Transportation officials consider solutions for pedestrian safety on Route 7

State and local officials are considering quick fixes to improve pedestrian safety on Leesburg Pike in Bailey’s Crossroads but actual long-term solutions are years away.

At a virtual meeting of Fairfax Families for Safe Streets (FX-FSS) June 6, John Lynch, VDOT’s Northern Virginia district engineer, said his office is looking at several short-term solutions, such as striping, but capital projects are a significant investment.

Lynch said VDOT and the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) are working together to mitigate risk on the Leesburg Pike corridor. However, VDOT is constrained by limited resources and the need to follow certain procedures.

Leesburg Pike (Route 7) from Bailey’s Crossroads to Seven Corners is one of the most dangerous corridors in Fairfax County. FX-FSS is particularly concerned with the north side of the 5900 block, where a pedestrian was killed in December. That block doesn’t have sidewalks and has several vehicle entrances, with heavy traffic coming in and out of a gas station and shopping center.

FX-FSS has urged VDOT to improve safety along the Route 7 corridor by adding sidewalks, reducing the speed limit, increasing the shoulder width, adding more mid-block signals and crosswalks, and improving street lighting.

VDOT plans to present several ideas to improve safety at a community meeting later this month, including increasing the time pedestrians have to cross the street and adding pedestrian striping to the 5900 block.

VDOT is also working on a study on vehicle speeds on Route 7, Lynch said. Enforcement of traffic laws is important, too, he said, and that is becoming more difficult with limited resources.

“People are just crazy,” Lynch said, in reference to speeders. “It’s frightening sometimes.”

Related story: Leesburg Pike unsafe for pedestrians

FX-FSS member Phil Kemelor suggested the speed limit on Leesburg Pike be lowered from 40 to 25 mph and, as an interim step, install signs that tell drivers how fast they’re going. Lynch said those signs only work if there’s a law enforcement officer nearby.

FCDOT Director Tom Biesiadny said the county is looking at adding a signalized crosswalk on the 5900 block. FCDOT has the money for a study to determine what kind of signal will work best and where it should be located. The results of the study are expected in early 2023.

The agency will then discuss the recommendations with the community and look for funding to implement the new signal, Biesiadny said. That could take another two or three years.

The signal is needed now, said Sonya Breehey of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG), as residents risk their lives running across the street in the middle of the block to get to a bus stop and shopping center.

As part of a Safe Streets project, CSG and CASA surveyed Culmore residents on their safety concerns. The two biggest priorities of residents are the need for a greater police presence to address crime and the need for better streetlights to eliminate dark spots at night.

Related story: Culmore residents join the fight for safe streets

Several people suggested Fairfax County provide more funding for pedestrian safety to fill in the gaps. Deputy County Executive Rachel O’Dwyer Flynn noted the Board of Supervisors approved $5 million for pedestrian and bicycle safety.

Mason Supervisor Penny Gross injected a word of caution. “The Board of Supervisors has over time been reluctant to take on financial responsibilities that the state is supposed to fund,” Gross said. “We have to be very careful about raising expectations.”

VDOT will see an influx of funds from the federal infrastructure bill, Lynch noted. Those funds will flow into the state’s existing transportation programs, including Smart Scale and State of Good Repair. Localities compete with one another to get their projects funded.

The current formula for allocating Smart Scale funds prioritizes projects to reduce traffic congestion. Lynch suggested VDOT could consider placing a higher priority on pedestrian and bicycle safety in future funding rounds.