A crash on Edsall Road highlights the need for a pedestrian signal

A crash on Nov. 11 on Edsall Road is reigniting Bren Mar Park residents’ efforts to push for pedestrian improvements.

There’s a crosswalk between the Bren Pointe, Jefferson Green, and the Isabella on one side of Edsall Road and the Bren Mar Pool and Bren Mar Park on the other side, but no traffic signal or pedestrian flashing lights.

The accident occurred just 100 yards beyond the crosswalk.

A 2022 white Kia Telluride T-boned a 2020 Toyota Highlander turning it completely upside down, the Fairfax County Police Department reports. The driver of the Toyota, an adult male, was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

That was the only reported crash in that area in 2024, FCPD states, but residents say there have been many near misses.

“That crash upset a lot of us,” says Bren Pointe resident Mary Bowen. She was in the crosswalk to get home from the pool this summer when several cars stopped for her but one whizzed right by nearly hitting her. “Incidents like that are almost daily. It’s scary.”

Edsall is a busy four-lane road with a speed limit of 35 mph. Residents of Bren Pointe, Jefferson Green, and the Isabella have free use of the Bren Mar Pool and often use the walking trails and pickleball and tennis courts in the park. So the white-striped crosswalk gets a lot of use.

There’s often a long wait to enter the crosswalk as most cars don’t stop for pedestrians. “You either have to walk to Winter View Drive where there’s a traffic signal or put your life in your hands to cross the street,” Bowen says.

Jefferson Green residents attempted to get a signalized pedestrian light years ago. Then when the townhouse project, later named Bren Pointe, was approved by the Board of Supervisors in 2016, the developer agreed to a proffer for a traffic signal if approved by VDOT – or at the least a flashing light.

Since then, the community has been completely built out, and “there has been no movement to get something done,” says Bowen, who serves on the Bren Pointe HOA board and is spearheading action on adding pedestrian improvements to the crosswalk.

VDOT conducted a pedestrian study a couple of years ago, which found pedestrian improvements weren’t needed. Bowen says that study was flawed. It was done when the pool was closed and Bren Pointe was still under construction.

“Now it’s in a holding pattern,” she says. VDOT is considering another study but it’s not clear when, or if, that will happen.

Whether the improvements can be done is a matter of negotiation among VDOT; Fairfax County; the Bren Pointe developer Tri Pointe Homes; and the HOA.

Staff from Mason Supervisor Andres Jimenez’ office is working on the issue, but told Bowen it’s not likely anything can be done before 2026.  

“Pedestrian safety is not just a priority of mine, but the entire Board of Supervisors, as we are dedicating $100 million in pedestrian and active transportation improvements throughout the county,” Jimenez told Annandale Today. “I will continue to push for improvements throughout the district as funding becomes available.”

Fairfax County is still holding bond money from Tri Pointe in escrow, which won’t be released until the improvements promised in the proffers are met.

The HOA paid a consultant to come up with a list of items Tri Pointe is supposed to fix, including cracked sidewalks, chipped curbs, and stormwater issues, as well as the crosswalk improvements.

“Tri Pointe is slow. They’re not in a rush to get the money back,” Bowen says. “It’s been challenging.”