Permits proposed for areas that restrict cut-through traffic
Fairfax County is considering adding a permit component to the “residential cut-through traffic mitigation program.”
At its Jan. 14 meeting, the Board of Supervisors agreed to hold a public hearing on the permit proposal. The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 18 at 4 p.m.
The measure would add a section to the county code to establish a permit program for residents who live in neighborhoods where cut-through traffic is prohibited during certain times of the day. The permits, or stickers, would allow residents to make turns in and out of those areas when such turns are otherwise prohibited.
The cut-through traffic mitigation program currently applies to three neighborhoods, including two in Mason District: the Sleepy Hollow Road/Carolyn Drive/Nicholson Street community and the Columbia Pike/Downing Street/Oxford Street community. The third is in Great Falls.
Drivers on Sleepy Hollow Road, for example, are prohibited from making turns onto Carolyn Drive and Nicholson Street during specified times. Drivers on Columbia Pike are similarly prohibited from turning onto Downing Street or Oxford Street.
The county proposes an annual fee of $24 for a permit. Non-residents and residents who decline to purchase a permit would be required to enter the neighborhood using an alternate, unrestricted entrance which might be less convenient.
Permits would only be available for residents of addresses in the designated permit zone. There would be no limit on the number of permits available per address. However, all residents’ vehicles for which a permit is sought must be registered at the permit address.
The ordinance calls for the Fairfax County Police Department to enforce the permit requirement.
The three affected neighborhoods have different community characteristics, which means the proposed ordinance would affect the program’s impact on equity.
The Sleepy Hollow cut-through area is in a census tract with low vulnerability, a description of the permit proposal states. The Columbia Pike/Downing Street/Oxford Street community is in a high-vulnerability census tract.
The permit program “could enhance equity by allowing communities who may otherwise suffer from cut-through traffic to remove that traffic without being penalized by the restriction itself,” the county states. “However, this could create issues in adjacent communities if that cut-through traffic shifts to other roadways.”
Another equity consideration would be the cost of permits. Residents who can’t afford the permit fee would have less access to their neighborhood than those who purchase a permit.
Because the permit program would be new and because it would have both benefits and drawbacks, staff has not determined a definitive positive or negative equity impact.
