If you drive, bike, walk or ride the bus on Seminary Road east of I-395, City of Alexandria officials are asking for your input on how to make the road safer.
The roadway is slated to be repaved “in the near future,” according to the City, and the repaving provides an opportunity to make safety improvements for all users. This could include creating bike lanes on the road, making visibility improvements at key intersections for pedestrian safety and more.
“Seminary Road was identified in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Chapter of the Transportation Master Plan for potential improvements to ensure the safety, mobility, and accessibility for all roadway users.. Data analysis conducted through the Vision Zero Action Plan also showed that Seminary Road was a corridor with a high number of KSI (killed or seriously injured) crashes,” according to the Seminary Road Complete Streets Project website.
“Since the reduction of the speed limit on Seminary (from Quaker to Library Lanes) in 2016, data has shown that safety has improved. However, to sustain this benefit, the roadway design must reflect the posted speed limit as well as encourage and better accommodate people walking, biking, driving, and riding transit.”
City of Alexandria, Transportation & Environmental Services (TES)
The speed limit dropped from 35 mph to 25 mph in 2016, and signs along the road note the speed limit is “strictly enforced.”
This summer is outlined as the time for officials to gather data and input from residents.
In late May, Alexandria officials presented a few ideas for Seminary Road and the intersection of North Howard Street (where grant funding will pay for accessibility and pedestrian safety improvements).
A Nextdoor.com thread started by a resident with an open letter to city officials notes that several early ideas for Seminary Road safety involve reducing the driving portion of the roadway to one lane in each direction. Several residents voiced concerns about difficulties that would pose to residents, concerns that traffic would back up on the roadway and conerns about getting ambulances through to Inova Alexandria hospital.
A Seminary Road repaving survey earlier this year revealed that despite the speed limit change, residents of the area still say people drive too fast on Seminary Road: Of respondents to the question “What are your highest priority concerns along your street?” 24 percent chose “People drive too fast on my street” as one of their top three concerns. Other top concerns included “It is difficult to bike on my street” (19 percent) and concerns about sidewalk accessibility and intersection crossings (11 percent each).
To submit comments on Seminary Road (and other upcoming repaving projects, including Mount Vernon Avenue, West Braddock Road and more), go to www.alexandriava.gov/tes/info/default.aspx?id=103183.
