Neighborhoods Use Broad Palette to Deter Traffic-Shortcut Artists

By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 26, 2008

Eric Merten of Burke jealously guards what he calls his "secret passage" between Braddock Road and Reston Parkway. He won't say how he does it because he is afraid other commuters will follow and clog it up.

With traffic on the Washington area's major thoroughfares becoming increasingly congested, many drivers are bailing off choked highways and cutting through residential neighborhoods. But those drivers face new obstacles: homeowners associations and local officials armed with weapons to slow, harass and make miserable those who stray from the beaten path.

Speed humps, rumble strips, four-way stop signs and traffic circles are cropping up along secondary roads to keep out cut-through artists such as Merten. In Montgomery County, many shortcuts ban through traffic during the morning and evening rush periods. In Fairfax County, the Kings Park area has done everything except dig a shark-infested moat around its ranches and split-levels to prevent speeding commuters from cutting through to Braddock Road.

Scores of commuters were using Southampton Drive in Kings Park every day to cut between Rolling and Braddock roads and avoid several stoplights and bumper-to-bumper congestion. The community petitioned for and added speed humps every block or so. The humps were followed by four-way stop signs, a 15-mph speed limit and concrete "bump-outs" that make the road seem narrower and cut speeds.

Drivers stopped using Southampton but switched to parallel Eastbourne Drive. The community took the unusual step of installing a concrete barrier to prevent a right turn onto Eastbourne. A "Do Not Enter" sign made it even more daunting.

So drivers took a left off Southampton and used Kings Park Drive. The community responded with more speed humps and speed restrictions. Then it brought out the heavy artillery: traffic circles.

"You can roll through a stop sign. You can't roll through a traffic circle," said John Cook, president of the Kings Park Civic Association. "They are confusing. People wait and wait while those who live in the neighborhood know when to go."

Many cut-through drivers say they have no alternative. Traffic is unbearable.

"We're all trying to figure out how to go because the main arteries are either clogged up or the lights are badly timed or whatever," Merten said.

Others use the title of cut-through artist as a point of pride.

"I take everything into consideration whenever I drive," said Leah Salvador, a Northern Virginia native. "My whole life has been commuting, and I know all the back roads," she said with a devilish smile. All the better to get around the transients, the tourists and other less-savvy drivers in Northern Virginia. That means knowing "which lanes are best and where all the traffic backs up."

When Salvador first became manager of the Little Gym in Springfield, she drove around the housing developments surrounding the strip mall and figured out which winding subdivision streets could be pieced together, looking for alternatives to two-lane Rolling Road, where the gym is located.

"I know where all the neighborhoods connect," she said.

Sharon S. Bulova, the Fairfax County supervisor who represents Kings Park, said the neighborhood's efforts reduced cut-through traffic by 60 percent.

"It really saved the community," Bulova (D-Braddock) said. "They used to have cars ending up on lawns trying to take a curve too fast. Parents were fearful for kids and pets. People were in a hurry and in commuter mode."

Chevy Chase and Bethesda have learned to combat cut-through artists by making it nearly impossible to get from Massachusetts Avenue to Wisconsin or Connecticut avenues via neighborhoods. Once-tempting streets now have an array of signs with so many prohibitions that drivers sometimes have to pull over to figure out whether and when to turn.

Signs at Bradley Boulevard and Kennedy Drive (an alluring alternative to the parallel, choked Little Falls Parkway) prohibit left or right turns during rush times. And trucks and buses weighing more than three-quarters of a ton can't drive through. However, the signs specifically allow emergency vehicles on Kennedy Drive's precious pavement.

Nancy Floreen, a Montgomery County Council member, said the county "wins the world prize on the footnotes we have on our street signs, like 'No right turn when the moon is full' sort of thing."

Floreen (D-At Large) said the prohibitions are a trade-off between keeping traffic flowing and keeping it out of residential neighborhoods.

Still, in some neighborhoods, even residents complain about living around so many restrictions, Floreen said.

Tracey Hughes of Somerset lives just off Dorset Avenue, which has the full complement of traffic humps, rumble strips, stop signs, crosswalk signs, electronic speed monitors and four-way stop signs at every block.

Hughes, who has lived in the neighborhood for six years, said the street doesn't appear to have too much traffic. But, she said, she assumes town leaders know what they are doing by installing the driving disincentives.

Arlington County has a novel approach to combat cut-through drivers. The confusing layout of many streets can so frustrate them that they give up and stick to the main arteries.

"Our neighborhoods aren't designed for speed," said Dennis Leach, transportation director for Arlington. "One, you're not going to save any time, and two, you might get lost."

Transportation officials say residents want it both ways. Everyone wants roads that are quick and congestion-free as long as those roads don't run in front of their homes. Instead of citylike street grids that distribute traffic evenly, suburban developments in recent decades have emphasized cul-de-sacs and winding streets that go nowhere and lacked through streets that could be used by outsiders.

That, said Ronald F. Kirby, transportation director of the Washington Council of Governments, forces almost all traffic onto arterial roads, which are barely able to handle it, especially during rush periods.

Bogged-down traffic on arteries pushes more traffic onto interstates, which were not designed for local trips. For example, Kirby said many motorists who use the Capital Beltway travel only an exit or two, an indication that regional arteries aren't doing their jobs.

Bulova said that as long as there is traffic, there will be cut-through artists but that rushing commuters need to keep in mind that the houses they drive past have people in them. "Motorists are very creative in Northern Virginia, and they pull out a map and find a way around," Bulova said. "That's okay, so long as people are driving respectfully and courteously."