South Eads Street Complete Street
Location
South Eads Street between Four Mile Run and Army Navy Drive
Status
Planned
In fall 2014, Arlington implemented a pilot project to convert South Eads Street into a complete street. This project is located between 15th Street South and 23rd Street South and utilizes the existing curb-to-curb space and accommodates all modes of travel. The four-lane roadway was converted into three lanes: two through lanes and a center two-way left turn lane, with a new protected bike facility. Pedestrian crossings were upgraded and parking lanes reconfigured.
With these changes in place, County staff are monitoring roadway operations using travel times and vehicle, bike and pedestrian counts. The design of the pilot project is flexible and may change as operations are monitored. The outcome of these measures will influence the ultimate cross section of the street and may lead to additional improvements as areas of opportunity are identified.
About the Project
The width and cross section of South Eads Street varies from north to south. The cross section is the configuration of all elements along the street – sidewalk, landscape area, parking lanes, etc. The existing condition of the pavement on South Eads Street is poor and the layout of the street is primarily oriented toward vehicular use.
The Master Transportation Plan, Crystal City Sector Plan and corresponding Crystal City Multimodal Transportation Study call for South Eads Street to be reconstructed into a complete street – a safe environment for all travel modes including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users and vehicles.
Public Process
- May 2014 – Visioning Workshop Presentation
The performance of the pilot project, along with the responses gathered from a visioning survey conducted in 2014, will inform the design of the permanent South Eads Street Complete Street Project. We welcome your feedback on the pilot project – send comments to EadsPilot@arlingtonva.us
Documents
Five cross section drawings have been developed for the South Eads Street corridor that illustrate complete street options for each unique area. These are described and available for viewing below.
- Section A-A is the southernmost South Eads Street cross section, located in the light industrial area just north of the South Glebe Road intersection. This section experiences frequent heavy vehicle use, which include dump trucks, semi-trucks and transit vehicles. The area is also adjacent to the Four Mile Run Trail connection to the south and a future pedestrian and a bike bridge from Arlington to Alexandria.
- Section B-B is in a mix of multifamily residential buildings, single-family dwellings and hotels. This section of South Eads Street experiences frequent heavy vehicle use, including dump trucks, semi-trucks and transit vehicles as well as residential traffic.
- Section C-C is in a commercial and multifamily area. The existing lane configuration includes four travel lanes with on-street parking and shared-lane markings (sharrows). An analysis of existing traffic shows that this section does not need four travel lanes for the amount of traffic traveling through it.
- Section D-D is in a mixed use area of mid-rise residential, hotel and office buildings. With the Crystal City Metrorail Station to the east, the area experiences high levels of multimodal traffic including pedestrians, bicyclists, regional shuttles and local and regional transit buses. In the near future the post office at the intersection of South Eads Street and 18th Street South will redevelop with a much denser residential use, which will increase multimodal travel demand in the area.
- Section E-E is in an area of the corridor that is approved for major density increases, land use changes and transit improvements during the next decade. This area will have mid-rise residential and office buildings as part of the Metropolitan Park and PenPlace developments. Reconfiguration is critical to ensure that all modes of travel are safely accommodated.