Road Diet, More Safety Improvements Coming To GW Parkway

FORT HUNT, VA — The National Park Service said it will begin work around Oct. 4 to implement a road diet on part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway south of the City of Alexandria.

Safety improvements were recommended as part of a safety study on the southern part of the parkway between the City of Alexandria and George Washington's Mount Vernon. The study, completed in April, looked at traffic and safety conditions at nine key intersections on the parkway.

The road diet will prompt restriping of the parkway in areas between Tulane Drive and Stratford Lane in Fort Hunt. The configuration will be changed to one southbound lane and one southbound turn lane in this portion of the parkway. Two northbound lanes will remain.

"We are pleased to implement several of the improvements suggested by our neighbors, and we will engage with the community as we assess other changes in the future," said Superintendent Charles Cuvelier in a statement. "We are committed to taking steps that make driving, walking and bicycling between Mount Vernon and Alexandria safer and more enjoyable for everyone."

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the 8th congressional district, amid a history of serious accidents on the parkway segment. The parkway also has plentiful bicyclists and pedestrians using the Mount Vernon Trail from Mount Vernon north toward Arlington.

The road diet and other planned improvements came after public input, coordination with stakeholders and expert analysis of crash data and traffic modeling. NPS will monitor the effectiveness of the changes once implemented.

The restriping work will require lane closures, according to NPS. One of the two lanes in each direction may be closed while work is happening. Work on northbound lanes from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. will start in late September at Mount Vernon and continue north. Work on southbound lanes from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. will start later in the fall near the City of Alexandria continuing south.

Other improvements include installation of new signs and flexible posts at the intersections of Belle View Boulevard, Belle Haven Drive and other areas along the parkway.

NPS could consider other recommendations from the safety study as resources allow. Other study recommendations that could be considered in the future included allowing left and u-turns at Belle View Boulevard and Belle Haven Marina, rapid flash beacons at some pedestrian and bicycle crossings, refuge islands at some pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and roundabouts at some intersections.