(Updated at 12:20 p.m.) New renderings from the National Landing Business Improvement District explore what Route 1 would look like if it were surface-level.
These images of protected bike lanes, pedestrian refuges and prominent crosswalks are part of a campaign the BID launched this week touting the benefits of transforming the highway which is elevated over 12th, 15th and 18th streets into an at-grade urban boulevard.
“People Before Cars” aims to advocate “for the implementation of best practices in urban street design and highway-to-boulevard conversions,” according to the BID.
The new campaign builds on “Reimagining Route 1,” a report it released last year envisioning the highway as a leafy, vibrant urban boulevard. Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Transportation is wrapping up a study of how to improve the thoroughfare, which will likely involve making it surface-level.
The National Landing BID this week launched a "People Over Cars" awareness campaign in response to the Virginia Department of Transportation's plans for Route 1 in Northern Virginia.
A blank canvas awaits artists next to a busy Metro entrance.
The National Landing Business Improvement District is looking for designs for a Crystal City Metro station project: creating a mural on a blank retaining wall to greet travelers.
The winner will have a space about 115 feet long and 20 feet high for their artwork.
The art project comes amid an overhaul of the station plaza with new seating, a more open layout and other changes to the landscape and area planned for this year, according to the BID.
Other imminent changes slated for the area include a second entrance for the Metro station closer to Crystal Drive as well as the ongoing construction of Amazon’s HQ2 several blocks away.
A reimagining of Route 1 at South 18th Street, via the National Landing BID.
The National Landing BID launched a public-awareness campaign Tuesday about Route 1, the highway that cuts Crystal City off from Pentagon City in Arlington. The campaign is called “People Before Cars” and includes a familiar urbanist wish list: More bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and, perhaps most important, narrower lanes and slower driving speeds.
Such desires are so familiar in the Washington area in 2021 how many times have you seen similar renderings of happy urbanites working, shopping, and playing multi-modally? that you may be wondering why they merit any mention as news. The answer is: Note the timing.
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