The renaming of Lee Highway to Langston Boulevard was an important step in the process to create a more welcoming, walkable, green, equitable, and economically vibrant community, and the final step in that process was finding a new name for Route 309, commonly referred to as "Old Lee Highway" (see map below). The desire to rename "Old" Lee Highway stemmed from the concern regarding both the words "Lee" and "Highway" - removing the name “Lee” was an important step towards racial reconciliation in our community and the word "Highway" did not adequately represent the road typology - in addition to the concern regarding the longstanding struggle with wayfinding and the directional confusion this roadway often caused.
Through the initial renaming process, Arlington County Staff suggested renaming "Old" Lee Highway "Old Dominion Drive." LBA and those living on "Old" Lee Highway expressed concerns that the name "Old Dominion Drive" would cause further confusion for drivers and emergency vehicles. After addressing these concerns with the County Board, LBA was given the go ahead to conduct an abbreviated renaming process for "Old" Lee Highway with the expectation being that 2-3 name suggestions would be delivered to the Board at their October 2021 meeting.
LBA formed a Working Group that was made up of Civic Association leaders, "Old" Lee Highway residents, and condominiums representatives. The Working Group presented their preferred name of Cherry Hill Road this Fall. Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board approved of the name in January.
As for the reasoning behind the name choice, the Working Group stated in a letter to the County, “Cherry Hill Road is the historic name of the area just up the hill from Cherrydale. Cherry Hill can also be seen as a blending of the Cherrydale and Waverly Hills neighborhoods. Dorsey Donaldson originally named this area Cherrydale because of the many cherry trees in the area, some of which are still here today.”
WHAT PORTION OF THE ROAD WAS RENAMED?
Through the initial renaming process, Arlington County Staff suggested renaming "Old" Lee Highway "Old Dominion Drive." LBA and those living on "Old" Lee Highway expressed concerns that the name "Old Dominion Drive" would cause further confusion for drivers and emergency vehicles. After addressing these concerns with the County Board, LBA was given the go ahead to conduct an abbreviated renaming process for "Old" Lee Highway with the expectation being that 2-3 name suggestions would be delivered to the Board at their October 2021 meeting.
LBA formed a Working Group that was made up of Civic Association leaders, "Old" Lee Highway residents, and condominiums representatives. The Working Group presented their preferred name of Cherry Hill Road this Fall. Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board approved of the name in January.
As for the reasoning behind the name choice, the Working Group stated in a letter to the County, “Cherry Hill Road is the historic name of the area just up the hill from Cherrydale. Cherry Hill can also be seen as a blending of the Cherrydale and Waverly Hills neighborhoods. Dorsey Donaldson originally named this area Cherrydale because of the many cherry trees in the area, some of which are still here today.”
WHAT PORTION OF THE ROAD WAS RENAMED?
