarendon, sees lots of foot traffic due to the public transit stops on both sides of the road connected by controlled and uncontrolled marked crosswalks, according to the county.
The corridor had 39 crashes in a 5-year period, and is one of the roads in Arlington’s Vision Zero High Injury Network, which accounts for 78% of all serious or fatal crashes. North of Arlington Blvd, the speed limit on Washington Blvd is already 30 mph.
S. Joyce Street, in the Pentagon City area, also has “steady” pedestrian activity due to a transit stop. The county says more people will walk, cycle and scoot along the road — which passes near the Air Force Memorial — once Columbia Pike is realigned to expand Arlington National Cemetery.
Lower speeds here “are essential” for lowering the risk of severe collisions, since the lane widths are limited and have no shoulders, per the report. To improve walkability on this stretch of S. Joyce, the county widened sidewalks and installed new lighting in 2013.
The Dept. of Environmental Services also recommends lowering speeds on the segment of Columbia Pike from S. Dinwiddie Street to the Fairfax County line to account for increased walking and transit use associated with new transit stations. Columbia Pike, with 85 crashes in a five-year period, of which six involved pedestrians, is also part of what has been designated the “High Injury Network.”
Continuing east on Columbia Pike, the speed limit is currently 30 mph.
Meanwhile, a high volume of people walk and cycle across Lorcom Lane to go to and from Dorothy Hamm Middle School, per the report. The school also has foot traffic outside school hours and on weekends, for events such as the Cherrydale Farmers Market, which started last year, despite complaints from some neighbors.
This road saw 18 crashes in six years, and of those, speeding contributed to three crashes.
The county considered, but decided not to lower speeds on segments of S. Walter Reed Drive, S. Four Mile Run Drive and Wilson Blvd from N. Glebe Road to the Fairfax County line — where the limit is currently 30 mph.
At its upcoming meeting, the Board is also expected to enact some speed reductions in Courthouse and Glencarlyn, which were advertised last month. The planned speed limit changes are:
- Fairfax Drive from Arlington Boulevard to N. Barton Street (30 mph to 25 mph)
- 5th Road S. from S. Carlin Springs Road to the Fairfax County line (35 mph to 25 mph)