Alexandria schools - why so bad?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 miles in Alexandria right now with our horrible traffic could mean a 30-40 minute commute for kids. That's ridiculous. Last week I went from Alexandria Hospital to the 1000 block of King Street at 3:10 pm. Took me 49 minutes. And we want high school kids to do that?

Thank you. Someone who gets it.

You need to talk to the Parking and Transportation Board as well as City Council because the proposal to change Seminary from 4 lanes to 2 lanes will make that traffic even worse.

x1000

Yes. This is a major sticking point. My sense is that no one cares as long as they can "save $60 million" on the swing space they were going to renovate for MacArthur. It's going to be terrible.

The bike lobby is nuts! The majority of the Seminary Hill residents do care and have pushed back, as the bike lobby though this idea (like all their others) would be rubber stamped and quickly approved. I think an alternative is to keep 4 lanes but make all of them more narrow, widen the sidewalk, add a bike lane. I am not sure how all those are possible and making the lanes more narrow is a mistake. I live in Rosemont, and ever since the city made the King Street lanes more narrow, to accommodate a bike lane that bikers RARELY use, the traffic goes slower most of the time but the amount of traffic has only increased (instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur). I cannot barely leave my neighborhood after 2:45pm on weekdays. The traffic is horrific and stays that way until about 7:30pm. I cannot imagine busing kids from TC or Mnnie Howard or Hammond to other campuses, especially going east.

People use the bike lanes on King Street all the time, especially to get to and from the Metro during rush hour.

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

Also, part of the reason traffic is so bad on King is because people are not allowed to make the left onto Rosemont or Cedar between 7 and 9 AM 4 and 6 PM. Allow people to take a left into your neighborhood and there will be fewer cars on King. There should also be a four-way stop at King* and Rosemont, because idiots block the box like they're being paid to do it.

Duh--Russell and Rosemont needs the stop sign, not King and Rosemont.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And of course they're just poor children of color so why do we care.

I am guessing a lot of the people calling for multiple comprehensive high schools actually want to avoid concentrations of children of color.

You say this like that’s a shameful reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And of course they're just poor children of color so why do we care.

I am guessing a lot of the people calling for multiple comprehensive high schools actually want to avoid concentrations of children of color.

You say this like that’s a shameful reason.

It disheartens me to think that you possibly live in Alexandria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 miles in Alexandria right now with our horrible traffic could mean a 30-40 minute commute for kids. That's ridiculous. Last week I went from Alexandria Hospital to the 1000 block of King Street at 3:10 pm. Took me 49 minutes. And we want high school kids to do that?

Thank you. Someone who gets it.

You need to talk to the Parking and Transportation Board as well as City Council because the proposal to change Seminary from 4 lanes to 2 lanes will make that traffic even worse.

3 lanes not 4, won't cost more than a few seconds at peak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 miles in Alexandria right now with our horrible traffic could mean a 30-40 minute commute for kids. That's ridiculous. Last week I went from Alexandria Hospital to the 1000 block of King Street at 3:10 pm. Took me 49 minutes. And we want high school kids to do that?

Thank you. Someone who gets it.

You need to talk to the Parking and Transportation Board as well as City Council because the proposal to change Seminary from 4 lanes to 2 lanes will make that traffic even worse.

x1000

Yes. This is a major sticking point. My sense is that no one cares as long as they can "save $60 million" on the swing space they were going to renovate for MacArthur. It's going to be terrible.

The bike lobby is nuts! The majority of the Seminary Hill residents do care and have pushed back, as the bike lobby though this idea (like all their others) would be rubber stamped and quickly approved. I think an alternative is to keep 4 lanes but make all of them more narrow, widen the sidewalk, add a bike lane. I am not sure how all those are possible and making the lanes more narrow is a mistake. I live in Rosemont, and ever since the city made the King Street lanes more narrow, to accommodate a bike lane that bikers RARELY use, the traffic goes slower most of the time but the amount of traffic has only increased (instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur). I cannot barely leave my neighborhood after 2:45pm on weekdays. The traffic is horrific and stays that way until about 7:30pm. I cannot imagine busing kids from TC or Mnnie Howard or Hammond to other campuses, especially going east.

