Finally. . . the Seven Corners Pedestrian Overpass!

It's almost done; ribbon cutting scheduled for May 20.  Even before I moved to a part of Arlington that is not far from Seven Corners, I was aware of the significant number of pedestrian deaths that were occurring along the stretch of Route 50 (Arlington Boulevard) near Patrick Henry Drive and Seven Corners (right by the Home Depot to point out a familiar landmark).  Here's a map of the area (one detail: the actual location of the bridge is somewhat west of what is shown. This is taken from the official VDOT site):

I've also included a number of photos below, which you can expand by clicking.  There's also a great article in the Falls Church News Press by Penny Gross describing the placement of the main bridge section a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know the exact statistics, but since I started paying attention I would guess at least 12-15 people have been killed by cars in that area.  This bridge should have been built 20 years ago.  There is no good way to cross route 50.  I know that at least one of the pedestrians was killed crossing at the walk signal at the Patrick Henry intersection; there really is no safe way.  There are homes, apartments and significant commerce on both sides of the highway, so there are lots of reasons for people to cross.  One would think that the businesses would have an interest in making it easier for people to reach their establishments, too.  I don't know how strong a role they played in helping make it happen, however.

So hooray.  As usual, though, I have opinions about this project.  Here they are:
- Way, way overdue, as mentioned above.
- It took a long time.  This project was started in the fall of 2007.  Originally it was supposed to be complete last November.  Unfortunately, the original truss that was delivered was cracked, which caused a several-months delay.
- Why does the north side empty out inside the frontage road, so people still have to cross another lane of traffic to get to the sidewalk (see photos)?  If the frontage road had been shifted a little southward, the bridge would need to be somewhat longer, but not much.  They completely rebuilt this entire area, so it could have been designed that way.  I often wonder why--when we're building a piece of infrastructure that will be there for 40 years or more--that more thought isn't put into these details.
- Pedestrian access on both sides should be improved now that the bridge is complete
- It probably cost too much.  Although it appears to be an excellent facility, Fairfax County is not known for its willingness to invest in bike/ped facilities.  I suspect that the next time someone suggests an improvement, the county will say, "But that one at 7 Corners cost so much; we can't afford to spend that kind of money willy nilly on pedestrians."

Taken in February from the Barnes & Noble parking lot prior to installation of the bridge (click to enlarge)

Looking east from Seven Corners.  Home Depot is behind the bridge to the right (click to enlarge).

Looking West along Route 50.  You can see the ramp pedestrians will come down and then have to cross the frontage road on the right to get to the sidewalk.  Dumb.  (Click to enlarge)

 

At the top of the ramp looking south across the bridge.  Still a little work being finished up.

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Steve Offutt, Arlingtonian and future Seven Corners bike/pedestrian bridge user

Comments

[Steve Offutt]

For many more comments about this project, please see the cross posting on GreaterGreater Washington at:
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=2312

Steve

[Allen Muchnick]

Fairfax County did not fund or manage this project. It was entirely funded by VDOT with federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) funds.

Several years ago, VDOT adopted a policy to allocate 10% of its federal HSIP funds to pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements. Since pedestrians and bicyclists comprise about 10% of Virginia's traffic fatalities, the 10% allocation is appropriate.

I personally believe that projects such as this one are NOT an effective way to improve pedestrian safety in Virginia, but VDOT and most Virginia localities devote precious little planning resources for pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements.

Rather than build a pedestrian bridge at this location, a local street should have been extended above (and grade separated from) Rte 50, but doing so would have been much more costly and could only be funded in conjunction with urban redevelopment by the private sector.