This map from the National Park Service 1990 DC Trails Plan was recently posted to the local bike forum. It shows that by 1990, the Intersection of Doom was well established as a dangerous intersection. I moved into Arlington in 1989 and I remember biking through the Intersection of Doom on the way into town. The Intersection of Doom has been marked on the local bicycle map as a "dangerous intersection" for as long as I can remember.
I'll admit it. A LOT of the identified problems on this map have been fixed. Thank you NPS. But it also indicates the situation. Where NPS was the only jurisdiction involved in solving the problem, the problems have been generally addressed. At the Intersection of Doom, we have five - make that four - jurisdictions (Arlington just bought out the private land owner) involved in solving the problem and nothing has gotten done.
Meanwhile, recently a woman hit by a car at the Intersection of Doom reportedly had insult added to injury when a NPS officer came to her hospital bed - not having witnessed the accident - and issued her a ticket for not being in the crosswalk.
Let's be clear where fault lies. It doesnt lie with the cyclists. It doesnt lie with the pedestrians. It doesnt lie with the car drivers.
It lies with the local governing authorities including Arlington County, VADOT, DC, and NPS who have identified this as a problem for decades, have been lobbied by cyclists to fix this for decades, and whose idea of a solution is to blame the victims.
Fix the Intersection of Doom!
Do. It.
