Lincoln Avenue is a 1-mile-long residential roadway located on the north side of the City of Falls Church and connects Arlington County to the City. Driving northwest of Arlington, it crosses several residential streets until it terminates in Fairfax County. Lincoln Avenue has been the subject of several requests by neighbors and coordinated community development efforts to install traffic calming devices, improve sidewalks, and increase the number of City trees on the street.
Lincoln Avenue is situated so that it acts as a drainage divide in the upper portions of the City’s two major watersheds. These areas are good places to install green infrastructure in the effort to increase water quality and reduce downstream flows. In addition, there are roads and structures that are subject to flooding near Lincoln Avenue, North West Street, Steeples Court, and Park Avenue.
The Greening of Lincoln Project includes two main components, Pedestrian Safety/Traffic Calming and Stormwater Improvements. The project addresses these components by:
Improving sidewalks and sidewalk ramps on the south side of Lincoln from North West Street to the Arlington County Line by bringing them up to compliance and alleviating the issues with utility poles being in the path of pedestrian traffic. Sidewalk improvements will also be planned for the area around Lincoln Park. Traffic calming devices will be installed, including improved pedestrian crossings locations from North West Street to the Arlington County Line to decrease speeds and improve pedestrian safety.
Constructing green infrastructure and other stormwater facilities at key drainage points at locations along Lincoln Avenue including adding vegetation. Two locations drain to Trammel Branch where the installation of GI with detention qualities will help alleviate flooding along the tributary and help improve water quality in the Four Mile Run Watershed. Another location that drains into Coe Branch will focus on detention to improve downstream flooding problems as well as treat street runoff.