Two recent crashes involving pedestrians have underlined longstanding concerns about traffic safety along Langston Blvd.
Both incidents — one involving a teenager and one involving a garbage truck that reportedly knocked a man unconscious — occurred along a 0.7-mile stretch of the highway that lacks traffic signals.
Part of this area is included in Arlington’s high-injury network — roads around the county with disproportionately high numbers of crashes. The crosswalk near the site of both collisions is treacherous enough that someone has installed neon flags for pedestrians to carry while crossing.
The Virginia Dept. of Transportation, which is primarily responsible for the busy four-lane road, says it is currently conducting a safety review of the area in coordination with the county.
The county, meanwhile, is undertaking several safety projects at Langston Blvd intersections as high-level plans for call for more emphasis on biking, walking and public transit — as well as denser development — in years to come.
To achieve the county’s goals for Langston Blvd’s future, Ginger Brown, executive director of the Langston Boulevard Alliance, said that traffic safety upgrades are critical.
“It is hard to imagine realizing the vision for more walkable village centers without improving pedestrian [and bicycle] safety,” she said. “LBA has long advocated for working with VDOT to reduce the speed limit, rethink dangerous intersections, and implement safety improvements.”
A history of issues
The two recent crashes happened within a week of each other on the western leg of Langston Blvd, near the Overlee Community Association.
The first took place around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2. A teen pedestrian was hospitalized with minor injuries after a vehicle struck her, according to a preliminary incident report.
This happened on a stretch of Langston Blvd that is outside of the bus service area for Yorktown High School and between two signalized intersections.
Portions of several neighborhoods south of the road — including East Falls Church, Leeway, High View Park, Highland Park-Overlee Knolls, Glebewood and Tara-Leeway Heights — don’t receive Yorktown buses because of their proximity to the school.
The second incident happened the morning of Oct. 7. A truck operated by American Disposal Services, the county’s residential curbside contractor, struck a pedestrian on its Monday route, the county confirmed.
The closest crosswalk to where both of these incidents happened is at the John Marshall Drive intersection. There, a pair of bins have been installed on either side of Langston Blvd carrying reflective, brightly colored flags.
Printed instructions direct pedestrians to take a flag and wave it in the air until cars to completely stop. Pedestrians are then advised to cross the road while holding out the flag and place it in the bin across the street.
Neither VDOT nor the county claims credit for installation, which, based on Google Maps street view, has been there since at least 2018.
Safety issues are by no means isolated to that intersection. A video, posted on social media earlier this month, shows a driver zooming by an adult and small child in another Langston Blvd crosswalk.
Langston Blvd while WALKING a bike with a small child 🤬3OCT24 1:30#visionzero
At what point do we stop calling-looking at a small child in a crosswalk,turning yr face away from said child, & speeding thru the crosswalk- accidental, and call it was it is.. malicious sociopathy pic.twitter.com/KcWQHdNIiE— Bricks at Crosswalks NOW! (@ARLsafetyBricks) October 7, 2024
Calls for better safety measures have been a common theme in the area for a very long time, Brown said.
“For many years, pedestrian safety — or the lack thereof — has been one of the greatest concerns for residents along Langston Boulevard,” she said. “It has come up time and time again in every forum that we have hosted for the past 12 years.”
Efforts to improve
The county and VDOT have started taking some steps forward.
This summer, the county installed three red light cameras on Langston Blvd at Spout Run Parkway in Lyon Village, N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn and the I-66 Exit 72 off-ramp.
Safety upgrades at the John Marshall Drive intersection are also in progress. A draft plan proposes adding Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, a pedestrian refuge at a median strip and additional curb extensions at the northern corners.
That project is currently in the VDOT review process, with construction anticipated next spring.
Another project at Langston Blvd and N. Sycamore Street, in East Falls Church, is still in the design phase but a final concept proposes bumping out curbs, shortening pedestrian crossing distances and further clarifying bike lanes.
A safety audit of Langston Blvd between the county line and John Marshall Drive is scheduled to take place early next year, O’Brien said. This will review crash and operational data to identify both short- and long-term projects to improve safety.
All of this is happening in the context of the Langston Blvd Area Plan, which the Arlington County Board passed last November. The plan calls for dense development at several “activity hubs” along the road, coupled with increased emphasis on modes of transit other than cars.
“Streets will be safe, convenient, and comfortable to support mobility for people of all ages and abilities,” the plan envisions. “With improved connections and new amenities, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and drivers will be able to navigate a larger network of community facilities, trails, parks, and plazas quickly and easily.”
Asked whether planned changes will increase or decrease traffic on Langston Blvd, O’Brien said “the county anticipates that traffic will evolve as a result of increased multimodal access.”
Brown, for her part, advocated for continued study and investment in improving the busy artery’s intersections.
“Individual projects and their transportation effects on Langston Blvd are critical,” she said. “We have to be diligent, push for the most effective changes to improve safety, and then work with the county, developers and residents to make sure the most powerful positive changes come about.”
This reporting was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join to support in-depth local journalism — and get an exclusive early morning email with a preview of that day’s planned news coverage.
