Bike Boulevards

Construction Update

To provide safe and convenient bike routes along the Pike, Arlington County will create two bike boulevards parallel to Columbia Pike on low-volume and low-speed (25 MPH) streets. Work will begin with placing street markings and signs on the 9th Street S. and 12th Street S. side of the bike boulevards. Street marking placement will begin later this spring.

Sign and street marking placement is slated for completion this summer. Staff has started to design curbs, medians, ADA compliant ramps and sidewalk re-alignments. Following this design phase, the project team will meet with the community to discuss these new features and the HAWK (High-intensity Activated crossWalK)-related left turn restrictions. Staff is exploring options for testing the HAWK turn restrictions and researching any implications of leaving out the restrictions.

Columbia Pike Parallel Bike Routes

Due to limited space, traffic volume and transit operations, Columbia Pike cannot accommodate extensive bicycling facilities, therefore convenient routes on parallel secondary streets are a safer, more practical alternative. Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services plans to create two bike boulevards parallel to Columbia Pike – along 9th Street South and 12th Street South. Features of the routes, include:

Enhanced on‐street route, some new street and trail links
Approximately 4.3 miles long
Improvements to street alignment
New signage, pavement markings and crosswalks

County staff will work closely with the local residential and business communities to ensure that these routes also meet the needs of the area neighborhoods.

Enhancing Safety and Access

View the updated 9th Street bike boulevards concept plan.

Updates to Original Concept Plans (June 2012)

The following areas will not be included in this project as noted in previous plans:

The intersection at 9th Street S. and S. Walter Reed Drive will be improved as part of a separate Arlington County transportation project.
9th Street S. between Ivy and Irving will have sharrows going westbound, and eastbound bicyclists will use the interim route of S. Ivy Street to 7th Street S. to S. Irving Street while staff works with the community to develop a better solution.
12th Street S. improvements will not include the trail through Doctor’s Run Park, only the intersection improvements at either end. Work on the trail in Doctor’s Run Park will be completed as a separate project. The lower trail from the school trail to George Mason Drive will be improved as part of Neighborhood Conservation project. The upper trail from the school trail to S. Quincy Street has numerous large trees and drainage issues that also require it to be addressed in a separate project.

View the updated 12th Street bike boulevards concept plan.

Project Plan

The Columbia Pike bicycle boulevards aims to improve safety and access for bicycles and pedestrians. Designs include plans for improvements to four challenging pedestrian crossings. County staff have assessed each intersections’ unique challenges and proposed changes for: