Alexandria/Arlington local roads

[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 can actually go inside of the Masonic National Memorial?

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

They could use better publicity. I think a lot of people think it's closed to the public, like the Mormon Temple, and I'm sure the common misuse of "Masonic Temple"  (its not a temple) probably plays into the misconception.

We found it interesting. Lots of stuff about George Washington and his Masonic activity, which you don't hear about at Mount Vernon. Lots of artifacts from his life, too. Of course the view from the top is the main thing. The elevator is of some interest. Note the shape of the memorial. The elevators (there are two) run up inclined shafts instead of straight up and down. There are only 20 such elevators in the USA.

I think it's worth going if you haven't been there before, especially if you know the area well. If your goal is to view DC, I'd say to go to the Old Post Office Tower (free–enter through the back of the Trump Hotel next to Starbucks from 12 Street) or the Episcopalian National Cathedral on Wisconsin Avenue (take the elevator to the 7th floor observation level). But to view Virginia, especially Alexandria, it's hard to beat the Masonic Memorial. As I said, I hadn't been there in well over 30 years, and none if the people I was with (including my wife) had ever been there.

[abefroman329]

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

Oh, I think all that green space is far better than more high-rises or new-construction townhouses.

Great shot, 1995hoo.

[abefroman329]

The elevators (there are two) run up inclined shafts instead of straight up and down. There are only 20 such elevators in the USA.

I'm pretty sure another one of those elevators is at the Huntington Metro.

[AlexandriaVA]

The deck of the S. Clark Street bridge in Crystal City is gone. It's gone and it ain't coming back, part of a Crystal City renovation effort by Arlington County. Speculation is Amazon HQ2 will wind up in this neighborhood.

please reedit with permanent, publicly accessible images (ending in .jpg or other format)

[froggie]

^ Since the mod asked...



Photo from the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services.  More photos of the demolition process are in their Flickr album.

[AlexandriaVA]

According to a community newsletter, Alexandria is going to impose no-right-on-red on southbound S. 28th street, leading onto King St westbound (https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8400656,-77.1056504,3a,75y,241.75h,86.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sgSHs9td4XUVfIS00roZnHA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656), as well Park Center Dr, leading to King St eastbound (https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8370299,-77.1027965,3a,75y,55.18h,87.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2kJx83iddvSkmz7UkfNdWA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). As you can see from the GSV, both of these intersections had the vague "No right on red when pedestrians are present" rule.

This is part of a larger citywide effort (Vision Zero) to improve road and crosswalk safety. I have a personal connection to the 28th Street intersection, as I was hit in the crosswalk by a right-turn-on-red back in 2015.

[1995hoo]

Regarding the US-1 discussion further up the thread, I just looked at Google Maps to check traffic info heading to the Caps game and I see they (unlike Apple Maps) have replaced the name Jefferson Davis Highway with Richmond Highway–but they incorrectly show the change as extending into Arlington County and on up Route 110 to Rosslyn (it applies only in Alexandria).

I have no idea whether the signs have been changed on Alexandria's part. We used that road on Dec. 31 coming back from a game, but of course the name change hadn't taken effect and there was no sign of any sign-replacement efforts. I doubt we'll go that way on our way home tonight unless something unusual happens on the highway.

[froggie]

^ A Patch article says that signs (as of last Thursday, the 3rd) are now posted.

[AlexandriaVA]

Some local updates:

1) Arlington got a possibly-dodgy legal opinion from the Virginia Attorney General that the County can ask for, and likely receive, permission from the CTB, to rename US-1 from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway. Typically counties don't have the power to do that in VA, and downstate legislators support Jeff Davis, so they were going to be at an impasse. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/arlington-can-rename-jeff-davis-highway-without-going-through-legislators-ag-opinion-says/2019/03/22/c8cff8fc-4cb7-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html)

2) Alexandria is angling to remove a lane on Seminary Rd and institute a road diet (https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/info/default.aspx?id=103393) between Kenmore and Quaker.

3) HOT lane project on the northern end of 395 is progressing at a modest pace, still plenty of work to get done on it - my commute still features plenty of "cattle chute" stretches where there are no shoulders.

