Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
Following the successful restriping of Personal Injury Lawyers Road into a spandex-friendly velodrome, plans to put Soapstone Drive on a "road diet" will finally come to fruition next month. As the home of all both of the road diet projects in Northern Virginia, Reston's apparently becoming VDOT's guinea pig for traffic-calming projects. What's next? Traffic circles? Chicanes?
As we've pointed out before, the Soapstone project is not technically a "diet," since the most busy segment of the road will be widened by two feet to provide additional parking, helping break the monotony of seeing all those trees along the side of the road by providing just the right amount of visual flair in the form of marooned tradesmen vehicles.
But the truly mind-blowing thing? Apparently, after talking about it for as long as this "web log" has been in existence, they may wind up adding one of those new-fangled "sidewalks" we keep hearing about. Now construction is "planned for 2013," meaning it's taken longer to plan a narrow, 0.6 mile-long stretch slab of inert concrete than the entire first phase of the Silver Line.
VDOT points to surveys and statistics saying that the Lawyers Road is now better-loved, safer, and slower. It's definitely more spandex-y, though we're not looking forward to the combination of skintight trousers and Super Big Gulps when cyclists can zip in and out of the 7-11 parking lot at speeds approaching Mach 3 on Soapstone's fancy new bike lanes.
Who's hungry?
Awesome. Let's do somethng dumb and backwards... and call it progress! Why not have metro be on a single track... A metro diet... That will be Hudgins new innovative alternative for phase 2....
ReplyDeleteThe new Suicide Lane (aka 7-11 lane) will make driving on Soapstone an adventure.
ReplyDeleteAs part of this "road diet," how about adding a pedestrian pathway from Soapstone across the Toll Road? Those of us who live in south of the Toll Rd. in Reston but work in north of the Toll Rd. in Reston would like to be able to walk to work without going a couple miles out of our way or taking our lives in our hands by crossing Reston Parkway a couple times to be able to walk on a sidewalk. Meandering pathways through the woods are delightful when you want to take a leisurely stroll and commune with nature; however, they're not so terrific when you're schlepping groceries or want to get to work.
ReplyDeleteThe Soapstone "extender", a bridge for cars and pedestrians that will cross over the Toll Road to north Reston is on the construction schedule for 2035.
ReplyDeleteLawyers was a success, and now Soapstone will be a success. It's simple: neither road needed four lanes, but they certainly needed dedicated left-turn lanes. The turn lanes do a wonderful job at preventing rear-end collisions and the always-dangerous but never-dull "quick lane change to the right to pass that guy who might be making a left turn from the left travel lane and oh shoot I just traded paint with the guy in my blind spot." This move is very common at the 7-11, and the dedicated turn lane will end it entirely. And "suicide lanes" are what grandpa used to pass on the nation's 3-lane highways prior to Eisenhower's interstate system. Unless you intend to drive 70mph on Soapstone in a sweet '56 Buick without seatbelts, I doubt that your driving experience will be the same.
ReplyDeleteAnd a note to Joanne: I've seen the plans for some sort of connector path or road that connects the tail end of Association Drive to the spot near where Isaac Newton Drive connects with Sunset Hills Road. In some drawings, it looks like it supports bikes and pedestrians, but I think they want it to be a proper road, as mentioned above. Certainly, anything to take traffic away from the Wiehle traffic chokepoint would be a good idea, and ped/bike access would make good sense there, too. Waiting until 2035 would be a shame.
ReplyDeleteInevitably some people will use the turn lane to get around traffic backed up in the travel lane turning it into a suicide lane. And it WILL back up a during rush hours with people going to/leaving the new Metro station.
ReplyDeleteThis project won't add congestion. It will slow down drivers who are speeding on a road that never needed 4 lanes to begin with.
ReplyDeleteIf you're concerned about getting stuck in a backup in you SUV or minivan while going to the Metro, perhaps you should ride your bike, which will be something made possible by this project.
I do not own an SUV or minivan. I do own 3 bikes- commuter, road and touring - which I love to ride - and will use to get to the new Metro. I am, however, a practical person who knows how NOVA drivers operate and can see this train wreck coming. A sidewalk and standard bike lane should be constructed, but I believe the rest should be left alone.
ReplyDeleteJoy joy... who's going to wear spandex to go up a hill to get on the metro? Oh please, some of these anonymous posts are just stupid.
ReplyDelete