If I'm not mistaken, Arlington is one of two counties in VA that maintains the roads instead of the state, so they may be able to fix it without VDOT.

That being said, if VDOT had to approve of it, they'd probably put some stipulation in there that it could only be done if Arlington agrees to widen 66 to 23 lanes and build another highway through an urban area.

by Max D. on Nov 4, 2009 4:04 pm • link • report

umm, doesn't Arlington own their roads?

by charlie on Nov 4, 2009 4:13 pm • link • report

Arlington owns most roads, but not all. Some, like US 50 and US 29 are VDOT roads.

by Michael Perkins on Nov 4, 2009 4:19 pm • link • report

Here's my favorite Arlingtonism on Google Streetview:

http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Arlington,+VA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.638819,56.513672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Arlington,+Virginia&ll=38.885763,-77.09733&spn=0.001161,0.001725&z=19&layer=c&cbll=38.885851,-77.097236&panoid=oBR_suFnxpe7zhE6I6RXtQ&cbp=12,224.41,,0,0.66

or: http://bit.ly/2GfjSw

Fairfax Drive has a little tail, westbound only, in front of what was formerly Murky Coffee. If you're coming from Wilson Blvd across that Clarendon intersection, this tail looks like a driveway or private entrance, but it's the best way to continue onto Fairfax Dr westbound. Heck, maybe it is a private driveway that's labeled Fairfax Drive only on the map.

I've never really figured the best way eastbound through that area on a bicycle though.

by James M on Nov 4, 2009 4:24 pm • link • report

Michael is correct. Arlington owns most of its roads, but VDOT owns the larger ones.

Interesting fact: The intersection in question used to be a traffic circle. If you ever hear reference to "Clarendon Circle", this is where it was.

by BeyondDC on Nov 4, 2009 4:25 pm • link • report

Arlington can fix it - Washington Blvd is only VDOT-maintained from Memorial Bridge to Rte 50 and Wilson & Clarendon Blvd are County-maintained.

List of VDOT-maintained roads in Arlington:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/cpe/row/EnvironmentalServicesState.aspx

by Chris S on Nov 4, 2009 4:49 pm • link • report

Hey Virginia people, I'm really happy for you, but what I really want to know is whether anyone is going to the Ward 3 streetcar meeting tonight.

by цarьchitect on Nov 4, 2009 5:07 pm • link • report

Chris S: Thanks, good to know.

by Michael Perkins on Nov 4, 2009 5:16 pm • link • report

After reading the first part of Tsarchitect's post I really thought it was going to be a Kanye West joke.

by BeyondDC on Nov 4, 2009 5:26 pm • link • report

WasnÂ’t there a traffic circle at this intersection a long time ago? I strongly think Arlington should replace the intersection here with a traffic circleÂ… the present jumble of roads and wide left turns between Washington and Wilson/Clarendon are quite ridiculous.

by Don Incognito on Nov 4, 2009 5:35 pm • link • report

Thats a whole weird area in Arlington with the roads (Washington, wilson, clarendon, 10th and Fairfax)weaving in and out of each other. I like the idea of bringing back the circle.

James M the best way on a bike is from Fairfax to go left down Kirkwood, right on Washington for a sec then cut left into the neighborhoods on 13th. Or if you are on the south side use Pershing.

by Chris R on Nov 4, 2009 5:46 pm • link • report

Well I did too, but it was hard to make it work for transportation plans.

by цarьchitect on Nov 4, 2009 5:47 pm • link • report

That intersection is just about the craziest thing Arlington has going on.

by Dave on Nov 4, 2009 7:58 pm • link • report

Come on folks, why pick on Arlington, when you can pick on the entire state of Virginia? And hey, let's throw in the district as well!

