Safety Study Released For Southern Segment Of GW Parkway

BELLE HAVEN, VA — On Monday, the National Park Service released a safety study for the portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway between the City of Alexandria and Mount Vernon.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents the 8th congressional district, commissed the study to look at how to improve safety in the 6.3-mile parkway segment south of the City of Alexandria. Beyer called for the study amid a history of serious accidents, including a 2019 head-on crash that killed a taxi driver, as reported by WTOP. Other officials pushing for improving safety in this section include Mount Vernon Supervisor Dan Storck, state Sen. Scott Surovell, state Sen. Adam Ebbin, Del. Paul Krizek, and U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

According to the NPS study, the purpose is "to investigate traffic and operational issues and develop context-sensitive solutions to make improvements while maintaining the scenic and historic character." A team of transportation safety professionals from local, state, and federal agencies reviewed multi-modal traffic data and crash data, conducted fieldwork, and developed and screened potential engineering and enforcement traffic safety changes. There were two points during the study where feedback was sought from stakeholders, elected officials, and the public.

Overall recommendations for the corridor include creating a program to regularly trim trees and shrubs during growing season, starting education and enforcement measures to reduce excessive speeding, enforcing speeds by manual and automated methods, restriping pavement markings, reevaluating crash data, installing mumble strips to keep vehicles on the roadway, using dynamic message signs to alert drivers of wildlife during certain times, and creating an educational campaign about increasing presence of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists.

There were also recommendations for specific parts of the corridor. For Belle Haven Road, the study recommends channelizing left turns in the median and creating an acceleration lane at the u-turn location at Belle Haven Marina. A median u-turn lane is also recommended at Belle View Boulevard. At Tulane Drive, a roundabout is recommended while keeping access to the Mount Vernon Trail.

At Morningside Lane, Wellington Road, Collingwood Road, Waynewood Boulevard, and
Vernon View Drive, a road diet is recommended throughout the intersections to address vehicle speeds and provide a center turn lane. For Wellington Road, a rectangular rapid flash beacon is recommended with a refuge island for pedestrian and bicyclist crossings.

Based on the study findings, NPS plans to implement the road diet in 2021 at the Morningside Lane, Wellington Road, Waynewood Boulevard, and Vernon View Drive intersections. NPS will also improve signs and striping at five MVT crossings: Belle Haven Marina, Wellington Road, Collingwood Road, Waynewood Boulevard, and Fort Hunt Road.

Beyer said he intends to work with the community on implementing study recommendations when practical and work to secure federal funding to support more safety improvements.

"Traffic volume and higher speeds on the Parkway have been a longstanding concern," said Beyer in a statement. "I commend the work of the National Park Service for the report’s thoroughness and am pleased to see the commitment to immediately implement safety improvements like restriping pavement and enhancing signage."

See the full safety study here.