Route 1 Study: Status Report
August 2021
Executive summary: Converting Route 1 to a multi-modal urban boulevard.
March 2021
As part of the Amazon HQ2 agreement, Virginia promised that it would study possible Route 1 improvements between 12th and 23rd Streets. VDOT, which is conducting the Study, confirmed at a recent meeting, that it is considering the feasibility of just the three options: (1) eliminating the bridges over 15th and 18th Streets while lowering the highway to grade; (2) retaining the bridges more or less as is; (3) retaining the bridges while converting the highway into an “urban boulevard” as recommended in the Crystal City Sector Plan. During its presentation, VDOT tentatively explained the enormous difficulty of lowering the highway to grade at 18th Street and described several concepts for altering the 15th Street intersection, each of which had drawbacks, particularly if the highway could not be lowered at 18th Street. Thus, it’s beginning to appear that, while the Study will not be finalized until early summer, VDOT may be starting to lean toward the third, “urban boulevard” option. Exactly what that would entail remains to be seen. Route 1 is the primary North-South artery through 22202 and any changes to this stretch of highway will have significant impacts on how people travel through and within our neighborhood. As part of our engagement on this issue, ARCA, along with Aurora Highlands and Crystal City Civic Associations sent a letter to our state representatives to make sure they are informed and engaged on any decisions on Route 1.
Update:
VDOT Third Public Information Meeting, Wednesday, June 16, 6:30 PM: Meeting information is here: http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northern_virginia/route_1_multimodal_improvements_study-third_virtual_public_information_meeting.asp Use this link to preregister to attend the VDOT meeting: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4639365539122339852
Background Resources:
- VDOT Route 1 Multimodal Improvements Feasibility Study: http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/northernvirginia/route_1_multimodal_improvements_study.asp
- Livability 22202 Route 1 Working Group: https://livability22202.org/route-1-working-group/
- National Landing BID: Reimagine Route 1: https://nationallanding.org/get-around/route1
- VDOT Report on Route 1 to County Board, Part of Regional Reports, Tuesday, May 18: Video recording is here (VDOT presentation starts at 37 minutes) http://arlington.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3917
- NACTO: City Limits: https://nacto.org/safespeeds/
- Smart Growth America: Dangerous by Design
- Congress for the New Urbanism: Highways to Boulevards: https://www.cnu.org/our-projects/highways-boulevards Check out their 4 principles: https://www.cnu.org/our-projects/highways-boulevards/principles
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