Let's face it: road signs in VA and DC are dreadful. Nobody gets through Arlington Cemetery or across Dupont Circle the first time without getting lost. Has anybody ever noticed that the sign to the Whitehurst Freeway on Key Bridge is actually facing the Whitehurst Freeway, and hence invisible to riders? How many people got on I-66 or the GW parkway the first time they drove out of DC into VA over Key Bridge? Where are the road signs on Memorial Bridge? In any direction?

How many near crashes have you had, because you missed one of the many "Right lane MUST turn right" signs randomly placed all across VA?

A colleague of mine summarized it best: If you need a map, you shouldn't be driving in Arlington and DC.

I never noticed this until I moved to Ohio, where road signs are brilliant. As an example I would use the merger/intersection of I-70 and I-71 in downtown Columbus. This is a way too busy intersection of two major interstates that unfortunately happens to be located in downtown Columbus. Think five blocks from the state capitol. However, as soon as you get within the Columbus beltway, they start presorting you in the lane where you need to be. I-71N? This lane. I-70W? This lane. OH-315N? This lane. So everybody has about 5 miles to get where they need to be and things go as well as they can in the limited space.

Compare that to the Springfield interchange. Or Seven Corners. Any road in DC near the Mall and the Potomac.

by Jasper on Nov 4, 2009 9:05 pm • link • report

Sorry, Commonwealth of VA.

by Jasper on Nov 4, 2009 9:06 pm • link • report

What Jasper said. There are just no well-placed road signs in Virginia, and often enough there are no road signs period. I still can never figure out how to drive anywhere in Virginia the first time I do it. If I only get a little lost, I feel as though I have earned the Nobel Prize for Driving.

by Lindemann on Nov 4, 2009 9:54 pm • link • report

My favorite street sign in Arlington is "31th" Street North, at the intersection of North Harrison Street.

by plinth on Nov 4, 2009 11:01 pm • link • report

Another perfect example of why I spent most of my first 6 months living in this area (in Courthouse) crying behind the wheel of my car. Constantly lost. Always. It was terrible.

by Catherine on Nov 5, 2009 12:07 am • link • report

In my experience, VDOT does fairly well with signage, no small feat considering they're responsible for almost 58,000 miles of road statewide. Where things get murky is with the independent cities (i.e. Alexandria), and given their status I'd also include Arlington in this category.

by Froggie on Nov 5, 2009 6:54 am • link • report

Oh, the signage is terrible! Why must freeways have two labels, a name and a number, yet the directional sign says one thing while the map uses the other? (I'm looking at you, George Washington Parkway/400) Why do Beltway signs say "East" or "West" when you are trying to go "North" or "South", or only state the names of suburbs out-of-towners have never heard of? What's wrong with saying "Clockwise" and "Counterclockwise"?

And my favorite, the "Surprise, you're getting on the Whitehurst Freeway when all you wanted was 24th street!" moment. Now you have to drive back through Georgetown at rush hour, all because you missed a tiny sign 3 inches from the freeway entrance saying you had to turn right off M street immediately. Fun times.

The irksome thing is, everyone who's lived here any length of time knows exactly what the problem areas here, yet they remain unfixed.

by Erica on Nov 5, 2009 7:43 am • link • report

Erica: I'm totally with you on the names vs. numbers thing. This is especially annoying in Maryland, where I'll be wanting, say, Viers Mill Road, and the signs will only say MD 586 this way, 97 this way, 193 this way. Everyone I know calls those roads Viers Mill, Georgia Ave, and University Blvd.

by David Alpert on Nov 5, 2009 7:50 am • link • report

I have a reasonable tip that this intersection is going to be undergoing major changes soon.

by Boots on Nov 5, 2009 7:55 am • link • report

Names vs numbers was hard for me when I moved here. Came from suburbs of California where everything was laid out with drivers in mind.

Try that whitehurst experience on a bike. I don't remember the details but I think I ended up somewhere where trying to take the whitehurst was the least dumb/illegal option. Next time I'll just ride the wrong way on a ramp or carry my bike across a fence or something.

