VDOT to study traffic congestion on Little River Turnpike
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| Little River Turnpike runs through the center of Annandale. |
The Virginia Department of Transportation seeks public feedback for a study of traffic and safety conditions along Little River Turnpike (Route 236). The study covers a four-mile stretch between the beltway and Interstate 395.
That area, which runs through Annandale and Lincolnia, is highly congested, averaging 55,000 vehicle trips a day.
VDOT encourages residents to take a survey on their experiences driving, walking, and bicycling on Route 336 as part of a forthcoming study on potential improvements. Comments can also be submitted to [email protected]. The deadline for feedback is July 28.
The study team will use input from the public to help develop potential operational, safety, and accessibility alternatives that will be evaluated and presented during another opportunity for public comment later this fall.
The $195,000 Little River Turnpike study is expected to be completed in winter 2021-22. The study won’t necessarily lead to the construction of improvements. VDOT will make recommendations, and it will be up to localities to pursue funding.
The study is part of VDOT’s STARS (Strategically Targeted Affordable Roadway Solutions) program. STARS is aimed at developing “comprehensive, innovative transportation solutions to relieve congestion bottlenecks and solve critical traffic and safety challenges.”
Another STARS study is underway for Route 50 between Wilson Boulevard in Seven Corners and Jaguar Trail in Falls Church.
I've said it before here and I will say it again: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
Widening roads to "alleviate congestion" is a temporary solution at best. We are kidding ourselves that it is somehow a permanent solution to the problem. I can guarantee that within a year of the completed road expansions of 28 and 7 they will be back at previous traffic times.
It is time that Fairfax County considers BRT as a serious infrastructure investment that works in conjunction with the comprehensive plan. Fairfax County has a greater population than the entire state of Rhode Island (~50% more). This is not a sleepy suburb of DC and we have to stop treating it as such. We need real transportation investment that will create a multi-modal, connected region instead of half-baked solutions that kick the can further down the road.
We need serious consideration of alternative modes of transportation and a holistic approach in implementing them as a serious part of our landscape. It seems that no one around here, bureaucrats included, can remove themselves from this "car-first" mindset.
Failure to shake this mindset will prove our current and future endeavors in alternative transportation futile. We will continue on our path of gridlock hell in a dysfunctional landscape.
I just took the survey–it doesn't take long. Thanks for sharing the link!