Pedestrian Safety, Affordable Transportation NVTC's Top Concerns

FAIRFAX, VA — Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik was sworn in as the new chairwoman of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission at its monthly meeting in Arlington on Thursday.

“It has been an honor to have served as NVTC’s Secretary-Treasurer and Vice-Chair these past two years," Palchik told Patch, in an email. "I am thrilled to accept this new role as Chair and be able to represent and be a voice for my community. I am looking forward to working with our neighboring jurisdictions and the Commission at large to provide additional transit options and improve safety for our commuters.”

Outgoing Chair Canek Aguirre swore in Palchik for the one-year term. In addition, Arlington County Board Member Matt de Ferranti and Falls Church City Council Member were sworn in as the 2023 vice-chair and secretary-treasurer, respectively.

Palchik is the first Latina to chair the group tasked with promoting transit solutions in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties, as well as in the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church.

When asked what were the most pressing transportation issues facing Fairfax County and the region at large, Palchick said pedestrian safety was a topped the list.

Read: Pedestrian Deaths In Fairfax County Surge To Decade High In 2022

“Pedestrian safety has been at the forefront of community concerns here in Fairfax," Palchik said. "Last year, more than 20 pedestrians were involved in fatal crashes. All of us need to work together to ensure our streets are safe and pedestrian safety remains a top priority."

Drivers in Fairfax County struck and killed at least 29 pedestrians in 2022, the most pedestrian deaths in a single year in the county since at least 2010, according to state data.

The increase in pedestrian deaths in Fairfax County follows a national trend. In 2021, drivers struck and killed an estimated 7,485 people on foot in the U.S., the most pedestrian deaths in a single year in four decades and an average of 20 deaths every day, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Last June, two Oakton High School students were struck and killed while they were walking home on Blake Lane in the Providence District, which Palchik represents on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

In the months following the fatal collision, Palchik met with residents along the Blake Lane Corridor and introduced measures that the board approved for new signage and higher traffic fines along the stretch of road located north of Fairfax City.

As more and more people move to Northern Virginia, the need for accessible and affordable transportation was essential for the region's growth, Palchik said. She was eager for the NVTC to identify creative and effective solutions to meet that need.

"We also look forward to making progress on the planning for the Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit system connecting Tysons and Alexandria by way of Falls Church and Seven Corners, the opening of the Potomac Yard Metro station, developing a strategic plan to help Northern Virginia’s bus systems in the transition to zero-emission buses and reporting on the economic benefits of transit to the Commonwealth of Virginia," she said.