The intersection wash blvd and clarendon gives some crazy directions in google maps. Proceeding through on Washington sometimes give a half right on Irving, a half left on Wilson and then a righ on Washington, all within about 150 feet. I sure hope they improve it (maybe dead-end Irving?)

by Michael Perkins on Nov 5, 2009 8:32 am • link • report

I have always assumed that Virginia took down a lot of directional signs just in case the North tried to invade.

by Cilla on Nov 5, 2009 8:39 am • link • report

Yes, restoring Clarendon Circle was considered in a recent planning study, but was rejected because no workable angles could be created without demolishing the existing historic structure at the Liberty Tavern location.

That beginning of Fairfax Drive westbound (reminds me of how the Yellow Brick Road gets started in Munchkin Land) posted by James M., is however, slated for eventual elimination.

by Thesmo on Nov 5, 2009 9:21 am • link • report

Hey, VDOT still hasn't replaced the sign on 395 South near the Pentagon that guides people to Washington Blvd North and Columbia Pike. I think it got taken out in a storm two or three years ago. The frame's still up there, still bent, still empty.

by Distantantennas on Nov 5, 2009 12:32 pm • link • report

My “favorite” sign in the area is the one marking the offramp to Union Station from 395. One doesn’t see the sign, due to its placement in between the tunnels, until AFTER the lanes split, and less than a hundred feet before the concrete barrier begins. Who the hell ever thought that was a good idea?

by Don Incognito on Nov 5, 2009 12:51 pm • link • report

@ Don Icognito:Who the hell ever thought that was a good idea?

Nobody thought it was a good idea. Nobody thought at all.

That's the problem. Signs are just put somewhere. The county puts up street signs, the commonwealth numbers, and mobody talks to each other. There is no logic. Other states have those rules about where to put signs (OH, WV, even MD is better than VA and DC), and it makes driving more intuitive.

by Jasper on Nov 5, 2009 1:00 pm • link • report

Thank you for alerting us. We're working to correct it and will keep you posted regarding new signage at the intersection.

Arlington County Department of Environmental Services

by Arlington County Department of Environmental Services on Nov 5, 2009 2:59 pm • link • report

The thing I've always wondered about road maintenance in Arlington is the circle by Memorial Bridge/Arlington Cemetery. If you look at a map, that's technically DC territory, but when I was at Lady Byrd Johnson Park last July 4th, the Virginia State Police was doing duty on the GW Parkway.

It's funny to think that you cross the main Potomac channel and yet you're still in DC.

by SDJ on Nov 5, 2009 3:36 pm • link • report

@Thesmo

RE: traffic circles. Let's face it, really the reason is that the vast majority of American drivers just can't handle traffic circles.

by SDJ on Nov 5, 2009 3:40 pm • link • report

How strange, readers of this blog whining about how hard it is to drive, when public transport alternatives exist. The problem with the intersection is not the absence of street signs, it is the people in cars nearly running over pedestrians.

by Michael on Nov 5, 2009 8:36 pm • link • report

@thesmo re: entrance to Fairfax Dr. near Washington.

I hope if they eliminate that entrance, that they still leave a bicycle throughway. It is very handy on a bike, as James M pointed out. If they intend to improve that area, then they could add a little space for right-turning bikes, because there's a bit of a tight squeeze for about 10 yards after you cross Washington and before the right turn on Fairfax.

@James M - Coming eastbound, I turn left off 10th onto Wilson, but time it so I'm early in the cycle. That way I'll be to Clarendon Circle before the two lanes of through traffic catch up to me. The left-turning cars that turned with me can go around me, since they come one at time from the turn lane, and there are two lanes available.

I don't care for that block, but it works if you do it as I describe.

by Steve O on Nov 8, 2009 7:50 pm • link • report

@Distantantennas: I think VDOT added a smaller roadside sign toward Columbia Pike but still haven't replaced the overhead one.

by Adam F on Nov 9, 2009 2:52 pm • link • report