News:

Thanks to everyone for the feedback on what errors you encountered from the forum database changes made in Fall 2023. Let us know if you discover anymore.

Main Menu

Alexandria/Arlington local roads

Started by AlexandriaVA, September 23, 2015, 08:36:06 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

1995hoo

#50
Not actually in Alexandria, but the post office insists on an Alexandria address, so I guess it's close enough: There's a new 55+ neighborhood under construction near our house. No houses in place yet, but they've constructed the streets. Street signs went up this weekend. They're far enough away that I can't make out the suffix (Drive, Street, whatever), but I swear the street sign I can see has the name "Beatles" on it. Can't see the other street sign.

Edited to add: Looked over on our way out this morning and I think it says "Beatles Lane."  I wonder what the other street will be. No way I'm tromping through all the mud after this weekend's rain just to look at a street sign.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.


mrsman

Quote from: 1995hoo on February 12, 2018, 07:28:06 AM
Not actually in Alexandria, but the post office insists on an Alexandria address, so I guess it's close enough: There's a new 55+ neighborhood under construction near our house. No houses in place yet, but they've constructed the streets. Street signs went up this weekend. They're far enough away that I can't make out the suffix (Drive, Street, whatever), but I swear the street sign I can see has the name "Beatles" on it. Can't see the other street sign.

Edited to add: Looked over on our way out this morning and I think it says "Beatles Lane."  I wonder what the other street will be. No way I'm tromping through all the mud after this weekend's rain just to look at a street sign.

Don't worry.  We'll wait until the weather is nice for a full report.

I wonder if they will have a theme of street names, which is common amongst such developments.  And if they have a Beatles Lane, there will probably also be streets for the Rolling Stones and other rockers that the target population listened to when they were young.

1995hoo

#52
I doubt they'll have "Rolling Stone" or "Rolling Stones" because there's already a "Rolling Stone Way" a little over two miles away, although I suspect the theme is different there because it intersects Bedrock Road and Flintstone Drive.

Funny thing is, one of the two "Beatles Lane" signs went missing this weekend, although I have no idea whether it was sign theft or the workmen removing it. I might drive over closer to there today depending on what the weather does (it's another rainy morning).


Edited to add: It's a bit far to tell for certain without using binoculars, but I believe, based on what I could make out this morning, that the other street sign I can see up there says "Clapton" (don't know the street type suffix, too small to read).
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

1995hoo

Finally got pictures. (Clames Drive is an existing street that's been there for many years.)



"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

epzik8

Quote from: 1995hoo on March 24, 2018, 03:19:03 PM
Finally got pictures. (Clames Drive is an existing street that's been there for many years.)




That neighborhood is a classic rock fan's dream.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

My clinched highways: http://tm.teresco.org/user/?u=epzik8
My clinched counties: http://mob-rule.com/user-gifs/USA/epzik8.gif

1995hoo

Seems to me there needs to be a third street named "Weeping Guitar Way," given Clapton's involvement in said Beatles song.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

ARMOURERERIC

About 30 years I sat in on some planning board meeting for a subdivision proposed for Point of Rocks MD, it was to be called Hobbiton Hills and had as the main road Thorin Oakensheild Dr, it was not approved.

1995hoo

Thorin isn't a hobbit (he's a dwarf), so of course they rejected that!  :-D

Clapton at least performed on the White Album.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

BrianP

New name for Jefferson Davis Highway recommended in Alexandria
QuoteCity Manager Mark Jinks has recommended replacing the name of U.S. Route 1 in the Potomac Yard area  with the name Richmond Highway beginning on Jan. 1, 2019.
QuoteIf the name change is approved, Alexandria would replace 10 basic street signs, one large street sign and nine illuminated street signs at an expected cost of $27,150.
QuoteWhile Arlington and Alexandria are cooperating on the potential change, only Alexandria has the legal authority to do it.

A bill that would have given counties similar street naming powers to those that cities already have failed this year in Richmond.

abefroman329

I remember there was a developer in the South that named all of the roads in a particular subdivision after heavy metal bands.  Unfortunately, he included an Anthrax Street, which was not too popular of an idea in the fall of 2001.

oscar

Quote from: BrianP on May 04, 2018, 03:15:38 PM
QuoteA recommendation from Jinks to be taken up by the city council Tuesday would set a public hearing on the name change June 23.
Which is where opinions can be voiced.  Then again people can cry bloody murder and the council could say 'hey we let opinions be voiced.  But we don't have to be swayed by them.'  And then proceed anyway.

