After a series of accidents and incidents of dangerous driving, Alexandria police are cracking down on speeding and other traffic violations on W. Glebe Road.
W. Glebe Road runs from the Arlington County line to Commonwealth Ave. in Alexandria. The thoroughfare is heavily traveled by both pedestrians and vehicles. There are three elementary schools, businesses and a number of residential developments and small houses.
Brighton Square is one of the small townhouse developments on W. Glebe. Over the past 18 months, the brick wall that surrounds the complex has been hit three times by speeding motorists. Two of the incidents were the result of police pursuits, the third as the result of a drunk driver. Each time the wall has sustained approximately $4,000 in damage. The last incident, which occurred on New Year’s Eve, resulted in a vehicle coming to rest on the lawn of a homeowner.
“W. Glebe has been designated as a truck route for many years,” said Tina Richardson Jones, the president of the Brighton Square Homeowners Association. “Even though the area is not as heavily industrial as it once was, trucks use the road to get from the I-395 to Rt. 1 and to other parts of Alexandria. We are very concerned about the number of accidents and are pleased to be working with the city on solutions.”
ACCIDENT STATISTICS
According to police, there have been 94 accidents on W. Glebe since January of 2000, that involved a police report. “Officers take reports when there is more than $1,000 in property damage or when there is an injury,” explained Amy Bertsch, a spokesperson for the department.
There were an additional 101 accidents that did not involve a police report. “In these cases, we recommend that the drivers exchange insurance information and make sure that the roadway is clear,” Bertsch said.
There were also 122 calls for service or traffic stops and 10 arrests for driving while intoxicated. “People come off of the interstate and don’t reduce their rate of speed,” Bertsch said. “We are going to make sure that motorists understand that the speed limit is 25 miles per hour.”
Since the stepped up enforcement began more than a week ago, there have been a number of arrests. One driver received two tickets between Valley Drive and Mt. Vernon Ave. “Officers stopped him going 40 miles per hour and gave him a ticket,” Bertsch said. “Before he got to Mt. Vernon Ave., he was once again going 40 miles per hour, so another officer stopped him and gave him another ticket.”
OTHER SOLUTIONS
While enforcement is certainly important, the city and neighborhood residents are looking at other measures. “We have put together a subcommittee of the Upper Potomac Working Group to discuss issues like traffic calming,” said Richared Baier, the director of the city’s Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. “We are going to move this process along as swiftly as we can but it is very important to work closely with all groups in the neighborhood to make certain that everyone understands the tradeoffs to every solution.”
Baier has already implemented one traffic calming measure. There is a pedestrian countdown signal at the corner of Russell Road and W. Glebe. Both St. Rita’s school and Grace Episcopal school are located at this intersection.
“One of the first things we did was to increase the length of time that pedestrians have to cross at this light,” Baier said.
Another traffic calming measure that Baier proposed in the fall of 2000 was additional parking on the north side of W. Glebe between Old Dominion Blvd. and Elbert. Some of the neighbors opposed this idea.
“There were three groups that expressed opinions,” Baier said. “One group really liked the idea; one group hated it and one group just wasn’t sure. I think we should revisit it as a part of this effort, however.”
There are other possibilities, as well. “We could certainly consider bringing the curbs further out and we are looking at a traffic signal at both north and south Old Dominion,” Baier said. “We have begun the study to see if such a signal is warranted.”
Richardson Jones is supportive of all of these efforts. “We understand that there are certain measures that probably will not be possible right now because of financial constraints,” she said. “Like, for example, we would like the city to look at the possibility of making W. Glebe one lane both ways instead of going from two to one. I am just glad that we have begun the planning process, because if you have a plan then it is ready to move forward when funding is available.”
As the area is further developed, this will become even more critical. The Upper Potomac West Task Force recently proposed a plan that would bring commercial, retail and residential development to the Safeway/Datatel site at the corner of W. Glebe and Mt. Vernon Ave. The proposal would bring hundreds of additional motor vehicles to the area each day.
“The traffic impact of this development is really serious and should be studied carefully,” said Councilwoman Joyce Woodson at a recent meeting.
Baier agrees. “We will work closely with all of the stakeholders and hopefully develop the best possible plan for the whole neighborhood,” he said. Baier expects the planning process to take 10 months to a year, if his experience in Rosemont is an indicator.