The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

Concerning your article on the work being done on the corner of N. Henderson Road and North Thomas St. [See Roadwork Begins on Henderson and Thomas, May 11, 2009. --ST.]

It is of course long over-due, particularly when you are going northwest on Thomas crossing Henderson from the southeast corner. I have long felt that between the signage and the poles Henderson Road traffic was dangerously blocked from seeing pedestrians.

However in the initial stages of the construction the affirmation "The work will make a dangerous intersection a little more pedestrian friendly” was perhaps misplaced.

I am visually impaired and was rushing for a county birding trip leaving Lubber Run at 7.00a.m. on May 12, not having known about the project. When I rushed across Henderson on the west side of Thomas, I found a ditch, almost falling in to it. I was close to the corner, but there were no construction barriers, (ribbons or plastic barrels) warning me of the situation. I went down the North side of Henderson a little way, and decided to go to the other side, jumping over the ditch that had been dug along Henderson and crossing to the other side before going on my way.

It was nice to see, when I next visited the general area this past Tuesday, that they had placed barriers on the southwest corner where they had dug a new ditch.
Hopefully the later case represents the normal practice.

Louis Quay
Buckingham

Labels: intersection, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 7:06 AM 0 comments

Crimson Urban, Inc., owners of 650 N. Glebe Rd., are looking to redevelop that parcel of land where the Goodyear Auto Service Center now stands.

“This application is requesting approval for a five (5)-story approximately 115 unit residential building with approximately 9,234 square feet of ground floor retail,” a letter from the owner’s lawyers states.

Current zoning allows for a four-storey mixed use building, which means the developer will have to go before the county’s Site Plan Review Committee, a sub-set of the Planning Commission, for approval.

The letter says that the apartments will be “reasonably priced,” that the building will have 146 parking spaces, and that the building will try to receive 26 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design credits from the U.S. Green Building Council.

County planners and residents have long wanted to improve pedestrian safety at the corner of N. Glebe and N. Carlin Springs roads where the building sits.

“This may be our chance to negotiate the overhead crosswalk over N. Glebe we've been discussing for years. I hope to make this part of the discussions,” wrote Pat Hope, the Buckingham Community Civic Association president in an email. That crosswalk would connect to the Goodyear site to the Ballston Common Mall parking lot. Mr. Hope forwarded the attorney’s letter to the HeraldTrib.

The U.S. Green Building Council, an independent group, has four levels of certification. A LEED credit score from 26 to 32 is “certified,” from 33 to 38 is “silver,” from 39 to 51 is “gold,” and platinum buildings range from 52 to 69 possible points, according to the council’s web site.

The current zoning allows for four storeys. The building under construction on N. Thomas Street, near the Goodyear, is covered under the same zoning and is being built “by right” meaning basically that it is staying within current zoning.

Glebe and Carlin Q&A: No Changes to Pedestrian Crossing Times (July 12, 2007)

A Decade for New Lights and Curb Cuts (July 11, 2007)

Pedestrian Meeting Coming to Bham (June 25, 2007).

Labels: Carlin Springs, Glebe, intersection, pedestrian, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:18 AM 2 comments

Labels: CVS, Glebe, intersection, pershing, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 7:33 AM 1 comments

The $123,000 project is likely to get funded as it is Buckingham’s first time to ask for funding through this source, and it is the top priority in the Buckingham Neighborhood Conservation Plan. The project has 65 “points,” (a scale used to rank projects). No other project has more than 65 points.

Patrick Hope, the Buckingham Community Civic Association president, has said in the past and reiterated in an email, that the project has a very slim chance of failure.

If funded, the project should be completed in about a year, said county planner Dan Reinhard, at a meeting in March.

Pedestrian Safety and Visibility Are Topics of Meeting

BCCA Neighborhood Conservation Plan

NCAC Projects 2008

Labels: henderson, intersection, redevelopment, thomas street

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 5:16 AM 0 comments

Bruce Quantic, Derby, Kansas

The writer is referring to this video of the recent ribbon cutting at the intersection of N. Glebe Road and N. Pershing Drive. He is also my father-in-law. --ST

Labels: Glebe, intersection, pershing

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 8:52 AM 0 comments

Great pictures and video of the intersection! Thanks!

Brian Berger

To see the slide and video show, click here. --ST

Labels: Glebe, intersection, pershing, renovation

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:02 AM 0 comments

It has been so long in coming that people cannot even recall when the whole process began, but the date it ended was Thursday May 22, 2008, when county board members and local civic leaders snipped the ceremonial ribbon on a N. Pershing Drive bus shelter, ending a tumultuous process of renovation at N. Pershing’s intersection with N.Glebe Road.

The process started, most likely, in 2000, when county staff organized the “Buckingham Charette” and the idea for improving pedestrian safety and designing common sense traffic patterns was discussed. The idea quickly became part of the Neighborhood Strategy Area Plan, written in 2000.

In late 2002 and early 2003, the county was saying this project would be completed “by spring.” But county staff cited troubles working with the many people and businesses that own the property and buildings, troubles working with the slow-moving Virginia Department of Transportation, and concerns raised by the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board.

So much was slowed down that staff chose to cut sculptures from the project and instead limit the “arts portion” to etched-glass bus shelters.

The irony of this is that in the intervening years, the property on that corner has risen in value, and the CVS and Glebe Market buildings will be torn down and rebuilt if current plans are executed. The new curb cuts and landscaping on the west side of N. Glebe Road are not consistent with the plans for the new buildings.

Videos and images from yesterday’s event and some more history are a included as part of the following video. Links to stories covering this renovation appear below the video.

Six months is the maximum the company, A&M Concrete Corporation, has to finish this portion of the job, which includes new sidewalks, gutters and curbs. The utility poles will disappear during this portion of the project, as the utilities are already running underground.

Traffic will be delayed during the project, but that may be nothing compared to other delays throughout the history of the project.

Delays, especially in getting all of the interested parties to sign the necessary easements, have plagued this project for years. Officials at the county originally thought it would have been completed in 2003. Every year, or so, the county would adjust its estimated start time.

It was almost a year ago that the utility companies began running their wires underground, leaving the corner with “topped off” utility poles and dirt patches where sidewalks used to be.

Board Approves Contract for Intersection Redevelopment

Art on the Four Corners

This Should Be the Summer for Pershing/Glebe

Progress Slow at Pershing/Glebe

Labels: intersection, redevelopment

// posted by Steve Thurston @ 9:12 AM 0 comments