Pedestrian Struck at Dangerous Crossing

Mount Vernon Avenue traffic was halted in both directions this morning between 8:30 and 9:00 to respond to a crash involving a pedestrian crossing in a marked crosswalk. Alexandria 2008  Pedestrian and Bike Mobility Plan highlighted the intersection as the only high crash density site in the City.

According to Alexandria Police:

The accident did occur on the Alexandria side, at the intersection of Mount Vernon Avenue and Four Mile Road.   At about 8:30 a 68-year-old man was  crossing Mount Vernon in the crosswalk at Four Mile when he was struck by a car  turning left onto northbound Mount Vernon. The driver was charged with failure to yield right of way.  The report indicates minor injuries to the pedestrian, and he was taken to Alexandria Hospital for examination.  The driver blamed sun glare.

In 2009, The Arlandrian reported on earlier attempts to rectify the intersections, which have been the topic of discussion for over a decade but promised improvements have yet to occur. The Mt Vernon & West Glebe intersection was slated for improvements since the 1991 Transportation Master Plan Update. The South Glebe and Mt Vernon intersection improvements were called for by the 2003 Arlandria Plan. And the West Glebe & Valley Road intersection was cited for improvements by the 2005 Four Mile Run Restoration Plan. The South Glebe and Valley Road projects were absent however from the most recently approved Capital Improvement Budget and Transportation Long Range Plan (LRP). The West Glebe intersection is mentioned in the LRP but remains unfunded.

Existing Intersection Issues
Background on the issues can be found in Alexandria's 2008 Pedestrian and Bike Mobility Plan.The first graphic, below, shows the intersections in question had medium crash density compared to similar sites, City-wide. The only high crash density in the city was just North between Russell Rd and Four Mile Run on Mt. Vernon Avenue. (Nothing has been done to resolve that issue).

This second chart identifies these intersection as providing fairly poor quality crossing conditions. This supports the need to make improvements at the sites.

Finally, this third chart demonstrates the high volume of potential pedestrian activity. The relatively poor crossing conditions coupled with a high potential pedestrian activity further support the need to increase the quality of these intersections for pedestrians to avoid future pedestrian-related accidents at this site.



WMATA did not elaborate on the causes of the repeated congestion. Our inquiries regarding funding for the stalled 2009 effort have not been addressed.


Previous related stories from The Arlandrian:

• Is this a good place for a bus shelter?
• Are new bus shelters coming to Arlandria?
• Bus shelters go solar
• UPDATE: Bus Shelter now a Bus "Stop"
• Obsessed with bus shelters.
• Arlandria's Capital Improvement Plan: A Fractured Fairy Tale
• Alexandria Kills Pedestrian Crossing at Glebe Road
• Traffic Hampers Morning Bus Commute
• Traffic Hampers Morning Bus Commute (again)