Town of Herndon studies safety improvements for Spring Street area

Town of Herndon officials are studying improvements to the Spring Street area in response to residents’ concerns about walkability and safety.

After completing a speed study in September, Town Manager Bill Ashton II said the town has installed a speed sign between Wood Street and Bicksler Lane. The town plans to conduct a follow-up, three-day study in the first week of November to determine the impact of the sign.

The move comes after residents expressed concerns about walkability and crashes in the area.

Other improvements could be on the horizon, Ashton told the Herndon Town Council at a meeting on Oct. 11.

Town officials are also looking into traffic patterns on Alabama Drive to determine the feasibility of changes there.

“We are very cognizant of the fact that this is part of a larger transportation network,” Ashton said at the meeting.

Among the changes being contemplated on Spring Street is a three- or four-way stop sign. Town staff determined that Wood Street is the most appropriate place for the stop sign, but the town will have to remove two crepe myrtle trees that would block the sign.

“We are assessing what we are going to do when we move those crepe myrtles,” Ashton said.

The town will also move a 25 mph speed limit sign that’s covered by trees north closer to Bicksler Lane.

After a few months, the town will address other needed improvements, including striping crosswalks.

The town also plans to work with a traffic engineering and consultant to study cut-through traffic patterns on Locust Street. Another study is also in the works on pedestrian use of Nash Street.

Ashton said the town could leverage Safe Routes to School funding, a federal program, once it resumes next year.