Wider sidewalks, additional turning lanes and changes to bus stops are part of a newly released plan to make a busy stretch of Glebe Road safer.
The Virginia Department of Transportation on Monday announced possible changes to 2.4 miles of Glebe Road between Columbia Pike and I-66.
This stretch of Glebe Road being studied, which averages about 24,000 vehicles a day, has registered numerous crashes in recent memory, including a crash in the Ballston area that injured multiple people in April 2022.
Several of the proposed upgrades are intended to address pedestrian safety.
VDOT is considering widening all sidewalks on this stretch to 5 feet and upgrading curb ramps in keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sidewalks on the west side of Glebe Road between 14th Street N. and 13th Street N. would be widened to 8 feet to create a “multi-use path,” according to a press release.
The state would also create a “pedestrian refuge island” by removing the leftmost southbound lane of Glebe Road at N. Carlin Springs Road and widening the median.
Plans also indicate two left-turn lanes could be added to N. Carlin Springs Road, which drew criticism from Chris Slatt, chair of Arlington’s Transportation Commission.
VDOT proposing to add double-left turn lanes, in an urban area, as part of SAFETY project. Time to burn it all down and start fresh over there. pic.twitter.com/yK8M4kzK9E
— Chris Slatt (@alongthepike) February 6, 2024
Other proposed changes include:
- Changing the N. Carlin Springs Road lane configuration in order to add a second left turn lane.
- Adding a dedicated southbound Glebe Road left turn lane and dedicated northbound right turn lane at N. Quincy Street, a bike lane on the southbound Glebe Road approach at N. Quincy Street and N. Henderson Street, and special transit signal heads for the southbound bus lane.
- Combining bus stops between 4th Street N. and N. Quebec Street into two new bus stops connected by a new crosswalk with rectangular rapid flashing beacons.
- Adding a dedicated southbound Glebe Road left turn lane at 7th Street S.
VDOT — which expects to complete its study of this stretch of roadway in the fall — is now taking public comment on the plans.
People have until Monday, Feb. 19 to provide a second round of feedback on the department’s plans for this portion of the roadway, which contains 32 intersections.
