Letter on Crosswalks: Who Stops, Who Doesn’t, Why It Matters
The Shirlington Civic Association calls on Arlington County to
- Install rapid flashing beacon lights at the dangerous crosswalk of S Arlington Mill Drive and Campbell Ave near the County Trades Center as soon as possible, and
- Launch a broader discussion of who stops for whom on our roads, and assure us that County staff, including police, will be asked to consider this too.
Do drivers on S Arlington Mill Drive display racial bias in whether or not they yield to us at crosswalks? Is it just traffic infrastructure that needs fixing or is there more to consider?
The “Letter from A Neighbor Invested in Shirlington’s Safety” brings a new element to the debate about the June 2nd incident in which an Arlington County police cruiser next to a stopped school bus glided through a zebra crosswalk, hitting a runner at the most important road crossing for people walking between Shirlington on one side and Green Valley and Douglas Park on the other.
At our request, the letter was sent last week to the County Manager and County Board Chair. The County has been slow to respond.
We’ve posted it here for your consideration too, removing her writer’s name in the interests of privacy.
Read the letter, let us know what you think and what you have seen. And please come on Wednesday, June 24th at 6:30 pm at the Shirlington Library!
—Edie Wilson & the SCA Board
P.S. Did you know that the rapid flashing beacon lights already used on S. Arlington Mill Drive are a result of work we did eight years ago? Green Valley Civic Association got the flashing lights on S Four Mile Run Drive then too. The SCA makes a difference!