There will be a new traffic light at the corner of W. Glebe Road and Old Dominion Blvd.
City Council voted unanimously to install the light, despite some complaints from residents. The Department of Transportation and Environmental Services recommended the installation of the traffic signal because of the number of accidents along this stretch of W. Glebe Road over the past few years. Las year, there were 61 accidents between Russell Road and Valley Drive on W. Glebe.
“There is currently no good place for pedestrians to cross W. Glebe in the one quarter mile stretch between Russell and Valley where there are lights,” said Richard Baier, the director of the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services. “People cross at Old Dominion because they park on the Beverly Hills side and a lot of parents with children use the playground at the church just across W. Glebe on Old Dominion. We need a way to slow traffic so that we can make it safer for pedestrians to cross this busy road.”
Donna LaFontaine lives at the corner of W. Glebe and Old Dominion and opposed the light. “The problem on W. Glebe is the traffic,” she said. “Speed is the issue and a light won’t help. The city is going to take away our parking and make it much more difficult for us to get out of our driveways onto W. Glebe. The money could be much better spent on speed tables than on a traffic light.”
NEIGHBORHOOD civic associations disagreed. Wilma Probst represented the Brighton Square Homeowner’s Association. “Our brick wall has been hit four times in the past few years,” she said. “Most recently, it was hit on June 9. If anyone had been in our driveway, they could have been badly hurt or killed. We need this light to slow traffic and to protect pedestrians who need to cross W. Glebe Road.”
The traffic light will cost $80,000 and will be installed in late summer or early fall. “This is just one of the traffic calming measures that we are going to take in Upper Potomac West,” Baier said. “We are going to install pavers and we are going to look at parking along W. Glebe. The traffic signal is just one very important component of the plans for developing Upper Potomac West.”