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Arlington Boulevard Trail Enhancements - Fairfax Drive

Status

In Design

Location

The project extends on a section of the Arlington Boulevard Trail from the vicinity of the N Rhodes Street overpass along a realignment of Fairfax Drive at N Pierce Street, terminating at the intersection of Fairfax Drive and N Fort Myer Drive.

Site context ARL BLVD map JPG.jpg

About Project

General Scope

Improvements may include replacement of the existing trail with a 10-foot wide two-way, multi-use asphalt trail, with features such as directional striping, ornamental plantings, and safety fixtures such as bollards, security railings/fence elements, and/or guard rails.

Project Goals

Improve safety and access of this segment of Arlington Boulevard Trail
Provide a cohesive user experience of the sidewalk, street, and trail zones along this segment of Fairfax Drive

Project Background

This capital project is the result of gradual planning work since 2016 in response to site-plan development applications that began in 2023. As nearby site-plan projects are now in active negotiation, the project team is able to establish the scope of this capital project.

Planning guidance from this project comes from the following County Board-adopted plans and policies:

Master Transportation Plan (MTP)

Bicycle Element: Designates the Arlington Boulevard Trail as a Primary East-West Bicycling Corridor, defined as the most-heavily trafficked streets, for which these trails are often the only or among only a few continuous routes across the County.
Pedestrian Element:
- Providing safe and convenient pedestrian access to the street network
- Ensuring conditions are ADA-compliant, preferably through universal design
- Encouraging use of efficient, sustainable, non-motorized modes of transportation including bicycling and walking
- Supporting safety and comfort of users while minimizing accidents and injuries

Vision Zero

Vision Zero policies call on County staff and the Arlington community to take a proactive approach to safety in order to eliminate severe and fatal crashes from our transportation network by 2030.
High Injury Network: Arlington Boulevard and Fairfax Drive are both part of Arlington County’s High Injury Network (2022). These corridors experience high concentrations of critical crashes compared to other corridors in Arlington.

Nearby Projects

1501 Arlington Boulevard and 1601 Fairfax Drive are private development projects with approved site plans. The site includes the existing Red Lion Hotel, Ellis Arms Apartments, Williamsburg Apartments, and the Inn of Rosslyn. The approved site plans would deliver a multi-family residential building with structured parking spaces.
A Vision Zero Quick-Build project was completed at the intersection of Fairfax Drive & 14th Street N in May 2021 where improvements, such as widening pavement markings, upgrading curb ramps, and adding sidewalk, were made.

Existing Conditions

Below are some existing conditions present along the project corridor, along with highlights of some things that may constrain the project as we work to improve safety for all road users.

Existing Conditions

Close proximity to roadway: The current trail is surrounded by a frequent-trafficked road and a highway where vehicles drive at high speeds. The trail also narrows at certain points throughout this section.
Arlington Boulevard Trail: The Arlington Boulevard Trail is an important bike connection in Arlington, and this section of it allows trail users to be connected to a variety of important places throughout the County and beyond.

Existing Constraints

Overhead Utilities: The overhead utilities are not able to be undergrounded as part of this enhancement project.
Guardrails: The existing guardrails in this corridor are not able to be moved or altered as part of this enhancement project.
Vehicle Travel Lanes: The project team is not able to consider any changes to the current orientation of the lanes along this corridor.
Pedestrian Bridge: The pedestrian bridge in this corridor is not able to be moved or altered as part of this project.

About the Process

Public engagement will occur in two primary phases – in the preliminary design phase to inform the initial concept designs, and during the concept design phase, to gather feedback on the initial concept designs.