Powhatan Street from Williamsburg Circle to the County Line

County staffers, responding to an appeal of a resident, have identified Powhatan Street between Williamsburg Circle and the Arlington County line (see map below) as a project area for the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. County studies revealed that the 85th percentile speed was 37 mph. That is, of the over 3000 vehicles per day using this street, 85 percent were traveling at 37 mph or lower; the remaining 15 percent were traveling at speeds exceeding 37 mph. This is the highest 85th percentile speed in the County at this time. As a result, the County's Neighborhood Traffic Calming program has accepted this street as one of its fall 2001 projects. The point of contact in the Arlington County staff for this project is Susan Finotti (703-228-3735). County Response to Powhatan Traffic Calming Request

Information Meeting: On 7 August 2001, County staffer Susan Finotti (who is our staff point of contact for this project) met with nearly thirty Williamsburg residents to present possible options. Because Powhatan Street is a fire response route (and hence not eligible for speedhumps), the main options involve narrowing the street to 36 feet, retaining a parking lane on each side. Street narrowing can be accomplished by installing new curb and gutter, nubs, chokers, or raised medians. Residents of 36th Street and Somerset expressed their concern with cut-through traffic, speeding, and failure to observe stop signs; they asked that these concerns be considered in developing the Powhatan Street program.

Working Group Meetings:

• On 20 August 2001, the Powhatan Street working group met with Ms Finotti and County traffic engineer Conrad Brewer to identify measures to slow traffic on Powhatan and minimize cut-through traffic on Somerset and 35th Street.
• On 20 September 2001, working group members met again with Ms Finotti to review County plans and maps for the project.

Powhatan Street Traffic Calming Measures: Participants identified the following measures for inclusion in the project:

• Narrowing North Powhatan Street between 35th Street North to North Rockingham, creating a 36' pavement section that will provide one travel lane in each direction, plus parking lanes on both sides.
• Installing a raised, landscaped traffic island on North Rockingham Street at NorthPowhatan Street.
• Installing a raised, landscaped traffic island on North Powhatan Street at Williamsburg Boulevard (enlarging the existing painted median).
• Installing nubs at the intersection of North Powhatan and 35th Street North, North Rockingham Street, and 36th Street North.
• Installing a choker at 3589 North Powhatan Street (if this can be done without impeding drainage).
• Installing at-grade textured crosswalks on North Powhatan Street south of 35th Street North, south of North Rockingham, and at the intersection of Powhatan and Williamsburg.
• Installing an at-grade textured crosswalk on 35th Street North where it intersects with Powhatan.
• Installing an at-grade textured crosswalk on 36th Street North where it intersects with Powhatan.

Before the county could proceed, we needed to get from at least 60% of the affected residents. In this case, the project area includes the 16 houses directly on N. Powhatan and a total of 19 houses within one block in from N. Powhatan St. on 35th St. N., Rockingham St. and 36th St. N. Of these 35 households, 32 were contacted and 31(89%) of these have agreed to the proposal. No one was home at the three remaining houses. The Williamsburg CIvic Association membership endorsed the project unanimously at the 25 September 2001 meeting.

County Approval: The project was approved by the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Committee in December and has been endorsed by the County Manager (see County Manager's 9 January 2002 memo recommending approval). The County Board approved it on 26 January 2002 (see County Press Release on Traffic Calming).

Design Work: The project is currently in design phase. One a preliminary design is ready, the Powhatan Working Group will meet to review it and provide input. We are hoping that construction will begin in the Fall 2003.

More Information: For more information, email Ellen Jones. The point of contact in the Arlington County staff for this project is Susan Finotti (703-228-3735).

Return Home