Southern George Washington Parkway Study Meeting Planned

FORT HUNT, VA — The National Park Service is planning a virtual meeting on the safety study and resulting recommendations for the southern portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The safety study, focused on nine intersections of the parkway between the City of Alexandria and Mount Vernon, was released by NPS earlier in the spring. The study was conducted amid a history of serious accidents on the parkway, including a 2019 head-on crash that killed a taxi driver. Both public comments and expert analysis of this part of the parkway factored into the study findings. As a result of the study, NPS is planning initial improvements and will consider future recommendations.

Initial improvements set to begin later in 2021 to boost safety for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists include a road diet on parts of the parkway from Tulane Drive to Stratford Lane. Road diets typically involve at least one lane being reconfigured for another purpose. In this case, NPS plans to restripe the parkway in these sections so there will be three travel lanes — two northbound, one southbound and one turn lane. According to the Federal Highway Administration, there is evidence road diets can reduce the different between driver speeds and the number and severity of crashes.

Other initial improvements being planned are increasing visibility of lane markings and Mount Vernon Trail crosswalks and removing vegetation at intersections to improve visibility.

NPS is also looking to improve safety through education and enforcement. The study found that high speeds contribute to crashes on the parkway.

In the future, NPS may consider altering the road to accommodate left and U-turns at Belle View Boulevard and Belle Haven Marina, adding rectangular rapid flash beacons at some pedestrian and bicycle crossings, adding refuge islands in the middle of the parkway at some pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and building roundabouts at some intersections. These recommendations could be considered as resources allow, NPS said.

As part of the education recommendation of the study, a virtual neighborhood education event will be held Monday, May 10 at 7 p.m. NPS will present the safety study, look at implementation steps and the timeline, and take questions. Residents who wish to participate should have Microsoft Teams and join the meeting at the scheduled time.