Courthouse Multimodal Connectivity Project

Status

On Hold

As of 2023, this project has been put on hold. It remains in the Capital Improvement Plan, but there is no timeline for when it will be revisited.

Location

The project will consider transportation improvements on Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards, as well as their cross street, between North Uhle Street and North Adams Street in the Clarendon-Courthouse neighborhood.

CourthouseMultimodal_overviewimage.jpg

Aerial image showing the project area 

About the Project

This project will focus on coordinating improvements between recent County projects as well as those being delivered through private development of the 2050 Wilson Boulevard (Courthouse Landmark Block) and the 2025 Clarendon Boulevard (Wendy’s site) sites.

Project Goals

  • Create a safe and consistent travel experience for people walking, taking transit, biking, and driving through the Courthouse section of the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor
  • Improve accessibility for people walking and rolling by upgrading curbs and ramps to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Provide enhanced bicycle facilities to fill in a “missing link” between recent nearby projects
  • Improve safety and accessibility for people taking transit by providing improvements to bus stops and facilities near the Courthouse Metro station
  • Review and provide adequate end of trip facilities for bicycles and shared mobility devices
  • Review and consider potential upgrades to traffic signals

Project Background

The project originated from the following plans and related documents:

Master Transportation Plan

  • Streets Element: The Complete Street policy informs the scope of this project to improve safety for all road users.
  • Bike Element: Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards are identified as primary bicycling corridors, as is N. Veitch Street.

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: Wilson Boulevard (Glebe Rd. to N Highland St.) is part of Arlington County’s High Injury Network. These corridors experience high concentrations of critical crashes compared to other corridors in Arlington.

Courthouse Sector Plan

  • Envision Courthouse Square: Recommendations for circulation include multimodal accessibility for the Metro station (2.1), improvements to sidewalks and crossings and bicycle facilities for Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards (2.5), and transit stop improvements (2.8).

Existing Conditions

The Courthouse-Clarendon neighborhood served by the project area includes a mix of residential, government, office, and retail development. It is served by Metrorail, Arlington Transit and Metrobus, Capital Bikeshare, and contains dedicated parking space for shared mobility devices.

  • Clarendon and Wilson Boulevards are principal arterials in a one-way street pair. Their cross section generally consists of wide sidewalks, two vehicle travel lanes, striped bike lanes, standard parking on one or both sides, and transit stops.
    • Posted speed limit is 25 mph
  • N. Uhle Street is identified as a pedestrian promenade in the Courthouse Sector Plan, and the section between Clarendon Boulevard and 15th Street N is being delivered by the Courthouse Landmark Development project.
  • N. Veitch Street is a minor arterial with one vehicle travel lane in each direction, sidewalks, and bike lanes which are either painted or protected, offering connections to Langston Boulevard and the Custis Trail to the north and Route 50 and the Route 50 Trail to the south.
  • N. Wayne Street and N Adams Street are both neighborhood streets, with one lane in each direction. Pedestrian crossings of Clarendon Boulevard are signalized, while crossings of Wilson Boulevard are not signalized.

Arlington Resident Travel Survey (2021)

  • Pre-pandemic, most Rosslyn-Ballston residents got to work using transit (54%), with 7% walking and 4% biking. The area had one of the lowest drive-alone commute rates of any home area, at 25%.
  • Post pandemic, 68% of residents report teleworking. Those commuting to work reported driving alone (14%), taking transit (12%), and other modes (6%).
  • Rosslyn-Ballston residents were also the most likely respondents walk for non-work trips and the second highest likely to take transit, of any home area, with 65% reporting walking and 35% reporting taking transit.

About the Process

Spring 2023 – Existing Conditions Feedback

Level of Engagement: Involve

  • Discuss project goals and how you currently use the streets
  • Share specific ideas and concerns for the street sections

This input will be used to refine to goals and develop concept options.

Engagement materials

Concept Design Feedback

Level of Engagement: Involve

  • Learn what we heard during Existing Conditions Feedback and how it helped inform the concept design
  • Review and share comments on concepts

Input gathered will help evaluate and refine development of a final concept.

Final Design Concept

Level of Engagement: Communicate

  • Learn what we heard during Concept Design Feedback and how it helped inform the final design
  • View final designs online

Funding

Project design is funded through Transportation Capital Fund’s Commercial & Industrial Tax (C&I).