At last Thursday evening’s community meeting focused on recommendations to make Seminary Road safer for cars, bikes and pedestrians, City officials noted several times that Seminary Road has one of the top 10 “sidewalk gaps” in Alexandria.
“Sidewalk gaps” are where a sidewalk ends, forcing pedestrians to cross a street, walk on the road or walk on grass or other surfaces to continue on their way. The lack of sidewalks often creates safety concerns for both pedestrians and vehicles.
Alexandria has nearly 600 miles of sidewalks in the City.
Seminary Road is no. 9 on the list of top 10 gaps in the City of Alexandria.
Where are the other nine?
“Areas without sidewalk coverage on both sides of streets tend to be residential neighborhoods such as locations in the North Ridge/Rosemont area, the Dowden Terrace neighborhood and the Taylor Run area,” according to the City’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (2016).
However, the highest-priority sidewalk projects are along major roads in the City, including King Street, Van Dorn Street, Eisenhower Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue and other areas (see the list and map below).
Sidewalks aren’t cheap: According to some online calculators, sidewalks can cost $8 to $10 per square foot to install – and that’s IF there aren’t any complications like uneven ground, moving utilities or building retaining walls around it.
This map from the Master Plan (below) shows the areas where sidewalks are lacking and City officials have recommended installation or significant improvements.
City of Alexandria
Ranked in order of importance by city staff (from Master Plan documents):
1. King Street (from Quaker Lane to N. Hampton Drive): New sidewalks along the north and south sides of King Street, including over I-395, where missing. This project improves important pedestrian access and connectivity along a street with higher volumes and speeds, and a history of pedestrian fatalities. The status, according to the city, is that this will likely be included with other improvements on upper King Street in the future if funding is secured.
2. Van Dorn Street (from Kenmore Avenue to the north of Braddock Road): New sidewalk along the west side of Van Dorn Street. This project improves pedestrian access and connectivity in west Alexandria. This is not yet completed, but it is being considered under the Landmark Small Area Plan update.
3. Payne Street/Jefferson St. (300 block of S. Payne St.; 700 block of S. Payne St.; 1200 block of Jefferson St.): New sidewalk on the east side of the 300 block of S. Payne Street where missing; new sidewalk on the east side of the 700 block of S. Payne Street where missing; new sidewalk on the south side of the 1200 block of Jefferson Street where missing. The project in the 1200 block of Jefferson has been completed.
4. Cameron Station Boulevard (from S. Pickett Street to Armistead Boothe Park): New sidewalk on the east side of Cameron Station Boulevard where missing. Provides an important connection to Armistead Boothe Park / Cameron Station and future redevelopment along S. Pickett Street and areas to the north. This project was also recommended in the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan. As of right now, a portion of this has been completed and the remaining section is under construction.
5. Fayette Street (from Route 1 and First Street): New sidewalk on the west side of Fayette Street, south of Route 1 to First Street. This project was recommended in the Braddock Metro Station Small Area Plan. A portion of this has been completed.
6. Eisenhower Avenue (from Van Dorn Street to Van Dorn Metrorail Station): New sidewalk on the south side of Eisenhower Avenue where missing. Provides an important connection to the Van Dorn Metrorail Station. This project is being coordinated with the West End Transitway and was recommended in the Eisenhower West Small Area Plan. This has not been completed.
7. N. Jordan Street (from Howard Street to Seminary Road): New sidewalk along the east side of N. Jordan Street where missing. Provides connectivity between residential neighborhood and Seminary Road and Hammond Middle School. This has not been completed.
8. Russell Road (from King Street to W. Cedar Street): New sidewalk along the west side of Russell Road where missing. Provides connectivity between the Rosemont neighborhood and Union Station and King Street Metrorail station. This has not been completed.
9. Seminary Road (from west of Quaker Lane to west of Ft. Williams Parkway): New sidewalk along the north side of Seminary Road where missing. Provides connectivity to the Episcopal High School, and to the Virginia Theological Seminary. (Note: This is part of longer-term planning alongside the Seminary Road safety changes and may take some time to complete.)
10. Commonwealth Avenue: Segments of new sidewalk are needed on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue to provide improved access along this busy residential corridor. This has been completed. (An earlier version of this article said it has not been completed; we apologize for the error.)
The list of the top 43 sidewalk gaps in the City is provided here in order of prioritization.
A PDF version of the map above is available here (figure 4.4, page 68)
