Speed limits on five Mason District roads will be reduced from 25 to 20 mph
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation is reducing the speed limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour on 10 roads across the county this fall, including these streets in Mason District:
- Patrick Henry Drive from Leesburg Pike to Beachway Drive.
- Peace Valley Lane on the west side of Justice High School.
- Beachway Drive from Patrick Henry Drive to Nevius Street.
- Nevius Street from Leesburg Pike to Beachway Drive.
- Blair Road from Beachway Drive to Glen Carlyn Drive.
The 20 mph speed limit pilot study will determine the impact of slower speeds on road safety.
In May 2024, the Virginia General Assembly granted local jurisdictions the authority to reduce speed limits on roads within business or residential districts that have a current speed limit of 25 mph in order to create a safer environment for walking, biking, and driving.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Transportation Committee recommended FCDOT carry out the 20 mph pilot study in the Dranesville, Mason, and Providence districts.
FCDOT identified the roads in the pilot study in coordination with the supervisors’ offices in those districts. The selection of roads considered several factors, including pedestrian activity; the presence of sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and transit stops; the presence of schools; the Fairfax County Vulnerability Index; and the results of a community survey.
Related story: FCDOT will study speed limit reductions to 20 mph
After the first three pilot zones are in place, FCDOT staff will work with the remaining supervisors’ offices to implement pilot study zones in additional districts.
The pilot study will be evaluated in early 2027.
The solution is not lowering the speed limit. The solution is enforcing the current one. This is just like changing the yield to pedestrian in a crosswalk to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. If they wouldn’t yield they sure as ….. are not going to stop.
Not sure how anyone could disagree with Will. A law without teeth means nothing. I live in this area. People drive 45 mph especially in the morning. I have never in 15 years seen a policeman pull over and ticket someone.
“This fall”. Not helpful. When, exactly? It’s already fall.
We saw signs on beachway.
Will is right. These are residential streets including a short stretch through the Lake Barcroft community plus one isolated street alongside the high school. They do not seem like accident-prone thoroughfares except perhaps a half hour before and after the school day. How this “study” contributes to county-wide traffic safety is hard to fathom.