WASHINGTON — A pedestrian walkway in Arlington’s Seven Corners neighborhood has a problem with trash and human waste.
Some neighbors who use the foot bridge over Route 50 near Wilson Boulevard say they believe vagrants sleeping in the stairwells are responsible for urine and feces found periodically in the stairways. Neighbor Larry Hegen blames day workers who gather in a shopping center at the foot of the walkway stairs to wait for potential employers.
The issue of sanitation at that footbridge has been on the radar since as far back as 2010 when a blogger for Greater Greater Washington noted solid walls that limit visibility into stairwells are friendly to loiterers.
Fairfax County Supervisor Penny Gross tells ABC7 a $100,000 design change to increase stairwell visibility is not likely to be adopted by Virginia’s Department of Transportation that built and owns the bridge.
A spokesman for VDOT tells ABC the transportation department only is responsible for the bridge’s structural integrity.
The footbridge does have a long ramp pedestrians can use to avoid the stinky stairwells. Neighbors say someone cleans the area every so often but they don’t know who does the work. Also, black trash bags are tied to chain link fencing on stair platforms even if they’re not always used.
