ACTION NEEDED: Realize Rosslyn & the Intersection of Doom

[dasgeh]

Big round of applause for chris_s for getting this on our radars and making enough noise to make this happen.

A big group of us went to the County Board meeting last night to make our plea, and were pleasantly surprised that staff included this issue in their presentation. We all got up and (mostly) just said who we are and thanks.

However, I was EXTREMELY disappointed that any part of County staff could get this far into a process about this area without including the need to improve Lee & Lynn. Comments last night seem to indicate that no one had brought up the issue until recently, which isn’t true. *Frustrating*

So I let it be known that I was disappointed and that we needed leadership from the top on Lee/Lynn.

The good news, aside from having Lee/Lynn included in the plan, is that the Board took note of the cyclists there, and everyone commented on the need to take action in that intersection — not just in some ambiguous future, but sooner than later.

So, next steps: I admit I’ve been a bit complacent over the years: as new members of the cycling community speak up about Lee & Lynn, I’ve been content to say “we’re working on it”. But honestly, in the last 5 years that I’ve been paying attention, the only change has been a leading pedestrian signal. That is not enough. I understand that the pace of change here is expected to be slow, but 5 years is just too long to go without so much as a new sign. And while the County Board members seem to know this intersection, and genuinely be interested in fixing it, I think we need a little more squeak in our wheel.

What do y’all think about setting up a rotation to go into the open Board meetings, say, once a quarter, to update them on Lee & Lynn and put some friendly pressure on them to put some pressure on staff to improve this intersection sooner than later?

[dbb]

@dasgeh 79973 wrote:

We all got up and (mostly) just said who we are and thanks.

Depending on your definition of “mostly”! dasgeh put it right in the laps of the County Board, telling them they were in charge and demanding (quite politely) their leadership in this issue. That resulted in all four saying the intersection needed to be fixed sooner rather than later in their guidance to staff.

Well done to everybody that spoke.

[rcannon100]

The BAC has a list of priority concerns, doesnt it? I would assume the Intersection of Doom is on the top of the list of concerns. I know I personally raise it almost every conversation I have with the county. It’s like…. “Hello, fix the intersection of doom…. now on to whatever topic we are actually talking about….”

I think given the “Arlington Way,” it sort of begs the question of… “if this hasnt been bringing it to your attention on a regular basis, then…. what would?”

I do not recommend banging your head against the wall. I do not recommend going to meetings for the sake of going to meetings. Cyclists constantly have said FOR DECADES that it is a priority.

If anything, I recommend creating a record. My recommendation would be for the BAC to have a public facing webpage where letters and communications to Arlco are posted (just like civic associations and PTAs). And when Arlco says “Intersection of doom? What intersection of doom?” then BAC says pahlease! and points to the record.

PS: In the AIM documentary from last summer (unfortunately AIM never uploaded it to youtube), the interviewed county board members (garvey and maybe fisette), the Arlco staff, Bike Arlington, and the Arlcopo we ALL asked about the intersection of doom. The only one who pretended to not know what it was was the Arlcopo.

In the current election – and the last board election – each candidate was asked how they would address the intersection of doom.

A notorious problem in Arlington is known as the Intersection of Doom. This is the intersection of N Lynn Street and the Custis Trail (Lee Hwy) near I-66 and Key Bridge. It is a dangerous intersection where cars regularly run red lights, and there is rarely police enforcement. What can be done to make the Intersection of Doom safer?

There have been youtube videos about it.

Blog posts about it. And another. And another. And another.

Heck, look at the forum tag cloud!

“Nobody has raised it recently.” PAHLEASE.

[chris_s]

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Board last night – I enjoyed watching the video of your testimony this morning.

[Tim Kelley]

@chris_s 79987 wrote:

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Board last night – I enjoyed watching the video of your testimony this morning.

Link for the lazy?

[Guus]

@Tim Kelley 79988 wrote:

Link for the lazy?

http://arlington.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=2739

[rcannon100]

Last summer Arlington Independent Media produced a video on cycling in Arlington. For some reason it was not released on the official AIM feed. But here it is.

Libby Garvey was interviewed. Jay Fissette was interviewed. Chris Eatough was interviewed. The Police Chief Douglas Scott was interviewed. Charlie Denney was interviewed. One of the questions they all received was about the Intersection of Doom. Chris Eatough discusses the Intersection of Doom. Min. 4:12. The Police Chief blamed the Intersection of Doom on the cyclists speeding. Min. 4:52. His advice is to “slow down through that area.” Chris Eatough says that Arlington Police are aware of problems in that area. 5:22.

[video=youtube_share;Q9ecctFFo3o]http://youtu.be/Q9ecctFFo3o[/video]

But you know, hey, you cyclists havent brought up the problem of the Intersection of Doom recently.

[chris_s]

I know it is just words on a page, but in Arlington those matter.

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