As a result of discussions at the February NRCA member's meeting the following letter was sent to Arlington County:

(After talking to Ms. Hicks, I need to clarify our request.

The permit and pedestrian accommodation plan for the closure of the Ft. Myer sidewalk associated with construction of the "1812" project is our concern, not the elevator project which is tied to "Central Place".

My apologies for confusing "1812" work with "Central Place " work.

Paul Derby)



Dear Mr. Morris and Ms. Hicks,

As you are well aware, construction has begun for the new elevators to the Rosslyn Metro platforms. Due to this construction, sidewalks that adjoin the construction site have been closed. We are concerned with pedestrian safety due to the closure of the sidewalk along Ft. Myer Drive.

We understand that Arlington County has a permitting process for sidewalk closures. The Arlington County web site has information regarding obtaining a right-of-way permit to close a sidewalk at this URL: Arlington County Sidewalk Closures

SIDEWALK CLOSURES: If a public sidewalk is required to be closed for reasons of construction then the following must take place: An alternate pedestrian route must be established. The alternate route must be fully handicapped accessible. Clearly marked advance signs must direct pedestrians to intersections with marked crosswalks where any exist. If there are no alternate pedestrian routes, the construction of a covered pedestrian walkway must occur if conditions permit its use. A right-of -way permit detailing the pedestrian accommodation plan must be requested and approved.


At the NRCA member meeting held earlier this month, we discussed the sidewalk closure situation and resulting safety concerns. NRCA was neither aware of the permit request to close this sidewalk nor part of the discussion leading to the approval of this permit. I agreed to obtain the approved permit and start discussion with Arlington County staff to ensure this and future construction includes attention to pedestrian safety.

Would you please provide the North Rosslyn Civic association a copy of the permit that was approved for closing the sidewalk on Ft. Myer Drive adjacent to the Rosslyn Metro Elevator Project. You can mail the approved permit to : NRCA, 1902 N Ode St, Arlington VA 22209-1412 or email a copy to me, whichever is more convenient.

Many residents and commuters use the west entrance to the Rosslyn Metro Station as a primary traffic path to get to and from the metro station. Also, students, faculty and staff at the Washington Art Institute use the west entrance of the Rosslyn Metro to get to their institute entrance which is directly across the street from the metro entrance.

NRCA wishes to work directly and actively with Arlington County planners and officials that approve permits to find a way to keep our resident and visitor pedestrians safe while moving to and from the metro station during the current and planned construction in Rosslyn. We would like to see signage in the metro station and streets that leads pedestrians to the existing skywalk system that allows safe passage to and from the metro station, especially bypassing Ft. Myer Drive. Pedestrians going to and from the Washington Art Institute could use the west entrance of their building that is directly accessible from the Rosslyn Skywalk that connects to the Metro Station.

At anytime of day or night one can see jaywalkers darting across 4 lanes of high speed traffic on Ft. Myer Drive to access the metro station. If proper signage were in place directiing pedestrians to safe routes to the west of the metro station, then a discussion could take place to see if erection of fence in the dividing medians of Ft. Myer Drive is needed for public safety.

We look forward to receiving the approved right-of-way permit that allowed the closure of this sidewalk as well as working with Arlington County staff to make our community safer for pedestrians.

Regards,

Paul Derby

--
Paul Derby, Member of the Board
North Rosslyn Civic Association
pderby@northrosslyn.org
Telephone 703-647-2745

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Paul Derby,

We still have the fenced-off sidewalks on Ft. Myer Dr. West Metro entrance three years after this issue was originally posted on the NRCA forum. Is the NRCA still monitoring this issue?
I had a horrible thing happen the other night. It was only 5:30 pm, raining, and dark, when a jaywalking pedestrian, dressed in black, approaching the West Metro entrance darted out in front of my moving car at the tunnel on Ft. Myer Dr. I slammed on my brakes to keep from hitting him and a car behind me swerved to my left to not rear-end my car and that car almost hit the pedestrian in the other lane.
The pedestrians, jaywalkers, stop signs, traffic signals, lane divides, dark streets, all within the 1/10 mile area of N. Ft. Myer Dr., 19th St., and Nash, make this an extremely dangerous and congested area. The contractor painted the crosswalks a couple of mo's ago but they still lead to fenced sidewalks. This area is already dangerous without having crosswalks that lead to fenced sidewalks. It will be a tremendous improvement when the fences blocking the N. Ft. Myer and 19th St. sidewalk access are removed from around the Substation. Right now, the danger is increased for the pedestrians and especially for the jay-walkers because it is dark during both rush hours and there's not enough street light in this area.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rita Hummel,

Clark Construction expects to have the corner of 19th and N. Ft Myer Dr. completed and sidewalks opened within 9 working days. Their progress has been delayed by recent weather conditions. Realistically and weather permitting, we should see the fences removed and sidewalks opened no later than Feb 21st (Fri). (Source of info: Mr. Edward Byrd, Arlington County Construction Manager.)