Do not be shocked if some of the affected businesses and residents express support for the name change. For example, if some businesses believe the current name puts them at a competitive disadvantage, because it offends some customers/potential customers.

We'll know more about how the net impact on the businesses and residents by June. But at least city officials seem to be acknowledging, as they might not have before, that the direct costs to the city government are only part of the proposed name change's fiscal impact.

my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

Beltway

Quote from: oscar on May 05, 2018, 01:21:10 PM
Do not be shocked if some of the affected businesses and residents express support for the name change. For example, if some businesses believe the current name puts them at a competitive disadvantage, because it offends some customers/potential customers.
We'll know more about how the net impact on the businesses and residents by June. But at least city officials seem to be acknowledging, as they might not have before, that the direct costs to the city government are only part of the proposed name change's fiscal impact.

That is not a good sign that city officials are just now understanding some of the basic elements of such a process.  Probably there will be some on that road that support a change.  There needs to be a recognized and tested official process that engages all stakeholders in analyzing the impacts.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

Scott5114

We had something similar happen here in Norman with De Barr Avenue. De Barr was named after an early vice president of the University of Oklahoma (talk about obscure). Well, come to find out, old Professor De Barr had been in the KKK. So last year the city council changed the name of the street to Deans Row Avenue.

Of course, this case was much simpler because 1) Nobody really had any real attachment to Professor De Barr 2) The street is a short residential street 3) Much of the street is rental properties for college students, so it wasn't a huge inconvenience to anyone anyway, as the property owners don't have to live there and most of the tenants won't be there for long anyway–by this point, the majority of the people living on Deans Row Avenue probably never lived on De Barr Avenue.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

74/171FAN

Please calm down with the politics of this thread.  This is the second time today that posts have been removed.  -Mark
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

1995hoo

Alexandria's city council voted to rename their Jeff Davis Highway portion of US-1 to Richmond Highway, effective next January 1, because that name is consistent with Fairfax County's portion. Without commenting in any way on whether renaming is good or bad, I think if it is to be renamed, Richmond Highway is about as logical as there is, although I do have to point out that it's still not perfect because it's not adjacent to Fairfax County's portion. The paired one-way streets through Old Town are Patrick Street and Henry Street, and the short segment south of the paired one-way streets down to the county line is called South Patrick Street, while the segment north of the paired one-way streets up to the bridge over the train tracks is North Henry Street. But, of course, calling it Richmond Highway all the way through Alexandria wouldn't work due to the paired one-way streets, and Patrick Henry Street would be too confusing due to those one-way segments. (There's also a Patrick Henry Drive near Seven Corners, though I don't know how much confusion that would cause.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/alexandria-renames-jefferson-davis-highway-to-richmond-highway/2018/06/23/a1af93c0-76fe-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_alexandria-1245pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

(Link may be subject to paywall depending on how many Post articles you've viewed and whether you're a subscriber.)
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

froggie

^ What you could say, though, is that US 1 is Patrick and Henry Streets through Old Town, and Richmond Highway outside of old town.....even moreso if Arlington County follows suit.

cpzilliacus

#66
Quote from: froggie on June 24, 2018, 08:10:50 AM
^ What you could say, though, is that US 1 is Patrick and Henry Streets through Old Town, and Richmond Highway outside of old town.....even moreso if Arlington County follows suit.

Arlington County may  not decide on its own - they have to have approval from the Virginia General Assembly because they are a county.

Because Arlington County  maintains the streets that would be secondary roads in the vast majority of other Virginia counties,  it's not  at all clear that they need approval to change the names of streets that the county (and not the Commonwealth) maintains.

