Intro to Seminary Road Committee’s Mission
Seminary Road is the entrance to and exit from our neighborhood for every street and every home save for the West Ridge Townhouses (on Rayburn Ave., Harding Ave., and Sibley St.) As such, we are heavily dependent on Seminary Road for our mobility and accessibility by a variety of modes – auto, transit, bicycle, walking, et al. As the City and adjacent area of the nearby County have grown in the 46 years the Seminary West Civic Association has been serving the neighborhood, we have all seen the quality of operation and the safety of Seminary Road degrade significantly in the segment from I-395 to the City/County line just west of Dawes Ave. With frequent crashes, clogged traffic in some hours, and speeding traffic in others, it is the sense of the SWCA Board that many of us do not feel safe on Seminary Road, and that something needs to be done by the City and the Commonwealth via VDOT (as Seminary Road is VA Route 420, a primary highway of Virginia).
To develop a better understanding of the full dimensions of our neighborhood’s concerns with Seminary Road, and what can be done about those concerns, the SWCA Board has appointed a committee to lead the way. The Committee members are:
Victoria Waskowicz, Chair
Ron McNeely
Elizabeth Dahouk
Les Jackson (Seminary Park President)
Owen Curtis (SWCA President)
Several on the Committee has already met with City staff from Transportation & Environmental Service (T&ES), such that they are aware of our concerns, and a dialogue regarding problems, data needs, potential solutions, et al, has been established. The Committee will shortly be distributing a survey of SWCA residents (you do NOT have to be a member to participate) to gather your views such that our path forward is as representative as possible of how the community in general feels.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Committee directly, in addition to responding to the survey. You can reach us via email at SafetyOnSeminary@gmail.com.