Culmore residents join the fight for safe streets
Members of the Culmore immigrant community and representatives of advocacy groups gathered for a rally on Leesburg Pike aimed at highlighting the need for safer streets and sidewalks.
The event was hosted by CASA and the Coalition for Smarter Growth. It’s part of their Safe Streets for Bailey’s Crossroads campaign.
There have been several pedestrian fatalities along Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads in recent years, the most recent one in December. In 2021, there were three bicycle and pedestrian crashes with injuries.
Related story: Groups launch Safe Streets campaign
Residents report that many crashes have occurred because of a lack of street lights, signals, and pedestrian crossings.
“We ask Fairfax County officials to take the lead and work for our community,” said Culmore resident Nancy Valverde. “We ask Fairfax County to properly illuminate the roads; put in automated lights, speed reducers, marked signaling for pedestrians; and make our roads safer for the community.”
After the rally, CASA members fanned out across the community, asking residents to share their experiences as pedestrians and encouraging them to sign on as Safe Streets advocates.
The Virginia Department of Transportation has agreed to consider some improvements but is not moving fast enough, said Sonya Breehey, Northern Virginia advocacy manager for the Coalition for Smarter Grown.
VDOT supports installing a mid-block crosswalk on Leesburg Pike between Glen Carlyn Drive and Glen Forest Drive with a flashing beacon or a HAWK (High-intensity Activated crosswalk) beacon to stop traffic for pedestrians and, possibly, a raised median. That would require a VDOT study, Breehey said.
VDOT would also consider reducing the speed limit – it’s currently 40 mph – on that stretch of Leesburg Pike and installing a sidewalk. Those improvements also would require studies.
“Our goal is to share the sidewalk project concepts, a feasibility analysis of controlled crossing, and related improvements by mid-June,” Claudia Llana, director of Fairfax/Arlington Counties for VDOT, wrote in an email.
Related story: Leesburg Pike unsafe for pedestrians
“Preliminary cost estimates of any proposed improvements will consider costs to complete the design, acquire right of way/easements, relocate/adjust utilities as needed, and construct the improvement,” Llana said.
Those improvements could take two years to implement.
Fairfax Families for Safe Streets, which also participated in the rally, urges VDOT to design and install interim measures that accomplish safety benefits in a shorter time frame – ideally by summer 2022.
“Given the crash history on Route 7, the safety needs are urgent. Crashes are not going to stop while the longer-term projects are being planned and implemented,” said FFSS board member Phil Kemelor.
3 responses to “Culmore residents join the fight for safe streets”
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Route 7, along all of 7-corners and Bailey’s Crossroads is a dangerous mess. I’ve seen minimal improvements in 35 years. Most of the intersections need much more dedicated infrastructure for pedestrians. There is a big problem with speeding and aggressive driving. Really much needs to be done and can be done to make it safer and with some sense of urgency.
We desperately need medians on Leesburg Pike. Try crossing seven lanes of traffic when cars are going 20 miles over the speed limit, especially when it’s dark outside. Good luck with that. It’s hard enough just to drive through it. The speed limit does need to be lowered and traffic lights need to be timed correctly so that the West End of Baileys Crossroads is not a speedway.