Arlington has been building and designing bicycle boulevards parallel to Columbia Pike since 2004 for . Running along 9th and 12th the idea has been to leave the Pike for automobiles and transit, while enticing cyclists away with better options. Originally they only covered the distance from George Mason to Wayne and only consisted of "sharrows, turn restrictions, curb extensions and medians." But the plans are now to extend them to Fairfax County on one end and to DC on the other.
GGW had a good article about the design of 9th Street back in July, but it appears to have been improved since then. For example, then, author Chris Slatt wrote
East of Glebe, cyclists are directed to detour up to 7th Street for one block at Ivy Street because of a one block stretch of one-way street between Ivy and Irving Street.
But in a project document dated last month, it appears they've decided to add a contra-flow eastbound bike lane to that block.
This project has several small pieces, as can be seen in the image above, some of which have started or will start this year.
- Several intersection designs along 9th Street - at South Highland, South Cleveland, South Adams and South Wayne Streets are complete - and work is expected to begin this year. It's not clear to me how much pure bike infrastructure this involves, it appears to be mostly bulb-outs and crosswalks.
- Pedestrian signal push buttons are being added to the traffic signal on S. Walter Reed Drive at 11th Street to help cyclists cross Walter Reed Drive. Improvements will be made to the 12th Street crossing as well, to help facilitate pedestrian crossings there.
Others have made progress even if work has begun
- The developers of the Rappahannock Coffee site at Columbia Pike and Barton have granted the County a public access easement through the site.
- The “Trove” project that will add 401 new apartments to the Wellington will also create new street connections at S. Rhodes Street and new segment of 12th Street South. These will be used to extend the bike boulevard east.
- Easements for wide sidewalks along segments A-west and A-east are currently under negotiation.
- Staff will begin negotiations with the Dorchester and Dominion Towers apartment complexes, located just east of the Wellington, to acquire new trails and/or easements this year.
Other improvements are farther off
- Construction of a wide sidewalk in Segments C and D of Columbia Pike will begin in 2018.
- Construction of the Army-Navy Drive complete streets project, that will include a Protected Bikeway, will begin in 2019
- An emergency access drive taking advantage of easements granted to the County by the Army Navy Country Club is planned for FY 2022.
- The Route 110 trail is still in the planning phase.
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