Let's Get Riverhouse Right
Level of Effort: 5 minutes, at home in your PJs
Deadline: Sun 9/22 11:59pm

The Riverhouse infill development represents a huge opportunity in Arlington, potentially replacing acres of underutilized surface parking lots with new walkable, metro-accessible homes, along with improved bike infrastructure, green ribbons for nature-filled walks, and a significant expansion of Virginia Highlands Park.

With this great opportunity comes a great responsibility to get things right: 

  • The development is proposing an awesome new 2-way protected bike lane on Joyce Street, but as proposed it stops at Virginia Highlands Park.  It needs to connect all the way to the existing protected bike lanes on 18th Street to be truly useful.
  • The project includes several beautiful new "green ribbon" pathways through the site.  We think the one connecting from Joyce up the hill to Lynn Street on the ridge will see a lot of use for both people walking and people using micromobility devices like bikes and scooters.  The combination of heavy use and steep grades is likely to cause significant and serious conflicts between users.  We think a separate, parallel facility is needed for micromobility users for this connection.  The Sector Plan agrees and calls for just such a connection, but it is not in the current proposal.
  • Several new streets will be built as part of this project.  Some of them are currently proposed to feature 13' wide travel lanes.  We know that wide lanes lead to unsafe car speeds.  We think these lanes need to be narrowed to calm traffic and produce less impervious surfaces.
Suggested Feedback

Land Use and Density

The amount of density is appropriate but could be higher given the excellent walkability and transit-accessibility of this area.

Site + Building Form

The size and location of building "O" appears to be significantly interfering with a reasonable routing of the Green Ribbon north of Kent Street.  Moving or resizing the building should be considered to make for a better green ribbon connection up to Lynn Street.

Public Spaces and Biophilia

The green ribbon connection north of Kent Street leading up to Lynn Street suffers from too many tight turns and switchbacks.  The routing should make better use of space to provide a more gentle undulation up to Lynn Street.  The lack of a separate facility for micromobility users as called for in the Sector Plan is likely to cause conflicts.  A separate facility should also be provided connecting Joyce to Lynn.

Transportation

The 2-way protected bike lane on Joyce needs to connect to the existing PBLs on 18th/Hayes, not stop halfway there.

A dedicated facility for micromobility users, separate from the green ribbon, needs to be provided connecting Joyce to Lynn.  The current shared proposal will create conflicts.

Shrink the lanes on the newly created streets to 10'.  The proposed 13' wide lanes will lead to unsafe car speeds.

Community Benefits

Extend the Joyce Street road diet and 2-way protected bike lanes to 18th / Hayes as an off-site transportation benefit. This would make the 2-way facility immediately useful, calm traffic on Joyce Street, and enlarge Virginia Highlands Park via reclaimed right of way.

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