Trying to fix the #doom
April 21. 2016 1 Comments
Presented without further comment, a timeline of cycling & automotive conflict at the intersection of Lee Highway, Lynn Street and the Custis Trail (the so-called Intersection of Doom):
1990 - National Parks Service Trails Study identifies problems with "dangerous cross-walks" at Rosslyn Circle. (page 41)
2003 Rosslyn Circle Bike & Pedestrian Safety Report recommends short-term options, including trail widening, visibility improvements and shortening the crossing, and also a tunnel under Lynn Street as a long-term solution. It examines multiple options for rerouting the trail, but discards them as unsuitable for various reasons.
2006 Lynn Street Esplanade Design Report recommends short-term options, including trail widening, visibility improvements and shortening the crossing, and also a tunnel under Lynn Street as a long-term solution. It includes an appendix with a tunnel structural analysis.
2011 County Staff share 50% engineering designs for the "N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project" which will implement the short-term options recommended in the 2003 and 2006 studies. Expected completion date at the time: Summer 2014.
June 2013 County staff share 60% engineering designs for the "N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project". Expected completion date has slipped to Fall 2015.
March 2014, Draft Realize Rosslyn Policy Framework does not address the intersection.
April 2014 After public outcry, the Board adopts Realize Rosslyn Policy Framework with an added policy point addressing the intersection.
May 2014 Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends changes in signal timing at the intersection as a stop-gap safety improvement.
June 2014 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Summer 2016
September 2014 Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee meets on-site with staff to talk about potential short-term solutions.
February 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Summer 2017
March 2015 Intermittent no-turn-on-red sign added to intersection to supplement improved signal timing.
April 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Fall 2017
May 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Spring 2018
July 2015 Despite public outcry, the board adopts the final updated Rosslyn Sector Plan with a tunnel beneath Lynn Street listed in the implementation framework as a long-term (10+ years out) project. Staff indicate that they do not support planning for the tunnel until the N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety has been completed as it will, in the words of Dennis Leach, "fundamentally alter the nature of the intersection".
April 2016 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Fall 2018
1990 - National Parks Service Trails Study identifies problems with "dangerous cross-walks" at Rosslyn Circle. (page 41)
2003 Rosslyn Circle Bike & Pedestrian Safety Report recommends short-term options, including trail widening, visibility improvements and shortening the crossing, and also a tunnel under Lynn Street as a long-term solution. It examines multiple options for rerouting the trail, but discards them as unsuitable for various reasons.
2006 Lynn Street Esplanade Design Report recommends short-term options, including trail widening, visibility improvements and shortening the crossing, and also a tunnel under Lynn Street as a long-term solution. It includes an appendix with a tunnel structural analysis.
2011 County Staff share 50% engineering designs for the "N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project" which will implement the short-term options recommended in the 2003 and 2006 studies. Expected completion date at the time: Summer 2014.
June 2013 County staff share 60% engineering designs for the "N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project". Expected completion date has slipped to Fall 2015.
March 2014, Draft Realize Rosslyn Policy Framework does not address the intersection.
April 2014 After public outcry, the Board adopts Realize Rosslyn Policy Framework with an added policy point addressing the intersection.
May 2014 Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee recommends changes in signal timing at the intersection as a stop-gap safety improvement.
June 2014 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Summer 2016
September 2014 Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee meets on-site with staff to talk about potential short-term solutions.
February 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Summer 2017
March 2015 Intermittent no-turn-on-red sign added to intersection to supplement improved signal timing.
April 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Fall 2017
May 2015 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Spring 2018
July 2015 Despite public outcry, the board adopts the final updated Rosslyn Sector Plan with a tunnel beneath Lynn Street listed in the implementation framework as a long-term (10+ years out) project. Staff indicate that they do not support planning for the tunnel until the N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety has been completed as it will, in the words of Dennis Leach, "fundamentally alter the nature of the intersection".
April 2016 N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements Project project delayed. New expected completion date: Fall 2018
Comments
Not a fan of a tunnel solution, which only solves a portion of the conflict problems at a tremendous cost. Better and less costly options, that could be completed sooner, exist.
Steve O