FW: Very dangerous at TC

[Eliza_Savage at fws.gov]

This area is very dangerous even when not under construction.  I find it 
remarkable that we have what amounts to speedway in front of our only city 
high school. 
Traffic averages about 45 miles per hour on that stretch King Street.  I 
question why 2 lanes of traffic in each direction are really necessary, 
when the street narrows down to one lane anyway after Janney's Lane.  What 
good does it do to have a broad, open, fast road that ultimately 
bottlenecks for most of the people who travel it.  It just creates an 
opportunity for drivers to reach ridiculous speeds for that one-mile 
stretch, without actually conveying them much more expeditiously where 
they want to go. 

I live on the other side of King from Chinquapin Park and so I often bike 
along that part of King Street.  Even trying to cross the road to take my 
dog to the park can be a pretty dangerous undertaking.   It seems strange 
to subject our young high school kids to this everyday.  At best, it 
creates a disincentive for them to walk or bike, and at worst, it's a 
terrible accident waiting to happen.  Is anyone else concerned about this? 
 

Eliza




"Bruce&Linda Dwyer " <ouibike at verizon.net> 
Sent by: bsc-bounces+eliza_savage=fws.gov at bicycle.alexandria.va.us
02/26/2008 06:40 PM

To
"BikeWalk Alexandria" <bsc at bicycle.alexandria.va.us>
cc

Subject
FW: Very dangerous at TC






FYI'
Rich indicates that they are on it, which is good, but it has been a
slooooow process.  But if you are still inclined, fire away!  Complacency,
and sloooow processes are easy to slip back into.
Bruce
All I really want to do is be able to walk safely to my local grocery 
store.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rich.Baier at alexandriava.gov [mailto:Rich.Baier at alexandriava.gov] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 6:15 PM
To: Bruce&Linda Dwyer 
Cc: Rob Krupicka; Paul Smedberg; Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov; John 
Porter;
Stafford.Farmer-Lee at alexandriava.gov; Emily.Baker at alexandriava.gov;
Lucky.Stokes at alexandriava.gov
Subject: Re: Very dangerous at TC

Thanks Bruce---ACPS has been working with us and they are on written 
notice
as of last week to correct this measure.  John Porter, Asst.
Superintendent, informed me that he would visit the site this morning and
staff met with the contractor on Monday morning.  John will be contacting
me asap.  They have been informed that there permissive right of way use
permit will be terminated Friday as there is action that is necessary to
safely convey pedestrians.





Richard J. Baier, P.E.
Director
Transportation and Environmental Services
City of Alexandria
301 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 838.4966
Fax: (703) 519.3356


 
             "Bruce&Linda 
             Dwyer " 
             <ouibike at verizon.                                          To 

             net>                      <Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov>, 
                                       "Rich Baier" 
             02/26/2008 06:07          <rich.baier at alexandriava.gov> 
             PM                                                         cc 

                                       "Rob Krupicka" 
                                       <council at krupicka.com>, "Paul 
                                       Smedberg" <PaulCSmedberg at aol.com> 
                                                                   Subject 

                                       Very dangerous at TC 
 
 
 
 
 
 




The sidewalk on the south side of King Street around TC Williams has been
closed for about 6 weeks or more and I am guessing it will be this way for
at least several months, if not until next fall when the garage is
scheduled to open.   This is a very busy route for pedestrians.  Several
weeks ago I contacted Yon to express my concerns that the pedestrian 
detour
accommodation was really inadequate and that the signage was in fact
directing pedestrians into dangerous situations.  I feel a pedestrian
friendly community would have made a legitimate accommodation for such a
heavily travelled route, such as lane shifts (I believe there is 
sufficient
street width) such that a jersey barrier protected pedestrian way could
have been retained on the south side of the street. But I realize the best
that one could expect was safe signage and crosswalks to get pedestrian
across King and back.
The danger of the situation was made even more apparent to me today when 
my
visiting brother-in-law returned from a walk to our local shopping
destination, Bradlee.  He was totally befuddled and said in no uncertain
terms that it was dangerous because there are no crosswalks where the 
signs
say to cross.  Would a pedestrian be at fault for not using a crosswalk in
such a situation?
His concerns have prompted me to bring this dangerous situation to your
attention. again!  I am sure that you are aware of it and that it should 
go
on no longer.  I am most concerned about pedestrian safety and trying to
make Alexandria a pedestrian friendly community, or at least one where we
do not have to resort to driving simply because it is too dangerous to
walk.  As an added incentive to your priority list, this situation has
lawsuit written all over it.
So for whatever this communication is worth, please do something 
meaningful
about it as soon as possible before we have a serious pedestrian accident.

Thank you

Bruce Dwyer
604 Melrose Street
703-549-3263

PS  How about reviewing the parking garage construction schedule to be 
sure
that the sidewalk reopening has the highest priority.


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