Plan Review Aims To Make Roads Safer for Bicyclists, Pedestrians

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to start a review of the Department of Transportation’s (FCDOT) ActiveFairfax planning process, with the aim of making roads around the county safer for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to a press release.

Supervisors Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) and Rodney Lusk (Lee), chairs of the Board's Transportation Committee and Public Safety Committee, respectively, co-sponsored the board matter, which they introduced at the Tuesday, Jan. 28, BOS meeting.

“Sixteen pedestrian fatalities in our county in 2019 is too many," Alcorn said, in the release. "Most of our built environment is still designed for moving vehicles, which creates obvious conflicts and we need to evolve toward safer walking and cycling. Our motion seeks to coordinate efforts across county departments and VDOT as the ActiveFairfax is developed in order to optimize opportunities for our residents to get around safely without getting into a car, bus or train.”

Lusk and Alcorn asked FCDOT to review the following items to ascertain whether or not the safety infrastructure and program needs are being met:

• The working timeline for the ActiveFairfax Plan given the importance of this issue.
• The external communications strategy contemplated in the ActiveFairfax planning process.
• In conjunction with the ActiveFairfax Plan development, an evaluation of the current approach for funding pedestrian improvements (including how we braid funds from multiple and sometimes disparate sources).
• How the application of new technologies can help improve pedestrian and bicycle safety without waiting for finalization of the ActiveFairfax Plan.
• The ability of the County to establish and achieve measurable safety goals such as Vision Zero.

In seconding the motion, Lusk pointed to the two pedestrian deaths that occurred so far this year on Route One as evidence of the urgent need for this review.

“We’ve had two deaths in Lee District already this year,” Lusk said, in the release, “and in the past five years 7% of all pedestrian involved traffic injuries in our county occurred on the Corridor, as well as 11% of all pedestrian involved fatalities. There is no deadlier road in our County, or our Commonwealth. We need to move with a sense of urgency to address this public safety crisis.”

The next step will be for the Board of Supervisors Transportation and Public Safety committees to discuss the ActiveFairfax Plan at upcoming meetings.

Read the full board matter.