[oscar]

1) Arlington got a possibly-dodgy legal opinion from the Virginia Attorney General that the County can ask for, and likely receive, permission from the CTB, to rename US-1 from Jefferson Davis Highway to Richmond Highway. Typically counties don't have the power to do that in VA, and downstate legislators support Jeff Davis, so they were going to be at an impasse. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/arlington-can-rename-jeff-davis-highway-without-going-through-legislators-ag-opinion-says/2019/03/22/c8cff8fc-4cb7-11e9-9663-00ac73f49662_story.html)

The article notes that one of Arlington's state senators doubted the CTB would approve the request to rename the Jefferson Davis Highway, and an Arlington member of the CTB was non-committal. We'll find out soon enough.

At least the CTB controls the renaming process, under the AG's opinion. That would throw another obstacle to some local efforts to rename Arlington's part of Lee Highway (most of which is US 29), as if the massive address changes that would require (much more so than with the short Jeff Davis segment in Arlington) weren't enough of a showstopper.

UPDATE: The Arlington County board voted yesterday to ask the CTB to rename Jefferson Davis Highway within Arlington County.

[AlexandriaVA]

Looks like the Jeff Davis -> Richmond Highway transition is happening.

https://www.arlnow.com/2019/05/15/state-transportation-officials-approve-jefferson-davis-highway-renaming/

State Transportation Officials Approve Jefferson Davis Highway Renaming

Arlington will now join Alexandria and Fairfax in renaming Jefferson Davis Highway as "Richmond Highway."

Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board unanimously approved changing the name for the highway, which is also known as U.S. Route 1, earlier this morning.

[AlexandriaVA]

A new sign which bans right-on-red has been placed on 12th Street South, for turning north onto S. Hayes Street, immediately at the Pentagon City station. GSV doesn't have the sign yet, but I wanted to give the view of the intersection: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8629625,-77.0589273,3a,75y,299.58h,88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srzSlCDDb4PSLteiMlFGcEw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is a very busy intersection, and will only get busier now that a new apartment building has been built. I often drive here, and I would rarely make a right-on-red when it was permitted, because I did not feel safe doing it with all the pedestrians nearby.

[mrsman]

A new sign which bans right-on-red has been placed on 12th Street South, for turning north onto S. Hayes Street, immediately at the Pentagon City station. GSV doesn't have the sign yet, but I wanted to give the view of the intersection: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8629625,-77.0589273,3a,75y,299.58h,88t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srzSlCDDb4PSLteiMlFGcEw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is a very busy intersection, and will only get busier now that a new apartment building has been built. I often drive here, and I would rarely make a right-on-red when it was permitted, because I did not feel safe doing it with all the pedestrians nearby.

This is indeed a busy area.  NTOR is justified with so much pedestrian activity.  IMO, at least in the DC area, NTOR should be the norm anywhere within 1/2 mile of most Metro stations.  Nearly all have significant levels of people walking, and walkable development is so strongly encouraged here.  Other safety measures like leading pedestrian intervals would also be helpful in such locales.

[AlexandriaVA]

Arlington's inventory of roads is due to grow a tiny amount with the pending redevelopment of a large parcel in Rosslyn (the old Key Bridge Marriott). Since Arlington has effectively no rural/undeveloped land, this is basically the only way you see the addition of new roads.

https://www.arlnow.com/2020/02/20/new-streets-coming-with-new-marriott-redevelopment-in-rosslyn/

New Streets Coming With New Marriott Redevelopment in Rosslyn

The redevelopment of the Key Bridge Marriott in Rosslyn will come with some changes to the local streetscape.

The plan is to redevelop the current site into three separate buildings: a condominium building, a hotel, and an apartment building.

N. Nash and N. Meade Streets are proposed to be extended north through the site to help separate and provide better accessibility to the three buildings.

[AlexandriaVA]

Took the day off to get my Virginia REAL ID (pretty painless) and it was a nice day so I went for a little walking tour. Most of the photos relate to I-395 (see other thread), but one local road topic.

*Non-MUCTD wayfinding sign in Shirlington

[1995hoo]

Image isn't displaying.

[AlexandriaVA]

Any luck? I've run into issues with this before, where the links die out a brief period of time after being posted.

[1995hoo]

Any luck? I've run into issues with this before, where the links die out a brief period of time after being posted.

It's displaying now. Don't know whether that might be a device-specific issue. I think I was viewing it on my iPad while eating lunch when I posted yesterday.

The ones in the other thread still don't display.