People use the bike lanes on King Street all the time, especially to get to and from the Metro during rush hour.

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People rarely use the bike lane on King between Russell and Janneys: according to me who lives in Rosemont and several of my neighbors who live ON king. The bike lane is too narrow, there is t much broom for a bike to safely ride next to traffic and serious bikers know this, they might go through Rosemont and come up Maple/ Walnut to access Kong but they’re not starting all he way down at Russell, 2) the hill is just too steep to safely go down or to realistically go up. Most bikes I’ve seen in the years that bike lane has been there have been on the sidewalk. Maybe you’re talking about King closer to TC but in Rosemont no, people are not using it with the frequency needed to justify the changes that were made years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
(instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur).

That is NOT what a road diet is. Its the road that is dieted, not the traffic, the idea is slow speeders, make it easier to cross the steet, and improve safety. Keeping the same amount of traffic (which is what happened on King) is a win for road diets, as it shows people are not diverting to other streets as opponents claimed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
People rarely use the bike lane on King between Russell and Janneys: according to me who lives in Rosemont and several of my neighbors who live ON king. The bike lane is too narrow, there is t much broom for a bike to safely ride next to traffic and serious bikers know this, they might go through Rosemont and come up Maple/ Walnut to access Kong but they’re not starting all he way down at Russell, 2) the hill is just too steep to safely go down or to realistically go up. Most bikes I’ve seen in the years that bike lane has been there have been on the sidewalk. Maybe you’re talking about King closer to TC but in Rosemont no, people are not using it with the frequency needed to justify the changes that were made years ago.

I used it yesterday, lots of people use it, typically from Cedar.

That is steep going up is precisely why the bike lane is useful to riders, it would be too uncomfortable going up taking the general travel lane.

Anyway, those lanes were created by removing parking, not by removing a general travel lane, so really have NOTHING to do with this thread (which is about schools) except as a place for you to rant about the "bike lobby". And the bike lanes have reduced the number of collisions on that section, which was the point - so they are justified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People who live on or near Seminary road.

There is currently no low stress bike route going towards Old Town anywhere between the Arlington line and the Holmes Run Trail.

But the road diet proposal is to slow down traffic and make the road safer for everyone, not primarily to benefit cyclists.

[Anonymous]

Seems like a lot of newcomers are unfamliar with how Alexandria used to be.

Old Town used to be super nice, and then no so nice the next block over. Gentrification is pushing out some of the long time residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People who live on or near Seminary road.

There is currently no low stress bike route going towards Old Town anywhere between the Arlington line and the Holmes Run Trail.

But the road diet proposal is to slow down traffic and make the road safer for everyone, not primarily to benefit cyclists.

On a daily basis, how many bikers are we talking about, on average during the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People who live on or near Seminary road.

There is currently no low stress bike route going towards Old Town anywhere between the Arlington line and the Holmes Run Trail.

But the road diet proposal is to slow down traffic and make the road safer for everyone, not primarily to benefit cyclists.

On a daily basis, how many bikers are we talking about, on average during the school year?

We don't know, it will change as more other places become more bike friendly (and especially when CaBi finally comes to the West End), and it doesn't matter, as the road diet will make things safer for drivers and walkers as well. It's NOT about bikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
(instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur).

That is NOT what a road diet is. Its the road that is dieted, not the traffic, the idea is slow speeders, make it easier to cross the steet, and improve safety. Keeping the same amount of traffic (which is what happened on King) is a win for road diets, as it shows people are not diverting to other streets as opponents claimed.

I sit through the King/Braddock/Quaker intersection regularly (often 2 times a day approaching from south Quaker). That intersection is an absolute nightmare: to get through the long light cycles, I see cars and trucks BARREL through at high speeds south to north Quaker (after going 25 mph on Quaker). When it happens, it's going to cause multiple deaths. It's absolutely frightening (I turn left at Braddock from Quaker which is the last light change in the cycle so I see it all, it's almost a 4 minute wait) and there are pedestrians on sidewalks there too. Moms out for a stroll, kids from MH and TCW. People from local apartment. Bicyclists. It's the worse never changed intersection (City Manager took $10 M to balance budget like 4 years ago from this improvement funding) in the City.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People who live on or near Seminary road.

