To some, Rosslyn’s pedestrian skywalks are relics of the 1960s-70s. But to others, they are a vital safety alternative in an urbanized environment.
Those two opposing views were on display earlier this month, when the One Rosslyn redevelopment plan went through its second site-plan review committee on the way to potential County Board consideration over the summer.
While committee members have looked at issues ranging from the appropriate number of affordable units to environment-impact mitigation, it was the future of the above-ground connector crossing eastbound Langston Blvd. at N. Moore Street that garnered the most attention from those speaking during public comment.
Views were split among those who wanted the existing structure torn down and those who wanted it replaced with something more modern and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Connor Anderson, who both lives and works in Rosslyn, says the current skywalk takes up space without providing tangible benefits.
“I’ve never found a reason to take the skywalk — I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone on it,” he said.
Chris Slatt also holds the view that neither the current structure nor a replacement is a good fit for modern-day Rosslyn.
Slatt put a camera on the location for five days, finding 43 pedestrians using it on its busiest day. By contrast, many more pedestrians crossed the street at grade level in a typical hour, Slatt said.
The reason, he said, was convenience.
“It’s human nature to take the most obvious, intuitive and direct route to your destination,” Slatt said. “Most folks want to cross at street level, so that’s where we need to focus our improvements.”
That argument was not persuasive to Helen Harris. In 2018, she was struck by a dump truck while attempting to cross Langston Blvd at N. Fort Myer Drive.
“My life was changed permanently, as I lost a leg,” Harris said at the hearing.
Harris told committee members she didn’t believe at-grade and above-grade crossings should be pitted against one another. Instead, they should be viewed as complementary.
“Bridges merely provide an option to pedestrians, particularly those most vulnerable in our community,” she said.
Aaron Roberts, who lives nearby and has spoken out before, pressed the same point of view.
“Pedestrian overpasses have a time and a place. This is one of them,” he said.
Speaker Joseph Peterson sided with Anderson and Slatt in saying the time for pedestrian bridges in Rosslyn had come and gone.
“The vast majority of people will choose to cross at-grade here, rather than taking some huge detour,” he told members of the review committee.
The issue is likely to come up several more times as the project, proposed by Penzance, moves through the approval process. Written comments sent to county officials had a similar split in viewpoints.
The road to final consideration is expected to continue in late June with consideration by the Transportation Commission, followed — potentially in July — by hearings before the Planning Commission and County Board.
The developer aims to build a mix of rental and owner-occupied housing on the 2.3-acre parcel bounded by Langston Blvd., 19th Street N., N. Monroe Street and Fort Myer Drive. A three-year construction timeline is expected after 12 to 18 months of obtaining permits.
The One Rosslyn plan calls for residential towers of 23, 27 and 29 stories totaling 854 units, along with about 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. There will be a total of 618 parking spaces.
The project’s total floor-area ratio would be 9.71. That figure represents total interior square footage (949,400) divided by square footage of the lot.
