Rosslyn's Skywalk Network is a failed relic from the 70s.  When planners thought everyone would drive everywhere and pedestrians were elevated to bridges to get them out of the way of the speeding cars.  Over the many decades since we've seen the many problems with telling pedestrians to "go around" - splitting the pedestrian population across multiple areas resulting in fewer eyes on the street, expecting pedestrians to walk 10 to 15 times farther than they would if they just crossed in the crosswalk at-grade, separating pedestrians from street-level retail, and exorbitant long-term maintenance costs that result in sad and decaying bridge structures.

Some well-meaning street safety advocates are trying to get a pedestrian bridge across Langston Blvd rebuilt as part of the One Rosslyn development approval.  We think pedestrian bridges can be useful in certain situations, but not this one.  We think the only way to ensure that everyone can safely cross Langson Blvd in Rosslyn is to fundamentally change the design of Langston Boulevard and make dramatic improvements to the street-level crossings. See this Modern Mobility blog post for more information.

Let's not revive our past transportation mistakes - focus on at-grade improvements for all (narrower lanes to calm traffic, a barnes dance or pedestrian scramble to allow a conflict-free crossing) and ignore the distraction of another unused pedestrian bridge. Email the County Board today before we waste millions of dollars on an ineffective and counter-productive intervention.