The Seven Corners pedestrian bridge: one year later

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The Seven Corners pedestrian bridge: one year later

by Steve Offutt • June 18, 2010 1:14 pm

A pedestrian bridge across Route 50 near Seven Corners in Fairfax County opened in May of 2009.

Last year I posted twice about this feature. I recently went back to visit and do another count of bridge users. Here are the results, along with the counts from 2009.

Each entry in this table represents one hour of counting during the middle of the day. The weather was similarly pleasant on all three days.

Based on this simple count, it appears that foot traffic is about the same this year versus last, with approximately half the people crossing doing so at Patrick Henry. This seems sensible to me: the bridge would represent a long detour for many people whose destinations are closer to Patrick Henry Drive. For this count there was only one person who made the mad dash across Route 50. That is fewer than before, although my statistical sample is pretty small.

I find it surprising that few cyclists use the bridge. Perhaps more use it during commuting hours. My counts have been in the middle of the day.

Early problems with the bridge have been mostly resolved. The trash cans appear to be regularly emptied and the graffiti is almost all painted over. The biggest problem is that the stairwells are used by loiterers, presumably at night. (They were not there while I was there). They leave behind beverage containers (alcoholic and non) and the stench of urine.

For future designers, I might recommend a more open architecture that would allow visibility from all angles, as DDOT plans to do at Rhode Island Avenue Metro. The ramps, which are open, are nice and clean and feel safe. The stairwells, which are mostly closed in, have litter and feel a bit less comfortable — probably much more so at night.

All in all, this bridge is a worthwhile complement to the transportation infrastructure in the area. I use it myself, and find it to be quicker and safer than my previous alternatives. However, much more needs to be done. As with last year, the walking routes to and from the bridge are completely insufficient — essentially nonexistent. The crossings at Seven Corners itself need to be redesigned to accommodate pedestrians.

The busy crossing at Patrick Henry is still dangerous. And of course, the entire area could use a long-term strategic plan, so that opportunities to improve it are not missed as various development and redevelopment occurs in the area.

5 comments — Share	— tags: Arlington, Fairfax, pedestrians, Seven Corners, skybridges, Virginia

Crossing the street often unsafe in Fairfax (Nov 12, 2009)
Fairfax needs a street grid, but more than an island (Aug 4, 2009)
Are people using the Seven Corners pedestrian bridge? (Jun 30, 2009)
Seven Corners pedestrian overpass opens tomorrow (May 19, 2009)
Fairfax, PG worst for pedestrian safety (Apr 23, 2008)

Comments

What, no weekends?

True story: There's a pedestrian bridge over the CSX/Metrorail line that bisects Berwyn Road in College Park MD. (I really hated it when they closed the at grade crossing, but that's another story).

About a year after it opened I found a giant pile of horse poop right in the middle of the span. I guess it was Park Police.

by mark on Jun 18, 2010 2:27 pm

maybe it was Zorro's horse (captcha: fibrous and...)

by Bianchi on Jun 18, 2010 4:33 pm

Interesting that the Patrick Henry intersection was so much busier. Clearly there are a few small things that could be done to improve pedestrian crossing there but it is hard balancing traffic.

Thanks for doing this. Very important.

by charlie on Jun 18, 2010 5:09 pm

I can think of two other ped bridge projects built in the past few years, all of them have been failures:

The Sister City Friendship Bridge in Rockville is unlit, fenced in and connects a series of little-used bike paths.

The Forest Glen Pedestrian Bridge was supposed to connect the Forest Glen Metro station with the Montgomery Hills business district but each end of the bridge ends in narrow sidewalks adjacent to gridlocked Georgia Avenue. A spate of crimes has forced the county to install a campus-style pedestrian security system on the bridge.

All three seem like justifyable expenditures by local DOTs becuase they will eventually link into a extensive pedestrian network and have multiple proposed benefits. However the expenditure of massive funds for these complex structures has diverted money away from other pedestrian infrastructure such as count-down signals and improved crosswalks. Pedestrian bridges have their place but their design must be more comprehensive to encourage pedestrian activity in the entire area so that these massive structures will not sit unused and become graffiti magnets for the local population of skateboarders and other troubled peoples.

by Cyrus on Jun 20, 2010 6:09 pm

@Cyrus
I would not characterize this bridge as a failure. It may be being used as many as a thousand times a day, although perhaps half that. 150,000 - 300,000 per year. That's more than the number of cars that drive on my street.

I think it could be supplemented with improvements in the surrounding area, it probably cost more than necessary, and also could have been designed to reduce the loitering problem, but it seems to be getting used quite a bit nonetheless.

by Steve O on Jun 20, 2010 10:19 pm