New Freedman's Village Bridge includes wider sidewalks, but lights slow down users

Freedmen's Bridge, which carries Washington Boulevard over Columbia Pike near the Pentagon in Arlington, was just rebuilt. So was its underpass. The project means wider sidewalks for people on foot and on bike, but there are a few obstacles that make using them difficult.

The new bridge is wider, longer and more attractive than the old one. It has a light well between its east and westbound lanes, and for westbound traffic there is a longer acceleration/deceleration lane between its ramps, which makes it easier to merge onto Washington Boulevard. The project also included a new 10-foot shared use path along Columbia Pike where it passes under the bridge.

Also, to make room for a streetcar in the future, clearance under the bridge is now 16'8".

Today, VDOT will host a ceremony with Gov. Terry McAuliffe to dedicate the project

 

While the new, wide sidewalks on Columbia Pike are nice, flaws in both the project design and the road just beyond it make them hard to use for anyone walking on the street.

New, wider sidewalks along Columbia Pike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lightwells allow for more natural light in the underpass

A more troubling issue has to do with the pedestrian lights along Columbia Pike.  The lights to cross one of the Washington Boulevard ramps only turn green when someone activates them. That means that to cross, you have to first get to the intersection, then push a button, and then wait for the green light. And this will have to be done three times in each direction. This makes navigating the area very time-consuming. It's also confusing when you see a green light in the road but a red light for the sidewalk.

Also, people on foot or bike on the south side of Columbia Pike have to first cross Queen Street diagonally and then back across the Washington Boulevard ramp; in other words, continuing straight is a two-intersection maneuver that could require waiting two light cycles to get to a destination that's 25 feet away.

Few cyclists are going to choose such an inconvenient route along the sidewalk, rendering the path useless for them. 

 

 

 

Telephone pole blocks the sidewalk past the project area

View of the intersection looking east.

Crosswalk across the on-ramp.

Eastbound underpass

The new underpass is better than the old one, but it's unfortunate that space could not be found for a real bike facility and that it was designed with light cycles that inconvenience pedestrians so much.

Comments

[Arlington Cyclist]

Look at the transition from the nice wide sidewalk to the narrow sidewalk in photo 4.

Thanks goodness that Arlington favors a useless grass utility strip instead of a practical wide sidewalk.

[Arlington Cyclist]

On the wide sidewalk, they should have painted the inner panels a separate color and called it a raised cycle track.

[Roo_Beav]

Is the speed limit here 30 mph like it is past this area?

The design/signage makes me feel like most vehicles travel in the 40-50 mph range.

I do like the wide sidewalks and attempt to make the underpass less gloomy, but I get the impression that it would still feel very uncomfortable to bike/walk through here.

[Ren]

I wish the people who designed and approved this area could experience what it is like to merge over (photo #5) to the left lane during rush-hour since the right lane is once again “right only” while amidst vehicles that are traveling 35 plus. Although the road is smoother (for now) the lanes are wider and drivers are going faster. Typically, after doing this, you are then passed on the right by a vehicle that went straight anyway. Arlington used to set up shop citing for this but I haven’t seen it yet. About 60 percent of cyclists in this area are using the sidewalks – that’s not the end of the world where the sidewalks are wide, but to me it reflects poor planning, and it is a problem where the sidewalks are narrower just up the hill. Concur with the points about the traffic lights and additional time for pedestrians. As usual, thanks to washcycle for your exploration of the topic.

[Dan]

I used to ride this section of Columbia Pike back in the early 1980's while commuting to work. The new bridge is a very welcome change to this area with the wide sidewalks. The rest of the pike is pretty much the same as it was over 35 years ago. That means you ride in the far right lane and hope no one climbs up your back while going 35 mph.

[washcycle]

Ren, I'm surprised so many cyclists use the sidewalk. I figured any cyclist confident to make it there would just ride in the road.

[Barbara]

I used to ride this route regularly. Going east was okay. From Scott Street, I just got in the left lane and stayed in it until I could turn left on Orme. (It's only about three or four blocks.) From the light at Queen, I could get enough momentum going downhill that I could keep up with traffic if I pedaled like crazy on the slight uphill before Orme. The real problem was coming back heading west because it's mostly uphill and I couldn't keep up with the cars. That's when I just rode on the sidewalk and cursed under my breath the whole time.