Study under way on transit and transport in Rte 1 corridor in Fairfax (Richmond: apartments)

[brooklynborndad]

Transportation and Transit Studies Under Way for Route 1 Corridor - Huntington-Belle Haven, VA Patch

proposal to widen to 6 lanes - to convert to "truely urban boulevard". Reserving added capacity for express bus or rail. Improving conditions for cyclists and pedestrians - is an extended Yellow line possible? Is the level of new development that would justify it, realistic?

[saganista]

"If you build it, they will come!"
-- Ballston Corridor Planning & Development Commission

[pcity]

Glad to see they're doing something here. Richmond Highway is the worst-designed road in the entire county for ALL modes: driving, biking, walking, and transit.

Things I'd like to see:

- Better access control - One of the biggest problems on the highway is that there seems to be a strip mall driveway every 5 feet. This affects all modes: Drivers on the highway have to slow down to watch for turns. Drivers in the driveways have to pull out into 45 MPH traffic. Bikers and walkers have to watch for cars each time they cross a driveway, and cars pulling out from these driveways aren't used to seeing bikes.

These driveways need to be consolidated as much as possible. Some new signals may be necessary for a few new intersections to replace the hundreds of unsignalized driveways.

- Destroy the service roads. For those who aren't aware of road terminology, service roads are those little two lane roads beside the highway that connect shopping centers. The Route 1 corridor takes service roads, which are already a bad idea, and makes them 10x worse. First of all, the only place service roads really work is on a limited access highway, which, as I pointed out above, is the exact opposite of what Route 1 is. Second, the Route 1 service roads just randomly end in parking lots making them useless for going more than about a block or so.

The idea behind service roads is that they take local traffic off of the highway. In many places, someone going to a shopping center has to exit the highway onto a service road, avoiding slowing traffic on the main highway. On Route 1, all of the big shopping centers (and most of the little ones) have direct access to Route 1 anyway, rendering the service roads totally pointless.

The destruction of the service roads would be a great way to add bike lanes and a dedicated transitway. It may be too early to be dreaming of a Yellow Line extension, but a dedicated busway for REX is an idea that's overdue.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

Transportation and Transit Studies Under Way for Route 1 Corridor - Huntington-Belle Haven, VA Patch

proposal to widen to 6 lanes - to convert to "truely urban boulevard". Reserving added capacity for express bus or rail. Improving conditions for cyclists and pedestrians - is an extended Yellow line possible? Is the level of new development that would justify it, realistic?

For better or worse, I believe BRAC's impact on Fort Belvoir will eventually exacerbate the already stifling traffic on Route 1 but also transform the demographics as more people of means decide to take a chance on the corridor in order to save their commuting sanity.

While I lived close enough that the service roads were actually a benefit to me, I can certainly see how they inhibited people passing through.

As I've said in similar threads, I think a true express bus from the Huntington (and maybe now Franconia-Springfield) Metro to Fort Belvoir would be easier to implement than Metro extension. A dedicated transitway would be helpful too although the construction of such would be a nightmare unless they did it during the overnights.

[robbobobbo]

I agree thoroughly with pcity's assessment of Rt 1. When I read the study, all I could think was, "that area is the furthest thing from a bikeable, walkable environment that I can imagine." Driving it is awful, and I usually shoot down GW Pky or Ft Hunt Rd to avoid most of it. I'd just as soon bike around the area as I would down Rt 7 in Tyson's.

There are too many places for cars to enter and exit the main road, businesses are either in numerous strip malls of small, medium, or semi-large size, or dotted here and there (like Krispy Kreme, Papa John's). The service roads create more danger and it seems too many drivers don't know how to negotiate them.

But which stretch are they thinking of turning into "Main Street for that part of the county", as the article quotes someone? It's far too long a stretch to sustain density from Huntington to Belvoir. The road widening is proposed for near Belvoir (which focuses on car traffic), whereas the discussion of bike-friendliness seems to focus on the Huntington/Beacon Hill area.

