How Would You Fix the Intersection of Doom? Updated @voteforvihstadt @alanhowze #bikedc #arlingtonva

When last these two candidates met in an election, we asked them a series of questions about cycling in Arlington.  You can read their responses, linked below.

This election, we have asked them a simple question:  How would you fix the intersection of doom?

Here are their response tweets so far:

Photo by Alyson Hurt (cc Flikr)

Alan Howze || Previous Response

long-term reroute. Short-term implement adopted changes + signal changes (NPS/VDOT) so cars not turning right into bike/ped +

+ enhanced enforcement + detailed data collection on incidents across Arlington tinyurl.com/nv5s86t

+ safe streets across all of Arlington - not just trails - safe routes to school, work, etc - much more we need to do!

as a bike commuter I am very familiar with the intersection and its dangers for cyclists, pedestrians and runners. 

 John Vihstadt || Previous Response

Thanks for writing. @ArlingtonVA staff working to improve @RosslynVA #IntersectionOfDoom. Asked for update. Will report back.

The Intersection of Doom has been a problem for decades.  1000s of cyclists and pedestrians go across this intersection daily.  Because the infrastructure is terrible, they get forced out into the street, they get hit, and then they get ticketed by a callous NPS cop who cant figure out that its not a pedestrians fault when the infrastructure is terrible. In other major urban environments, a dangerous or congested intersection would have a traffic officer assigned to facilitate traffic flow. For as long as I have lived in Arlington, the County has promised that solutions are on the horizon.  Meanwhile, crossing the Intersection of Doom is a form of Russian Roulette.  Arlington County claims to be going for the gold certification for a Bike Friendly Community - they even - almost ironically - constructed a cycling totem pole at the Intersection of Doom spending piles of money on a counter instead of spending piles of money on risk mitigation and safety.

We are Arlington cyclists.  We are frustrated.  We want to know: How will you fix the Intersection of Doom.

Candidates, we will be glad to post any updated responses.