But in this case, all of Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington County  is maintained by VDOT (and it may be the only  place in  Virginia where Jefferson  Davis Highway is not U.S. 1, since the northernmost part (a little over 2 miles) is VA-110).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

abefroman329

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2018, 04:31:52 PM
Alexandria's city council voted to rename their Jeff Davis Highway portion of US-1 to Richmond Highway, effective next January 1, because that name is consistent with Fairfax County's portion. Without commenting in any way on whether renaming is good or bad, I think if it is to be renamed, Richmond Highway is about as logical as there is, although I do have to point out that it's still not perfect because it's not adjacent to Fairfax County's portion. The paired one-way streets through Old Town are Patrick Street and Henry Street, and the short segment south of the paired one-way streets down to the county line is called South Patrick Street, while the segment north of the paired one-way streets up to the bridge over the train tracks is North Henry Street. But, of course, calling it Richmond Highway all the way through Alexandria wouldn't work due to the paired one-way streets, and Patrick Henry Street would be too confusing due to those one-way segments. (There's also a Patrick Henry Drive near Seven Corners, though I don't know how much confusion that would cause.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/alexandria-renames-jefferson-davis-highway-to-richmond-highway/2018/06/23/a1af93c0-76fe-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_alexandria-1245pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

(Link may be subject to paywall depending on how many Post articles you've viewed and whether you're a subscriber.)

Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

cpzilliacus

Quote from: abefroman329 on June 25, 2018, 09:59:40 AM
Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

Yes, that's correct, though to me Richmond is more  important because it is the capital city of  the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.

WillWeaverRVA

Quote from: abefroman329 on June 25, 2018, 09:59:40 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2018, 04:31:52 PM
Alexandria's city council voted to rename their Jeff Davis Highway portion of US-1 to Richmond Highway, effective next January 1, because that name is consistent with Fairfax County's portion. Without commenting in any way on whether renaming is good or bad, I think if it is to be renamed, Richmond Highway is about as logical as there is, although I do have to point out that it's still not perfect because it's not adjacent to Fairfax County's portion. The paired one-way streets through Old Town are Patrick Street and Henry Street, and the short segment south of the paired one-way streets down to the county line is called South Patrick Street, while the segment north of the paired one-way streets up to the bridge over the train tracks is North Henry Street. But, of course, calling it Richmond Highway all the way through Alexandria wouldn't work due to the paired one-way streets, and Patrick Henry Street would be too confusing due to those one-way segments. (There's also a Patrick Henry Drive near Seven Corners, though I don't know how much confusion that would cause.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/alexandria-renames-jefferson-davis-highway-to-richmond-highway/2018/06/23/a1af93c0-76fe-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_alexandria-1245pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

(Link may be subject to paywall depending on how many Post articles you've viewed and whether you're a subscriber.)

Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 25, 2018, 12:16:48 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 25, 2018, 09:59:40 AM
Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

Yes, that's correct, though to me Richmond is more  important because it is the capital city of  the Commonwealth of Virginia.

One could rationalize that by noting that on the flip side of things, US 1 in Hanover County (leaving the Richmond area) is called Washington Highway; a Richmond Highway leaving the DC area just makes sense if you view Richmond just as a place and ignore the Confederate capital aspect.
Will Weaver
WillWeaverRVA Photography | Twitter

"But how will the oxen know where to drown if we renumber the Oregon Trail?" - NE2

mrsman

Quote from: WillWeaverRVA on June 25, 2018, 01:33:38 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 25, 2018, 09:59:40 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 23, 2018, 04:31:52 PM
Alexandria's city council voted to rename their Jeff Davis Highway portion of US-1 to Richmond Highway, effective next January 1, because that name is consistent with Fairfax County's portion. Without commenting in any way on whether renaming is good or bad, I think if it is to be renamed, Richmond Highway is about as logical as there is, although I do have to point out that it's still not perfect because it's not adjacent to Fairfax County's portion. The paired one-way streets through Old Town are Patrick Street and Henry Street, and the short segment south of the paired one-way streets down to the county line is called South Patrick Street, while the segment north of the paired one-way streets up to the bridge over the train tracks is North Henry Street. But, of course, calling it Richmond Highway all the way through Alexandria wouldn't work due to the paired one-way streets, and Patrick Henry Street would be too confusing due to those one-way segments. (There's also a Patrick Henry Drive near Seven Corners, though I don't know how much confusion that would cause.)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/alexandria-renames-jefferson-davis-highway-to-richmond-highway/2018/06/23/a1af93c0-76fe-11e8-b4b7-308400242c2e_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_alexandria-1245pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

(Link may be subject to paywall depending on how many Post articles you've viewed and whether you're a subscriber.)

Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

Quote from: cpzilliacus on June 25, 2018, 12:16:48 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 25, 2018, 09:59:40 AM
Yes, and also without commenting on whether this is good or bad, "Richmond Highway" could still be read as a tribute to the Confederacy, what with Richmond being the capital of the CSA.

Yes, that's correct, though to me Richmond is more  important because it is the capital city of  the Commonwealth of Virginia.

One could rationalize that by noting that on the flip side of things, US 1 in Hanover County (leaving the Richmond area) is called Washington Highway; a Richmond Highway leaving the DC area just makes sense if you view Richmond just as a place and ignore the Confederate capital aspect.

This is normal.  In MD, US 1 is known as Baltimore Ave (or Blvd) in much of PG County and then in Laurel (and all parts to the north, including Howard County) it is known as Washington Blvd.  So this fits very well.

Now thinking of another highway 1, in Los Angeles County CA-1 is mostly known as PCH (from Ventura County through to about I-10 and from Redondo Beach to Orange County).  The parts in the middle (Santa Monica, Venice, Playa Vista, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach) have the name of local streets (Lincoln Blvd or Sepulveda Blvd).  So the road is generally PCH, even though there are portions of it through some cities that have an alternate name.  Not too confusing.

And for a more local example, VA-7 is mostly known as Leesburg Pike in the DC area.  But it's known as Broad St in Falls Church and King St in Alexandria, and that is still not too confusing.

So in a similar vein, US 1 is Richmond Highway, except through Old Town where it takes on Patrick or Henry.  Not too confusing.

1995hoo

This isn't really road-related, but I figured people who read this thread might like the photo. Our relatives from Fort Myers visited us this week and yesterday we went to Mount Vernon and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. I had been to the latter once more than 30 years ago but didn't remember much. This is the view of Old Town from the top (you can also see the Wilson Bridge, National Harbor, and the MGM). It's well worth the $15 for the tour.

"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

The Nature Boy

Quote from: 1995hoo on July 06, 2018, 12:33:19 PM
This isn't really road-related, but I figured people who read this thread might like the photo. Our relatives from Fort Myers visited us this week and yesterday we went to Mount Vernon and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. I had been to the latter once more than 30 years ago but didn't remember much. This is the view of Old Town from the top (you can also see the Wilson Bridge, National Harbor, and the MGM). It's well worth the $15 for the tour.



You can actually go inside of the Masonic National Memorial?

I did not know this. I will have to check it out.

AlexandriaVA

Yes, but you have to go through Masonic propaganda, more or less, before going to the top. Views are nice though.

If you need a road tie-in, Alexandria is planning on redesigning the island at the foot of the hill: https://www.alexandriava.gov/localmotion/info/default.aspx?id=77933

I've always found it regrettable how much dead space there is so close the Metro and VRE/Amtrak stations. I realie the hill is hard to build on, but there's still alot of room along

cpzilliacus

Quote from: mrsman on July 05, 2018, 12:04:57 PM
This is normal.  In MD, US 1 is known as Baltimore Ave (or Blvd) in much of PG County and then in Laurel (and all parts to the north, including Howard County) it is known as Washington Blvd.  So this fits very well.

Years ago, much or all of U.S. 1 from Hyattsville at least as far north as Howard County, and maybe into Baltimore County, was signed as Baltimore-Washington Boulevard. 

That was not the original name, for there was (and is) Old Baltimore Pike in Beltsville on the east side of the CSX (former B&O) Railroad Capital Subdivision (there was an especially crash-prone and lethal grade crossing just north of the present-day junction of U.S. 1 and MD-212/MD-212A (Powder Mill Road) which caused the Maryland State Roads Commission (predecessor agency to SHA) to construct a new U.S. 1 on a new alignment on the west side of the railroad from Beltsville to Laurel. Wonder if SRC considered a bridge over the railroad to eliminate the grade crossing (maybe not, because of the angle at which the highway would have crossed the railroad tracks would have made for a long bridge).
Opinions expressed here on AAROADS are strictly personal and mine alone, and do not reflect policies or positions of MWCOG, NCRTPB or their member federal, state, county and municipal governments or any other agency.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.