The Town of Herndon is looking to improve the designs of Ferndale Avenue and the Park Avenue and Monroe Street intersection, two spots with histories of crashes.
Staff with the town’s Department of Public Works will present their initial proposals for the two projects at a community meeting tonight (Thursday) in the town council’s chambers at 765 Lynn Street. The meeting is scheduled to last from 7-8:30 p.m., and Spanish translation services will be available.
“Your input is highly valued and will help shape the direction of our initiative as we work toward making improvements,” the town said in the meeting notice.
The town added Ferndale Avenue to its capital improvements program (CIP) for fiscal years 2025-2030 earlier this year, but requests for traffic calming and design changes between Park Avenue and Herndon Parkway date back to before 2020.
According to the town, that segment has a history of “both angle and side-swipe crashes,” and driver sight lines have been an issue due to parked vehicles and the curve of the road.
Staff indicated in the draft CIP that the improvements under consideration include curb bump outs, more clearly defined parking areas, narrowed vehicle travel lanes, and additional sidewalks, curb ramps and crosswalks.
“This project will re-evaluate the roadway configuration to include marked parking lanes and curb extensions at several intersections,” the town says, listing increased sight distance for both drivers and pedestrians and reduced impermeable surface among the potential project benefits.
At Park Avenue and Monroe Street, town staff are considering “enhanced signage,” traffic calming tools that slow down drivers, and adjustments to make the curve of the road both more conspicious and easier to navigate, per the meeting notice.
According to the town, the intersection “has a history of property damage crashes,” particularly in the northwest and southwest quadrants.
For those unable to attend tonight’s meeting, the public works department says it will accept additional comments by email at public.works@herndon-va.gov and by phone at 703-435-6853.
While working on projects for specific sites, Herndon recently received federal funding to develop a town-wide road safety action plan, which will analyze crash data to identify sites for improvements. The grant will also be used to make sidewalks and crosswalks more accessible for people with disabilities and implement “targeted safety enhancements” for roads with the highest crash rates, the town said in a press release.
Screenshot via Google Maps
