Letters to the Editor: Fix the Unsafe Intersection in Front of Charles Barrett Elementary

Dear Old Town Patch Editor,
 
On Monday, March 28 (7:30 p.m.), the Alexandria Traffic & Parking Board will take up the long-overdue proposal to improve the unsafe intersection in front of Charles Barrett and modify parking along Martha Custis Drive along the school property.
 
The Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and the Barrett community overwhelmingly support the City's plan. 
 
It will dramatically improve the safety of children, parents and residents who now have to walk across an extremely wide and dangerous "Y"-shaped intersection. The plan calls for narrowing this section of road by turning the current configuration into a "T"-shaped intersection. This will be done by adding a curved, green-space bump-out on the section of road where Valley Drive connects with Martha Custis. The plan also calls for adding a raised, striped crosswalk and prominent signage.
 
The modified parking plan, meanwhile, is designed to enhance the flow of traffic along Martha Custis in front of Barrett, especially as parents drop off and pick up their children at school. It does this in part by legitimizing a situation that now is confusing, contradictory and unsafe. Among other things, it creates a 10-minute drop-off section near the Recreation Center fields, expands the time that parking is allowed on this side of Martha Custis and moves the school bus waiting area away from the main entrance of the school.
  
In addition to these changes, the PTA and Charles Barrett have pledged to conduct a massive parking and safety education campaign for parents and students. It should go without saying that we need to follow the rules-of-the road and be respectful of other drivers when we drop off and pick up our children. Barrett is a neighborhood school wants to remain a good neighbor, plain and simple.
 
That said, these changes do require some tradeoffs that are necessary to create a safer environment for everyone. While the parking plan would actually open up several new spaces, the intersection design results in the loss of two spaces in the immediate area. 
 
But here is the bottom line: The benefits of improving the safety of children, parents and residents who walk across this section of road far outweigh the loss of several parking spaces!
 
This is a sound plan that on balance will benefit the entire neighborhood. The intersection links Parkfairfax with the Barrett school, the Barrett recreation center, and two Metro and Dash bus stops, all of which are community resources and public facilities. The current intersection is so hazardous and difficult to use that at some point, it's likely the intersection would need to be upgraded simply to enable the City to comply with disability access and accommodation requirements. If the City moves quickly now, grant funding is expected to be available to cover all of the anticipated intersection upgrade costs.
 
Finally, this plan has received full and transparent input from ACPS, Barrett and Parkfairfax communities. There have been three public meetings on the proposal, as well as a private meeting between representatives of ACPS, Barrett, Parkfairfax and the City. These meetings are in addition to the Feb. 28 public hearing held by the Parking & Traffic Board. In fact, the original plan has been significantly modified based on input from these meetings.

 It's time now to improve this section of road!
 
Sincerely,
Neal Learner, Charles Barrett PTA President

Renee Berman, PTA Vice President

Cindy Martinez, PTA President Elect

Candace Campbell, PTA Vice-president Elect

Karen Meyers, PTA Treasurer

Julie Coburn, PTA Secretary

Lorraine Keir, PTA Faculty Representative

Chalin Smith, Co-chair of PTA Traffic Safety Committee

Editor's Note: We'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to submit a letter to the editor, please send an e-mail to sharon.mcloone@patch.com and put "letter to the editor" in the subject line. Please include your telephone number and full name so that your letter can be verified.