I just can't picture it, though that doesn't mean I'm opposed. Rt 1 in Ffx Co is not anything like the Wilson Blvd stretch of Arlington before its redevelopment.

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by pcity

Glad to see they're doing something here. Richmond Highway is the worst-designed road in the entire county for ALL modes: driving, biking, walking, and transit.

Things I'd like to see:

- Better access control - One of the biggest problems on the highway is that there seems to be a strip mall driveway every 5 feet. This affects all modes: Drivers on the highway have to slow down to watch for turns. Drivers in the driveways have to pull out into 45 MPH traffic. Bikers and walkers have to watch for cars each time they cross a driveway, and cars pulling out from these driveways aren't used to seeing bikes.

These driveways need to be consolidated as much as possible. Some new signals may be necessary for a few new intersections to replace the hundreds of unsignalized driveways.

- Destroy the service roads. For those who aren't aware of road terminology, service roads are those little two lane roads beside the highway that connect shopping centers. The Route 1 corridor takes service roads, which are already a bad idea, and makes them 10x worse. First of all, the only place service roads really work is on a limited access highway, which, as I pointed out above, is the exact opposite of what Route 1 is. Second, the Route 1 service roads just randomly end in parking lots making them useless for going more than about a block or so.

The idea behind service roads is that they take local traffic off of the highway. In many places, someone going to a shopping center has to exit the highway onto a service road, avoiding slowing traffic on the main highway. On Route 1, all of the big shopping centers (and most of the little ones) have direct access to Route 1 anyway, rendering the service roads totally pointless.

The destruction of the service roads would be a great way to add bike lanes and a dedicated transitway. It may be too early to be dreaming of a Yellow Line extension, but a dedicated busway for REX is an idea that's overdue.

I'm totally with you on this. When I worked near Belvoir I went S on Rt. 1 then 7100 to 95/395 North going home because it made too much sense over going North on Rt 1. When I had to go to other branches up Rt. 1 that was not fun and very dangerous.

I ran a stop sign on accident on a service road and nearly hit someone in the back going to a shopping center.

Rt. 1 needs help BAD.

[irvine]

Originally Posted by robbobobbo

I just can't picture it, though that doesn't mean I'm opposed. Rt 1 in Ffx Co is not anything like the Wilson Blvd stretch of Arlington before its redevelopment.

You're right, Tysons will face similar issues as it develops around Metro.

Arlington always had a traditional grid of streets, whereas Fairfax County has disconnected neighborhoods, commercial areas, and multilane highways.

Wilson Blvd in Clarendon was also Arlington's "Main Street" since at least the 1920s. Metro just brought redevelopment to what was already a semi-urban area.

[CAVA1990]

I'd be happy if they just did something about the recessed manhole covers every 10 feet that bounce you around. Better light synchronization would be good too, particularly down in the Hybla Valley stretch.

This may be awful to say, but the problem with Route 1 isn't really the road but all the old low rent apartments concentrated along there. This produces a lot of the jaywalking, lower end retail and crime that plague this part of the county. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done about it. Everything else is pretty much papering over.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

I'd be happy if they just did something about the recessed manhole covers every 10 feet that bounce you around. Better light synchronization would be good too, particularly down in the Hybla Valley stretch.

Indeed. <sigh>

This may be awful to say, but the problem with Route 1 isn't really the road but all the old low rent apartments concentrated along there. This produces a lot of the jaywalking, lower end retail and crime that plague this part of the county. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done about it. Everything else is pretty much papering over.

Granted, people usually have a choice to not participate in dangerous or illegal activities, no matter their socioeconomic class. That said, people have to live somewhere and the Route 1 corridor is the rare (relatively) convenient working-class area. I imagine a fair amount of apartment residents work at the midscale retail and restaurants that have arrived there in recent years.

If anything, I believe that as the Fort Belvoir BRAC deluge continues and the economy recovers, the situation will not only force the issue of creating some sort of transit enhancement but perhaps also raising rents to the point where some management companies might consider renovating the properties into higher-end units or even condos.