Better isn't Good Enough on Sycamore St
Level of Effort: 10 minutes, at home in your PJs
Deadline: Sun 11/20 11:59pm

Sycamore Street is a critical street for accessing the East Falls Church Metro.  It is a primary bicycling corridor in the County's Master Transportation plan providing north-south connectivity in the western part of the County between Wilson Blvd and Williamsburg Blvd.

When Arlington began engagement on the Sycamore Street Complete Streets project we were hopeful the County recognized the great need to make walking and biking safe and low-stress in this corridor to improve access to the East Falls Church Metro station.  Indeed the engagement summary for the project recognized a "desire for Protected Bike Lanes" corridor-wide.

Sadly, the concept design that the County has brought forward is a great disappointment, providing some intersection improvements but largely leaving the corridor intact including standard painted bike lanes and even a "through bike lane" with a "mixing zone".  The County's feedback asks if this project would "have a positive impact" on how you travel through the corridor.  A "positive impact" isn't enough. "Safer" isn't enough.  "Better" isn't enough.  It needs to be "safe" and "low-stress".  If we can't achieve that:

  1. With a major Capital Project leveraging outside funding
  2. Immediately adjacent to a Metro Station
  3. On a primary bicycling corridor

Then where can we achieve it?  Tell Arlington "Better" isn't good enough on Sycamore Street.

Suggested Feedback

1. For "how safe would the concept design make you feel" consider putting "unsafe" or "very unsafe" for walking, biking and scooting.

2. Suggested points for the free-form comment box:

Sycamore Street needs low-stress bike, pedestrian, and scooter facilities to connect people to Metro. This project would make things "better" but we need it to actually get us all the way to "safe".  If not now, then when? If not here, then where? In addition to the improvements shown, this project needs to:

  • Provide Protected Bike Lanes the full length of the corridor, reallocating space from medians, turn lanes and/or parking lanes to do so.
  • Eliminate the "through bike lane" with mixing zone approaching Washington Blvd & implement a protected or dedicated intersection
  • Add a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon to the new proposed crosswalk at 22nd St.
  • Fully realign the trail connection to Sycamore Street to actually follow the desire line from the bridge to the corner.
  • Not WIDEN Sycamore to add a new, long, turn and lay-over lane directly adjacent to Metro lengthening pedestrian crossings.

On the Location-Specific feedback map, vote up our comments as well as adding your own.  The most important point to hammer home: the need for Protected Bike Laness the whole length of Sycamore.

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