An advisory panel says the proposed pedestrian/bicycle bridge connecting Crystal City to Reagan National Airport falls short of optimal accessibility standards.
The current plan for an elevator and staircase at the Crystal City side of the crossing “is absolutely not sufficient,” said Pamela Van Hine, recording secretary of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee (PAC).
At the body’s April 8 meeting, members voted to send a letter to County Manager Mark Schwartz, outlining several concerns about the project, known as the CC2DCA connector bridge. They requested two elevators and an escalator to take users of the future bridge to ground level in the 2000 block of Crystal Drive near the proposed new Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station.
Van Hine said that relying on a single elevator and stairs would not effectively serve many bridge users.
“What do you do when the elevator goes out? There’s going to be people with bikes, scooters, luggage, kids — they’re not going to be able to manage the steps,” she said.
Having at least a second elevator, and preferably two elevators and an escalator, is “absolutely critical for the project to be successful,” Van Hine said.
Committee members also voiced concern about a proposal to leave the bridge uncovered when it passes over the George Washington Memorial Parkway. That has been a request of the National Park Service, which has argued that covering the bridge over the roadway would cause visual distractions for drivers.
The PAC letter, signed by chair Ambar Pankaj, asks Schwartz to press federal officials to relent on that point.
“For our comfort and safety, we want the entire bridge covered,” Van Hine said.
In March, the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council raised concerns about not covering the bridge’s entire quarter-mile length. Those concerns would be taken into account as planning moves forward, county staff said then.
After Van Hine’s presentation at the April 8 PAC meeting, the committee voted unanimously and without further objection to send concerns to Schwartz. Unlike commissions, which advise the County Board, committees like PAC offer their recommendations to the county manager.
The county government is overseeing the bridge project, which is currently moving into the final concept design phase. Completion of that development stage is expected over the summer.
While the county government has oversight responsibility, its project partners include, in addition to the National Park Service, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Virginia Railway Express, Virginia Passenger Rail Authority and CSX.
While the main purpose of the bridge would be to connect Reagan National to Crystal City, it would also provide access to the Mount Vernon Trail.
