Keep Arlington a walkable and safe community by refusing to drink and drive. Consuming even a small amount of alcohol can increase your risk of a crash, which further increases the chance of serious injury or death. Especially as the holidays roll around, make sure you and your loved ones take care not to get behind the wheel while under the influence. Learn more about Arlington’s Vision Zero Critical Crash Campaign here.
Two critical crashes resulting in serious injuries occurred in 2021 at locations defined as alleys, which prompted a systemic review of alleys countywide. Alleys are defined as a throughway between buildings or parcels, can be found throughout the County. Staff identified alley locations throughout Arlington and reviewed the design and condition of these alleys and their intersection with the roadway network. The goal of this inventory was to review and standardize typical design features for alleys in Arlington and address any existing safety concerns.
During this safety improvement process, treatments to alleys included updating signage, adjusting parking areas, and adding stop bars on the road. View the summary and inventory map to learn more.
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To help reach Vision Zero, Arlington County has adopted a "systemic" or "safe systems" safety approach. A Safe System Approach focuses on mitigating risks inherent in the transportation system to both prevent crashes from happening and also minimize injury when crashes do occur. The Safe System Approach identifies roadway characteristics that contributed to crashes; then we make changes to infrastructure that has those characteristics throughout the County, not just where crashes have already occurred. It is a way to address risk factors on a holistic, system-wide level.
We are excited to announce that Dan Nabors, PE, the Transportation Engineering & Operations Bureau Chief, received a 2023 National Safety Council’s Distinguished Service to Safety Award. This is the most prestigious award given to individuals by the National Safety Council, recognizing outstanding service and contributions to the field of safety.
With over 20 years of experience in transportation engineering, Dan has dedicated his career to improving multi-modal safety. Dan's experience ranges from private to public, and his portfolio's footprint reaches nationally, having co-authored over a dozen publications and guidance documents for FHWA. Dan has led safety courses for state and local practitioners and spoken at countless events to share his knowledge.
In his current service to Arlington County, Dan initiated the adoption of Vision Zero and moved the needle for safety across all departments at the County. Dan sets the bar for safety professionals and has made a lasting impact on safety from the local to the national scale. On top of Dan's personal commitment to safety throughout his career, he is also a mentor to countless employees--educating, inspiring and empowering other staff to take similar paths and champion transportation safety in their own work.
Slow Zones reduce speeds and facilitate safer mobility for all roadway users in residential neighborhoods, especially around schools. They are characterized by features such as a 20 mph speed limit, high visibility crosswalks, and speed limit pavement markings.
Safety Benefits of Slow Zones:
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Manage speeds
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Increase driver awareness of vulnerable road users
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Reduce severe crash outcomes by reducing speeds
School slow zone treatments should be applied within 600 feet of a school crossing or access point.
Click here to find more information on Slow Zones as well as many of the other important road safety tools.
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Over the past three years, the Vision Zero Team has been working to retrofit all school zones in the County (both public and private) to meet the County's new school zone guidelines which were developed per the Vision Zero Action Plan. The new guidelines allow for permanent 20mph speed limits on neighborhood streets within 600 feet of a school access point. For school slow zone and school zone retrofit updates, view the School Zones page.
School zone retrofits are being completed in 3 phases: Phase 1 was completed in spring 2022, with 20 mph school slow zones being installed at 13 schools; Phase 2 was completed in spring 2023, with 20 mph school slow zones being installed at 12 schools; and Phase 3 is currently scheduled to implement 20 mph school slow zones at 19 remaining schools in spring 2024. Staff have met with faculty at each of the remaining schools to confirm the school slow zone segments and discuss other school-specific transportation safety concerns.
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On November 3rd, County staff had the pleasure of joining the Escuela Key Bicibus (bike bus) on its east route that connects dozens of kids to school every Friday. The Bicibus starts in the Ashton Heights neighborhood, stops at Washington Liberty High School to pick up more students, and concludes at Escuela Key to start the school day. Students love riding with the Bicibus crew, with parents reporting that the kids “can’t wait until Friday so they can ride to school with their friends.” Parents are able to ride along or drop their kids off to ride with the bus (which has additional adults helping to guide/monitor kids along the route). It’s a fun, sustainable, and healthy way to travel to school.
The Bicibus was started by Gillian Burgess, a founder of the new non-profit SSAFETY (Safe Streets Are for Everyone, Thank You). The organization is working to increase awareness of bike buses, and hopefully encourage them to grow at other schools in Arlington. If you are interested in learning more or starting a bike bus for your local school, visit SSAFETY’s bike bus resources page. The County is also happy to support bike bus efforts and collaborate on routing needs. Please share this information with anyone who might be interested, as well!
This month, County crews will begin replacing signage at crosswalks with new “Stop Here For Pedestrians” signs. Stop bars will also be installed, replacing previous yield lines.
We have over 170 crosswalk locations that will be updated throughout the County. During this time, there may be short, temporary detours in place while crews install the new signage and markings. Expected completion is spring of 2024.
We are working with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) on changes to VDOT-owned streets.
This change updates Arlington County’s code to meet new State regulations and ensure that Arlington’s laws comply with Virginia State laws. In September 2023, the County Board adopted an ordinance to adjust the County Code to reflect Virginia State Code section 46.2-924 (updated in March 2023) requiring “drivers to stop for pedestrians.” Previous code stated that drivers must yield to pedestrians.
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S Troy St & 27th St
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Wilson Blvd & N Quinn St
Recently Completed Quick-builds:
Visit the Vision Zero Safety Projects page to learn more about safety-driven quick build projects, capital projects, pilot projects, High-Injury Network safety audits, and more.
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