Delivery vehicles take detour through neighborhood; leave destruction in path

Damage to the pedestrian signal at
Four Mile Road and Mt Vernon Avenue.

On this past Wednesday, May 1st at approximately 9:15pm witnesses saw a tractor trailer belonging to Papa John's Pizza cutting through Arlandria's residential neighborhoods heading south/southwest on Elbert Avenue.

On Thursday morning, residents found damage to a pedestrian signal pole and nearby tree at the end of Elbert, on the Northwest corner of Mt Vernon Avenue and Four Mile Road. The damage to the tree was so high up that it could only have been done by a vehicle of that size going in that direction from the local Papa Johns store at 4106 Mt Vernon Avenue. Papa Johns has been contacted about the incident but no comment was made available.

Neighborhood residents often see pizza delivery vehicles on neighborhood residential streets despite a decade plus prohibition embedded in Papa John's 1999 Special Use Permit. The condition says that all deliveries should be made via Mt Vernon Avenue, a condition that is constantly violated as delivery vehicles cut-through to other neighborhoods.

The pedestrian cross signal stood dangling and broken from its bolts throughout the weekend but was removed early Monday morning. The cross signal activator had only been repaired recently after having been non-functional throughout most of last year despite repeated requests for repair.

The intersection of Four Mile Road and Mt Vernon Avenue has bee listed as one of the most dangerous for pedestrians throughout the City and was the scene of a crash that sent one pedestrian to the hospital last month while traffic and bus service was halted on Mt Vernon Avenue throughout the morning rush hour.

City staff say that are evaluating pedestrian upgrades to the make the intersection safer but funding for the City's Complete Street program depends on the outcome of the City Council budget talks later tonight. A pilot project has been instituted in the meantime in response to residents of Howell and Custis Avenues. The funding for that pilot program comes from developer contributions for the IDA building on East Glebe Road.

Damage to the tree on Four Mile Road.

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