[AlexandriaVA]

Concurrent with the construction of a new development at the intersection of King Street and Beauregard in Alexandria (Alexandria Gateway), Google Maps is displaying a new interior road, Berkely Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8407772,-77.1081296,19z

[1995hoo]

Concurrent with the construction of a new development at the intersection of King Street and Beauregard in Alexandria (Alexandria Gateway), Google Maps is displaying a new interior road, Berkely Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8407772,-77.1081296,19z

If they knew their Virginia history, they'd find a way to have Berkeley Street intersect Bacon Drive.

[jmacswimmer]

Concurrent with the construction of a new development at the intersection of King Street and Beauregard in Alexandria (Alexandria Gateway), Google Maps is displaying a new interior road, Berkely Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8407772,-77.1081296,19z

If they knew their Virginia history, they'd find a way to have Berkeley Street intersect Bacon Drive.

Took me a second, but quality reference

[1995hoo]

Concurrent with the construction of a new development at the intersection of King Street and Beauregard in Alexandria (Alexandria Gateway), Google Maps is displaying a new interior road, Berkely Street.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8407772,-77.1081296,19z

If they knew their Virginia history, they'd find a way to have Berkeley Street intersect Bacon Drive.

Took me a second, but quality reference

Virginia history was a major topic taught during fourth grade when I was growing up, and I loved the subject, no doubt helped by the fact that my fourth grade teacher was an excellent teacher. I have no idea whether Mrs. Van Vliet is still alive, but she would be very chuffed to see my comment to which you replied (and she would be equally chuffed that I remember how to pronounce Gov. Berkeley's last name–it's not like the liberal university town in California but is rather like a former NBA player sometimes called "Sir Charles" or "Barles Charkley").

[cpzilliacus]

Virginia history was a major topic taught during fourth grade when I was growing up, and I loved the subject, no doubt helped by the fact that my fourth grade teacher was an excellent teacher. I have no idea whether Mrs. Van Vliet is still alive, but she would be very chuffed to see my comment to which you replied (and she would be equally chuffed that I remember how to pronounce Gov. Berkeley's last name–it's not like the liberal university town in California but is rather like a former NBA player sometimes called "Sir Charles" or "Barles Charkley")

They are no longer in the Commonwealth, but both clearly were prior to 1863 or 1864 or 1865 - and I have always
heard Berkeley County, West Virginia and the county seat of Morgan County, West Virginia (Berkeley Springs) to the
west pronounced the same way as the liberal town in Alameda County, California.

In other words, not shibboleths like Staunton, Botetourt County (Virginia), Buena Vista, and Buchanan County
(Virginia) - and others.

[1995hoo]

Virginia history was a major topic taught during fourth grade when I was growing up, and I loved the subject, no doubt helped by the fact that my fourth grade teacher was an excellent teacher. I have no idea whether Mrs. Van Vliet is still alive, but she would be very chuffed to see my comment to which you replied (and she would be equally chuffed that I remember how to pronounce Gov. Berkeley's last name–it's not like the liberal university town in California but is rather like a former NBA player sometimes called "Sir Charles" or "Barles Charkley")

They are no longer in the Commonwealth, but both clearly were prior to 1863 or 1864 or 1865 - and I have always
heard Berkeley County, West Virginia and the county seat of Morgan County, West Virginia (Berkeley Springs) to the
west pronounced the same way as the liberal town in Alameda County, California.

In other words, not shibboleths like Staunton, Botetourt County (Virginia), Buena Vista, and Buchanan County
(Virginia) - and others.

Right, and I've always heard those locations pronounced as you describe, but I was referring to Gov. William Berkeley, who was in office from 1660 to 1677. His last name is properly pronounced like "Barkley." I'm certain most people who see his name wouldn't pronounce it that way, though (especially given that the Mantua neighborhood in Fairfax has a street named Barkley Drive). I guess the late governor's name might be a British-ism, similar to the way their soccer commentators pronounce the word "derby" as though it were spelled "darby."

[NJRoadfan]

Right, and I've always heard those locations pronounced as you describe, but I was referring to Gov. William Berkeley, who was in office from 1660 to 1677. His last name is properly pronounced like "Barkley." I'm certain most people who see his name wouldn't pronounce it that way, though (especially given that the Mantua neighborhood in Fairfax has a street named Barkley Drive).

His brother has a town named after him in New Jersey.

Its definitely not pronounced "Barkley".