Tuesday

Funds Diverted from Street Paving to Expensive Walter Reed 'Traffic Calming'

Hello Yupette,

Many streets and roads near the intersection of Walter Reed Drive and South Four Mile Run needed to repaved like 3 years ago. So where is the money for repaving going? To an extravagant and expensive 'traffic calming' project for South Walter Reed hill (between S. Four Mile Run Drive and South Pollard Street). As described during an April 27th 'community meeting' (which nearby communities only learned about from local blogs) between $600,000 and $2 million (depending on which transportation staff member you spoke with) will be spent to narrow South Walter Reed Drive with planted medians and nubs. The project will also paint bicycle lanes on South Walter Reed Drive hill (which does not need repaving).

What is really appalling - presently one small speed limit sign is visible going up Walter hill and there are no speed limit signs on the downhill lanes.

Transportation Planning Director Dennis Leach dismissed residents' concerns about traffic from Columbia Pike redevelopment and from BRAC in Alexandria. Several residents are greatly concerned about the effect of street narrowing upon the response time for fire and EMS vehicles from Fire Station 9.

Members of nearby communities who expressed their concerns were ignored, except for representatives from Arlington's bicycle organizations.

The laundry list of streets and roads in South Arlington within a mile of South Walter Reed and South Four Mile Run Drive that need repaving includes portions of S. 16th Street and South Quincy Street in the Douglas Park neighborhood where County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman lives.

S. Quincy Resident