George Washington Memorial Parkway Traffic and Safety Context Sensitive Solutions Assessment

The final report is a traffic and safety assessment, focusing on nine intersections located in the southern segment of George Washington Memorial Parkway between the City of Alexandria and Mount Vernon. The study identifies potential alternatives for enhancing traffic safety that are also appropriate (context sensitive) for a national park setting. The report presents existing traffic conditions and crash experience for all nine intersections. It also summarizes the process for identifying and screening alternatives, and presents recommendations for each intersection.

The objective of this project is to conduct a safety assessment and to propose improvements to address safety concerns, access, pedestrian and vehicular safety, at various intersections along the southern section of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP) is a 25-mile-long parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River. It is located for the most part within Virginia except for a short portion that passes over Columbia Island within the District of Columbia. The parkway is separated into two sections joined by Washington Street (State Route 400) in Alexandria. The goal of this Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Context Sensitive Solutions Assessment is to propose improvements to address safety concerns, access, pedestrian and vehicular safety, at various intersections along the GWMP southern section. A safety assessment was completed by FHWA/EFL in February 2016 at the Morningside Lane Intersection and many safety recommendations were addressed after that time.  Similar safety and operational challenges are present at additional intersections along the southern section of the parkway. The parkway is on the National Register of Historic Places and to address the challenges described above, the NPS has a need to evaluate operational and safety countermeasures that are context sensitive to the cultural and historical landscapes of the parkway. The study will include a review of existing transportation systems, stakeholder outreach and input, collection of traffic data, traffic analysis, and development of recommendations for improvements and countermeasures.