FFX Groups Seek New Traffic Lights Near School As Gallows Road Development Advances

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Seven community and safety organizations are urging Fairfax County officials to require a developer proposing dozens of new homes along Gallows Road to install traffic signals near a local elementary school, citing pedestrian safety concerns at two intersections bordering the property.

The request comes ahead of a public hearing on the application scheduled for Wednesday.

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In an Oct. 2 letter to the Planning Commission, seven organizations representing 744 homes and more than 2,600 students, parents and residents asked commissioners to require additional transportation commitments before approving the application to build 32 new homes across from the school.

The groups are requesting that the developer, MS Gallows, install traffic signals on either side of the proposed development, one at Gallows Road and Aston Street and another at Gallows Road and Hemlock Drive if local and state studies find a need for them.

"The intersection of Gallows Road at Aston Street and Hemlock Dr. in front of Woodburn Elementary School and the site of this application has been identified as the most dangerous road for pedestrians in all of Mason District with fifteen reports of near misses between January 2024-July 2026," the letter reads.

According to a report by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, children were present in 74% of pedestrian near-miss incidents in the district, and that speed was often a factor in the incidents.

A Fairfax County Public Schools student was killed while riding a bicycle in the county in September, just days after another FCPS high school student was hit by a car.

Signatories to the letter include the Holmes Run Acres Civic Association, Raintree Homeowners Association, Lafayette Village Community Association, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, Woodburn Elementary School PTA Board, Fairfax Families for Safe Streets and Mason District Council, according to the letter.

They point out that a county staff report has already identified both intersections as safety concerns, and that the ongoing Gallows Road Transportation Study recommends paired three-way traffic signals that would operate as a coordinated system.

If the developer doesn't agree to the requests, the organizations are asking the Planning Commission to defer action until the county completes its Gallows Road Transportation Study and a thorough assessment of traffic needs can be made.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the rezoning application, RZ-2024-MA-00004 from MS-Gallows LLC, on Wednesday.