There is currently no low stress bike route going towards Old Town anywhere between the Arlington line and the Holmes Run Trail.

But the road diet proposal is to slow down traffic and make the road safer for everyone, not primarily to benefit cyclists.

No, it’s always about the cyclists. Always.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 miles in Alexandria right now with our horrible traffic could mean a 30-40 minute commute for kids. That's ridiculous. Last week I went from Alexandria Hospital to the 1000 block of King Street at 3:10 pm. Took me 49 minutes. And we want high school kids to do that?

Thank you. Someone who gets it.

You need to talk to the Parking and Transportation Board as well as City Council because the proposal to change Seminary from 4 lanes to 2 lanes will make that traffic even worse.

x1000

Yes. This is a major sticking point. My sense is that no one cares as long as they can "save $60 million" on the swing space they were going to renovate for MacArthur. It's going to be terrible.

The bike lobby is nuts! The majority of the Seminary Hill residents do care and have pushed back, as the bike lobby though this idea (like all their others) would be rubber stamped and quickly approved. I think an alternative is to keep 4 lanes but make all of them more narrow, widen the sidewalk, add a bike lane. I am not sure how all those are possible and making the lanes more narrow is a mistake. I live in Rosemont, and ever since the city made the King Street lanes more narrow, to accommodate a bike lane that bikers RARELY use, the traffic goes slower most of the time but the amount of traffic has only increased (instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur). I cannot barely leave my neighborhood after 2:45pm on weekdays. The traffic is horrific and stays that way until about 7:30pm. I cannot imagine busing kids from TC or Mnnie Howard or Hammond to other campuses, especially going east.

People use the bike lanes on King Street all the time, especially to get to and from the Metro during rush hour.

I can't imagine who would use the bike lanes on Seminary to commute.

People rarely use the bike lane on King between Russell and Janneys: according to me who lives in Rosemont and several of my neighbors who live ON king. The bike lane is too narrow, there is t much broom for a bike to safely ride next to traffic and serious bikers know this, they might go through Rosemont and come up Maple/ Walnut to access Kong but they’re not starting all he way down at Russell, 2) the hill is just too steep to safely go down or to realistically go up. Most bikes I’ve seen in the years that bike lane has been there have been on the sidewalk. Maybe you’re talking about King closer to TC but in Rosemont no, people are not using it with the frequency needed to justify the changes that were made years ago.

x1000 PP Well said. It is a ridiculous change that needs to be undone. It is causing horrible congestion on King Street AND Braddock Road AND Duke Street because of the lack of traffic flow on King. Between the bike lobby and the TE&S people who don't live in the city but make arbitrary and capricious decisions that affect our daily lives, we're in a horrible position.

P.S., we also live in Rosemont and we are totally against the 3 lane concept where 1 lane is completely unusable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
(instead of the traffic diet theory that people going slower would frustrate some and force drivers to pick an alternative route and thus a diet or decrease in overall traffic would occur).

That is NOT what a road diet is. Its the road that is dieted, not the traffic, the idea is slow speeders, make it easier to cross the steet, and improve safety. Keeping the same amount of traffic (which is what happened on King) is a win for road diets, as it shows people are not diverting to other streets as opponents claimed.

I sit through the King/Braddock/Quaker intersection regularly (often 2 times a day approaching from south Quaker). That intersection is an absolute nightmare: to get through the long light cycles, I see cars and trucks BARREL through at high speeds south to north Quaker (after going 25 mph on Quaker). When it happens, it's going to cause multiple deaths. It's absolutely frightening (I turn left at Braddock from Quaker which is the last light change in the cycle so I see it all, it's almost a 4 minute wait) and there are pedestrians on sidewalks there too. Moms out for a stroll, kids from MH and TCW. People from local apartment. Bicyclists. It's the worse never changed intersection (City Manager took $10 M to balance budget like 4 years ago from this improvement funding) in the City.

Ask the Mayor about the long wait at the lights. It is why one of his kids was born in the Radio Shack parking lot.