Wilson Boulevard Resurfacing Project for Complete Streets
Location
Wilson Boulevard between N Arlington Mill and N McKinley Rd, near the Boulevard Manor and Dominion Hills neighborhoods, Arlington, VA 22205 View Map
StatusComplete
Status
Construction
Staff have reviewed the annual list of projects up for routine maintenance and identified a subset of streets for potential projects. Community feedback about current experiences with the street segment, along with other available data, such as plan guidance and crash data, helped inform the development of a concept design. Community feedback on the concept design helped refine the final concept, which will be implemented in late July, 2020.
About the Project
Complete Streets “enable safe access by all user groups including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and users, and motorists of all ages and abilities.” One of the ways Arlington County delivers on the Master Transportation Plan’s Complete Streets policy is to review the annual list of streets up for routine maintenance and identify those that might benefit from improvements to provide safe access for all people using the street.
Short-term improvements to this section of Wilson Boulevard are being considered as one of the three Resurfacing Projects for Complete Streets in 2020, along with Clarendon Boulevard and Potomac Avenue.
Overall Goal
- Improve access and safety for people walking, taking transit, biking and driving
Project Guidance
- Complete Streets Policy
- Master Transportation Plan:
- Wilson Boulevard considered a primary bicycling corridor
- Project section considered as “planned bike lane”
What do we know about existing conditions?
Wilson Boulevard in this segment consists of four travel lanes (two in each direction separated by a median), curbside transit stops and some parking, and is classified as principal arterial.
- Posted Speed Limit: 30 mph
- 85th Percentile Speed: 39 MPH
- Motor vehicle traffic: 15,000 average vehicles per day (VDOT 2018)
- 3-Year Crash Analysis shows 17 crashes along this corridor
- 82% of 17 crashes are angle and rear ends
- 59% of 17 crashes considered property damage only and 41% resulted in injury
- Segment features many walkable destinations including: Powhatan Springs Skate Park, Dominion Hills Recreation (pool), Upton Hills Regional Park, Ashlawn Elementary School, and the Dominion Hills Center (strip mall)
What did we learn by studying this section?
- Roadway capacity exceeds existing traffic demand
- Use of on-street parking is low to medium, particularly east of N Lebanon Street
- Meets national traffic volume thresholds for roadway reconfigurations; possible to change from four lanes to two lanes with buffered bike lanes and accomodate traffic
- Intersection operations (signalized and unsignalized) to be maintained with reconfiguration – with exception of N Livingston Street
- Reconfiguration based on traffic volumes is less feasible west of Patrick Henry Drive
What did we hear from the community about this section?
At our first community touch point in April 2020, we asked community members to share there experiences of the existing street. These experiences helped staff develop a design concept. More information about feedback received is available under the “Public Process” heading below.
- Desire for continuous bike facility in order to minimize vehicle and cyclist conflicts
- Concerns regarding speeding along the corridor
- Desire for safer pedestrian crossings along the corridor
- Desire to increase understanding of motorist decisions at wide intersections (N Larrimore St and N Livingston St)
What improvements can we make in the short term?
- Accommodate existing traffic with minimal delays while providing a safer facility for all users with more space for other travel modes through a roadway reconfiguration of a four-lane road to a two-lane road
- Adds additional separation between people driving and biking with buffered bike lanes
- Increases transit efficiency and pedestrian safety by consolidating bus stops and adding enhanced bus markings
- Improves conditions for people walking by shortening crossing distances with marked curb extensions at intersections
- Standardizes travel lane sizes to accommodate transit and school buses and emergency response vehicles
- Provides 70 on-street parking spots (69 existing)
Public Process
Final Plan Informed by Your Feedback - July 2020
In April, we asked you to share your location-specific issues and concerns about the street segment today. Those comments, along with other available data, such as plan guidance and crash data, helped staff create a concept design.
In June, we shared a concept design informed by your comments and asked for additional location-specific feedback. We also asked you to help us evaluate the concept design based on the project goals of increasing safety and access for all road users. This second round of feedback helped us refine the development of the final concept shared here.
Final Concept Summaries
Final Concept Designs
Online Open House #2 - June 2020
Arlington County staff hosted a second online open house on the three 2020 Resurfacing Projects for Complete Streets in early June. Staff shared what community feedback was heard in after the first meeting and presented concept plans utilizing that feedback.
If you were unable to attend the online open house, the meeting presentation, a recording and the concept design are available.
Review Meeting Materials
Concept Design
Online Feedback
Community members were able to share feedback online on the concept plans in June. You can view the comments and feedback received below.
Online Open House #1 - April 2020
Arlington County staff hosted an online open house on the three 2020 Resurfacing Projects for Complete Streets in early April. Staff shared background information on potential projects and invited community members to share their experiences of the street to help staff develop concept plans.
If you were unable to attend the online open house, the meeting materials and a recording are available.
Meeting Materials
Online Feedback
Your experiences of the streets, along with existing plan guidance and other data, will help staff develop concept designs unique to the conditions at each location. Feedback was collected in mid April, and can be viewed below.
Photo Gallery