Pedestrians Get Head Start At 17 Alexandria Intersections

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Alexandria staff have installed leading pedestrian intervals on signals at 17 places, the latest step in the city's Vision Zero plan. The city asks residents and visitors to be alert to the new traffic patterns and yield the right of way to people crossing the street as required by law.

The spots undergoing the changes were identified as high crash intersections or corridors. The Vision Zero plan's year 1 priorities called for leading pedestrian intervals at 10 or more intersections. City staff recommended the leading pedestrian intervals after analyzing crash data, which indicated turning-movement crashes are among the most common in Alexandria. From 2011 to 2016, 445 pedestrians were involved in crashes; one in seven resulted in serious injury or death.

Leading pedestrian intervals are signal timing changes that give pedestrians the walk signal a few seconds before the green light. The signal change gives pedestrians a head start to cross the street and makes drivers more likely to see pedestrians and avoid crashes, according to the city. The intersections have "no turn on red" restrictions as well.

Below are the locations with the new leading pedestrian intervals. Scroll down for an interactive map of the locations.

• S. Patrick Street and Gibbon Street
• S. Patrick Street and Wilkes Street
• King Street and Washington Street
• King Street and Henry Street
• King Street and Patrick Street
• Wilkes Street and Washington Street
• Duke Street and S. Henry Street (both crossings)
• Gibbon Street and Washington Street
• Slaters Lane and George Washington Memorial Parkway
• Cambridge Road and Duke Street (both crossings)
• N. Quaker Lane and Duke Street
• Cameron Station Boulevard and Duke Street
• S. Whiting Street and Edsall Road
• Slaters Lane and N. Henry Street
• Duke Street and Holland Street

Vision Zero seeks to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2028. Some other recent changes related to Vision Zero were "no turn on red" signs added to 28 places and the speed limit reduced to 25 mph on a portion of Route 1.

Image of King/Patrick Streets via Google Maps screenshot