Improvements coming to Memorial Circle, GW Parkway, Mount Vernon Trail

The National Park Service is planning to install a series of safety improvements along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Memorial Circle and Mount Vernon Trail.

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, D-8th, requested the safety improvements following concerns from constituents regarding numerous accidents involving cars, pedestrians and cyclists.

“The health and safety of those commuting to work or simply exercising along the Potomac River should never be threatened due to poor infrastructure planning,” Moran said in a statement. “I am pleased the National Park Service has agreed to put needed fixes into the trails and roads surrounding Memorial Circle. With the scheduled improvements, tourists, commuters, pedestrians, and cyclists will be able to truly share the road.”

The safety improvements are scheduled to begin next week and should be completed by the fall. They include:

• Replacing many of the directional and regulatory signs at Memorial Circle and on Memorial Bridge;
• Installing rumble strips bumps to alert drivers before each of several specific crosswalk areas;
• Painting directional arrows, information and symbols directly onto the pavement to help drivers select proper lanes early; and
• Moving one crosswalk area from where there are two lanes to where it is only one lane wide.