Petition seeks traffic light where teen was killed crossing Columbia Pike
Following the horrific crash on Columbia Pike Nov. 16 that killed Justice High School student Lesly Diaz Bonilla, local residents are stepping up their advocacy for safer streets.
The Project-Based Initiative for Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore is publicizing a petition on behalf of the Barcroft View Apartments and the greater Culmore community urging the Fairfax County and Virginia transportation departments “to do more to protect this community.”
The PBI is a collaborative effort spearheaded by George Mason University aimed at increasing community engagement and encouraging residents to advocate for improvements.
Related story: Teen fatally struck by car on Columbia Pike
Community representatives will bring the signatures to FCDOT, VDOT, and the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 16. Sign the petition on Change.org here.
“We desperately need a proper traffic light at the intersection” on Columbia Pike and Tyler Street where Lesly lost her life while walking to school, the petition states.
That intersection, in front of the entrance to the Barcroft View Apartments, “is extremely dangerous and there are numerous accidents each week within a quarter-mile radius of this location (between Lacy Boulevard and Blair Road),” the petition says.
The community also wants the speed limit lowered to no more than 25 mph on that section of Columbia Pike. The speed limit is currently 35 mph.
Related story: GMU project engages with residents of Culmore and Bailey’s Crossroads
“We have hundreds of young students, families, and other community members using the crosswalks, the Metrobus stops, the service roads, and school bus stops in this area,” the petition says. “The current crosswalks and signage do not work with the volume of traffic present in that area.”
The community also requests “the new safety measures be named in memory of Lesly Diaz Bonilla, whose life was cut short at only 17 years old. We strongly believe that she would still be with us if there was a proper traffic light or crosswalk at this intersection.”
I signed it. But I don’t think another traffic light is needed for there is one at Lacey. What would work is a pedestrian flashing light triggered by the push of a button. Arlington has installed these on Columbia Pike and these seem to be effective. Once the button is pushed by a pedestrian that needs to cross, flashing yellow lights come on and cars are required to stop. Based on my observations, they do. A simple yield sign is useless unless accompanied by something that alerts drivers and get their attention.
I signed it. But I don’t think another traffic light is needed for there is one at Lacey. What would work is a pedestrian flashing light triggered by the push of a button. Arlington has installed these on Columbia Pike and these seem to be effective. Once the button is pushed by a pedestrian that needs to cross, flashing yellow lights come on and cars are required to stop. Based on my observations, they do. A simple yield sign is useless unless accompanied by something that alerts drivers and get their attention. It’s a tragedy that this young girl lost her life.
they always wanna do something when its too late what a stupid committee baileys crossroads is just a death zone for people that have no transportation.
There are too many lights in odd places right now. Pedestrian cross lights would be better. Pedestrians also actually using crosswalks which is a long standing issue on Columbia Pike and Route 50. I see pedestrians running across the street not at intersections or lights because they don’t want to walk half a block to a safe crossing point.
The US Department of Transportation notes “ marked crosswalks alone are insufficient for roads with higher speeds (over 40 mph) or multilane roads carrying over 12,000 vehicles per day.” Columbia Pike in 2019 was at over 24,000 vehicles per day. Also its about 440 feet between Tyler and Lacy Blvd, so more than a football field in distance. People tend to walk the shortest distance. Plus Tyler St is a natural path to Lake St, Culmore, Bailey’s Elementary, the library, and on to Justice High School.
Good point.
Nobody cares about rules anymore, nobody trusts the government, and nobody cares about the safety of illegal immigrants. The name of that school is JEB Stuart.
Move to Mar-a-Lago, your buddy is waiting for you to take you on a one way trip to Russia. I hear they have great accommodations, cage and all.
How many “vax” shots does it take to be “maxed” and have you had covid?
How about a pedestrian bridge instead that would allow traffic to flow and safe crossing for pedestrians? Or we could just make the speed limit 5mph on every road, traffic lights at every intersection and speed humps required every 100 feet.
That won’t happen, Columbia Pike is not Rt 50. If the police would patrol instead of hanging out at the local Starbucks and patrolling our streets, we might be able to make some inroads to suspending the licenses of aggressive drivers. Pedestrian crosswalk yellow alert signs at crosswalks and speed cameras could help allot, especially given the police are no where to be found, except at the Starbucks and the Mason District Park parking lot.
Like the idea of pedestrian lights but is there any information about their effectiveness?