 You may feel rushed, but no one is timing you. Take time to check for oncoming cars, pedestrians, and bikes before hitting the gas. Learn more about Arlington’s Vision Zero Critical Crash Campaign here.
Several roads within Arlington County, such as Glebe Rd, are owned and maintained by VDOT. The state is conducting a STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) study to assess potential safety, multimodal and operational improvements for over two miles of Glebe Road (Route 120) between Columbia Pike (Route 244) and I-66. This segment is on Arlington’s High-Injury Network and was audited for immediately safety improvements in 2021. VDOT will apply Arlington’s findings and recommendations from the safety audit into their study.
Please take this opportunity to offer direct feedback to VDOT as the study team is seeking public input regarding corridor priorities during the first round of public involvement through July 27! This feedback will be used to help develop improvement alternatives that will be evaluated and presented during the second round of public involvement scheduled in the fall of 2023.
Click here to offer your feedback on this section of Glebe Rd through July 27 and here to learn more about this STARS study.
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The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB) selected a proposal spearheaded by Arlington County’s Vision Zero team as one of eight local planning projects that work to improve roadway safety across the region. This project will receive the maximum award amount of $80,000 as a recipient of the Fiscal Year 2024 TPB Regional Roadway Safety Program (RRSP).
The 2020 MWCOG Regional Safety Analysis reported that almost 20% of fatal crashes in the region involved alcohol. Last year in Arlington, 75% (3 of 4) of fatal collisions were caused by a drunk driver, and a previous systemic study of crashes in Arlington (2017-2019) showed that alcohol was a factor in 1 out of 5 severe crashes (but only 8% of overall reported crashes) and accounted for almost half of fatal crashes. Drunk driving is a serious problem that persists across all jurisdictions in the MWCOG region. The Regionwide, Data-Driven Anti-Drunk Driving Campaign will evaluate regional alcohol-related crash patterns and factors, research successful strategies to reduce impaired driving, and produce a strategic package of public education recommendations to foster a consistent anti-drunk driving message across the DC metropolitan area.
Stay tuned for updates as this regionally impactful project kicks off. You can learn more about this and other upcoming projects TPB selected for funding here.
Virginia State Code section 46.2-924 was updated in March 2023 requiring “drivers to stop for pedestrians.” Specifically, the language changed from: “A. The driver of any vehicle on a highway shall yield the right-of-way to by stopping until such pedestrian has passed the lane in which the vehicle is stopped,” to: “A. The driver of any vehicle on a highway shall stop when any pedestrian crossing such highway is within the driver's lane or within an adjacent lane and approaching the driver's lane until such pedestrian has passed the lane in which the vehicle is stopped.”
The effective date of the new law is July 1, 2023. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will soon begin updating all pedestrian crossing signage on state-maintained roadways (eg. Glebe Rd, Langston Blvd, Arlington Blvd, and parts of Washington Blvd) to reflect the new “stop for” law. For example, VDOT will replace the R1-5 (Yield here to pedestrian signs) with R1-5b (Stop here for pedestrians sign). In addition, they will replace yield pavement markings with a stop line at mid-block crossing locations.
The Arlington County Board will be asked to authorize an ordinance at their September 2023 hearing to subsequently adjust the County Code to reflect the “stop for” language rather than the current “yield the right-of-way to” language. See here for the proposed language for recodification. This change will update Arlington County’s code to comply with Virginia State laws. Once this change is codified, Arlington will convert the signage and markings within Arlington County to reflect the law change using a systemic approach to that considers staffing, contractor availability, material, equipment, and financial resources.
If you experience any issues during this transition, please report concerns using our Report a Problem portal for Arlington roadways and VDOT’s request portal for state-maintained roadways.
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The Vision Zero Network is hosting a “Fundamentals of Vision Zero Action Planning” webinar series. The upcoming sixth installment to the series is a webinar taking place on August 2 at 1pm ET titled Institutionalizing Health Equity in Vision Zero Action Planning. This session will discuss opportunities to address the inequities related to our everyday transportation system. Arlington is one of three communities represented on the panel, all of which were identified for prioritizing equity in their respective Vision Zero work. Specifically, Arlington will highlight findings and next steps from our recently published Vision Zero Transportation Safety Equity Analysis.
Click here to learn more or register for the session. You may also check out the previous installments of this series on the Vision Zero Network’s Fundamentals of Vision Zero Action Planning resource webpage.
Last fall Arlington County published the Multimodal Safety Toolbox featuring many of the interventions and strategies that have been proven effective in reducing traffic related injuries and fatalities. One of these interventions is the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB).
The purpose of the RRFB is to encourage an increase in motorists yielding to pedestrians at intersections without a stop sign or traffic light and offer an expected crash reduction of 47% for vehicle-pedestrian crashes.
You may have seen these pedestrian-activated bright, flashing LEDs mounted with pedestrian crossing signs at uncontrolled crossings. RRFBs make a crosswalk more visible to motorists and alert drivers that a person is trying to cross. They can be activated by pedestrians/bicyclists manually by a pushbutton or passively by a pedestrian/bicycle detection system. In Arlington County, an RRFB is typically accompanied by high-visibility crosswalk pavement markings, and yield markings/signage. The RRFB can be solar powered or hard-wired to the electricity grid.
Key implementation considerations include:
- Vehicle speeds should be below 35 mph.
- RRFBs should generally not be used at YIELD or STOP sign intersections.
- RRFBs are never used at an existing traffic signal.
- If multiple RRFBs are needed in close proximity, consider redesigning the roadway to address systemic safety challenges.
- Other treatments may be more appropriate in locations with sight distance constraints.
Check out the Vision Zero spotlight on RRFBs for more information about these important tools in transportation safety.
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Walking School Buses (a group of students walking to school with one or more adults) are a way to make walking to school easier for families while maximizing the health benefits of walking for students and reducing congestion and pollution in neighborhoods around schools.
The “Us Bus” is a new walking school bus initiative in Arlington that matches senior adult volunteers with Arlington elementary students/families to engage seniors and support students walking to school. Thanks to a unique Arlington County partnership among the Commission on Aging’s Age-Friendly Arlington Initiative, Arlington County’s 55+ Program, WalkArlington and Virginia Safe Routes to School, a successful Arlington Public Schools (APS) pilot with Oakridge Elementary School in Spring 2022, and a generous grant from the Arlington Community Foundation, the Us Bus is taking steps to expand to other schools and neighborhoods around the County.
The Us Bus is LOOKING FOR ADULT VOLUNTEERS to help lead our Walking School Buses at elementary schools around Arlington AND FAMILIES/STUDENTS who live in school walk zones and would like to join the Us Bus Walking School Bus! Volunteers set their own schedules. Each Us Bus outing requires only about ONE HOUR of your time. The schedule is up to the volunteer!
To learn more and sign up, click here: https://friendsofthealliance.org/walking-school-bus/
High-Injury Network Safety Audits:
Quick-builds in Progress:
- Fairfax Dr and N Jefferson St
- Wilson Blvd crossing between N Oak St and N Pierce St
- N Ohio St & 18th St N
Recently Completed Quick-builds:
Visit the Vision Zero Safety Projects page to learn more about safety-driven quick build projectss, capital projects, pilot projects, High-Injury Network safety audits, and more.
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