Arlington Career Center Project Leads & DES

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Please see below for a full update from Arlington Career Center Project Leads & DES regarding recent community efforts to provide transportation accessibility for students and pedestrians who utilize S. Walter Reed Drive during Phase 1 Career Center Construction to access the Columbia Pike Library / Arlington Tech, etc. 

“We have an approved MOT that we are in the process of implementing.  Unfortunately, it was approved just before school opened and we could not have everything in place as we would have liked.  We are working with the contractor to expedite the implementation.

 

 The plan includes:

  • Keeping the crosswalks open at 7th Street.
    • The south cross walk will be closed during utility work on 7th Street
  • 8th Street crosswalk is closed as noted.
  • A temporary crosswalk between the closed 8th Street crosswalk and 9th Street crosswalk will be constructed with curb ramps, bump outs and rapid flash beacons.
  • 9th Street crosswalk will have a ramp added to the west side of the crosswalk.
    • We have touched base with the County who is looking at scheduling the repainting of the crosswalk as soon as it can be scheduled.

 We are working as quickly as possible on getting these improvements in place.  Information on the sidewalk closings were communicated when we anticipated a June start with the community and the schools.  With the delay we should have communicated once MOT details were finalized the week before school opened.  We will work on improving communication as we move forward.

The County is taking the following action:

  • 9/5/24 – County TE&O staff will be marking the 9th Street crossing from curb to curb to delineate the walk path.
  • No later than next Monday, 9/9/24 – DES WSS staff will be installing a curb ramp as on the approved school MOT plans at 9th Street on the west side of S Walter Reed to provide a means of safely traversing this crossing for pedestrians and bikes.

In the meeting with the contractor yesterday, they are working with subcontractors to schedule the installation of the temporary crosswalk with curb ramps between 8th and 9th Street.  They anticipate the work to be complete in about two weeks.  The only exception may be the rapid flashing beacons which are a long lead item, however we are working on an option to secure a set of these that are currently being used in a temporary use but will shortly be removed from their existing location.

I assure you we are working as quickly as possible to implement all the features of the MOT plan approved at the end of August.”

– Jeffrey Chambers & Mike Moon