Planning Commission defers decision on Gallows Road project
Following an Oct. 7 hearing on a rezoning proposal to allow a housing development on Gallows Road, the Fairfax County Planning Commission voted to defer a final decision to Oct. 14.
The developer, Madison Home, wants to demolish 11 homes across from Woodburn Elementary School and replace them with 32 single-family homes. The Board of Supervisors approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment on Aug. 25 to facilitate the development.
The main issue for the Planning Commissioners and community members is traffic and pedestrian safety on Gallows Road. Many drivers ignore the flashing yellow beacon at the crosswalk in front of the school, and there have been numerous near misses in that location.
Mason District Planning Commissioner Alis Wang made the motion to defer a decision because she said the developer should pay for at least part of the cost for two proposed traffic signals.
Related story: Community groups urge the county to fix Gallows Road traffic issues before approving new housing
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s Gallows Road Study, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, recommends two paired, three-way traffic signals at Aston Street and Hemlock Drive. The signals would be synchronized under one controller.
Most of the funding for the signals would come from FCDOT, but VDOT might contribute as well. It’s not known when funding will be available.
Land use attorney Kathy Taylor, representing Madison Homes, said the developer has not proposed a proffer to cover the cost of the signals because the developer has already agreed to other proffers related to traffic, including a bus shelter and the elimination of several driveways on Gallows.
Also, she said, the traffic signals won’t bring a major benefit to the residents of the new homes.
Gallows Road currently has an average of 25,000 daily trips, said a representative from FCDOT. The new development would only add about 330 trips a day.
Some contribution toward the cost of the traffic signals “would be a good faith effort to respond to neighborhood concerns,’’ said Planning Commission Chair Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner. “It would be a catalyst for addressing a long-term problem.”
“This application is consistent with the Gallows Road study,” Taylor said. “If something comes out of that study, we have proffers that allow us to be flexible.” The developer is willing to contribute to a fourth traffic signal if recommended by FCDOT and VDOT.
To allow a new access point from a proposed private road in the development between Wheatwheel Lane and Hemlock Drive, VDOT would have to approve a traffic management exception, as it would be too close to an existing intersection.
An FCDOT representative explained how the two new signals would work:
- When both lights on Gallows are green in both directions, the lights on Hemlock Drive and Aston Street to Gallows will be red.
- When the lights from Hemlock are green, all the others will be red.
- When the lights on Aston are green, all the others will be red.
If there is another light from a proposed interior road in the housing development to Gallows Road, the pairing won’t work, so the interior road won’t be connected to Gallows Road. (See the yellow star on the map.)
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a hearing on the rezoning proposal on Oct. 27.