FABB Blog

Dear Lee Neighbor:

I wanted to keep you apprised of my efforts after the recent tragic death of Rebecca Johns. Senator Barker, Delegate Sickles, and I have sent the attached letter requesting safety improvements along Franconia Road to Governor McDonnell. It’s not enough to only regulate traffic; we also need safety measures for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Supervisor Jeffrey C. McKay
6121 Franconia Road
Alexandria, VA 22310
(703) 971-6262

September 16, 2010

The Honorable Robert F. McDonnell
Office of the Governor
Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Governor McDonnell:

On August 30, at the intersection of Cannon Lane and Franconia Road, a car and a child on a bicycle collided with tragic consequences. The community now grieves the loss of a bright, happy, intelligent, and engaging nine-year-old girl. (The police news release is attached)

There is a long history between the Virginia Department of Transportation and the community regarding traffic control and the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as motorists along Franconia Road between Rose Hill Drive and Telegraph Road. Since the accident, we have received many suggestions for safety improvements in this largely two-lane section of Franconia Road. We are not traffic engineers and need your assistance to evaluate these suggestions. We do know this section of Franconia Road to be quite congested. The road is a primary residential thoroughfare and fronts heavily used athletic fields, churches, and a middle school. While there are some sidewalks and trails there are no crosswalks, making it treacherous to cross the road.

We ask VDOT to conduct a detailed review of Franconia Road and its side streets between Rose Hill Drive and Telegraph Road to identify improvements to pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The review should also revisit the earlier request from the Wilton Woods community for a traffic signal at Franconia Road and Clermont Drive. VDOT has previously studied this location and concluded that the most effective safety solution at this intersection would be a dedicated east-bound turn lane onto Clermont Drive rather than a signal. Please reevaluate the studies of this location and include the results in the evaluation of the Rose Hill/Telegraph segment. The review should, however, focus on pedestrian and bicyclist safety and not only on ways to more efficiently move cars. [Emphasis added]

We thank you for your time and attention to this critical matter. We look forward to hearing whatever suggestions you find may be appropriate and stand ready to assist you in sharing this information with the community.

Sincerely yours,

Sharon Bulova
Chairman, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Jeffrey C. McKay
Supervisor, Lee District

George Barker
Senator, 39th District

Mark Sickles
Delegate, 43rd District

When Captain Bennett (the commander of the Franconia police station) called me from the scene of this terrible tragedy I experienced every parent’s nightmare. This accident is a tragedy not only for the immediate family, but also for the community.

As you may know, there’s a long history between the Virginia Department of Transportation and my office concerning the need for traffic control along Franconia Road between Rose Hill Drive and Telegraph Road. Most recently, the Wilton Woods community has requested a traffic signal at Franconia Road and Clermont Drive. VDOT has studied this location in terms of accident history, speed, traffic volume, and the road itself. VDOT has concluded that the most effective safety solution at this intersection would be a dedicated east-bound turn lane onto Clermont Drive—rather than a signal. (The roadway would have to be significantly widened to do this—and the state, which is responsible for roads in Fairfax County—does not have funding to do so.)

I’m not a traffic engineer. It may be that a signal would significantly slow traffic or it may be that we need a different approach. Because roads in most Virginia counties are under the control of the Virginia Department of Transportation, I am working with Delegate Mark Sickles and Senator George Barker to direct VDOT to take another more in-depth look at this issue and to identify improvements that may specifically address pedestrian and bicycle safety.

I drove to the accident site to try to visualize what happened and also visited the site with the police to get their recommendations and discussed the speeding issue with them as well. I noted that the section of Franconia at Cannon is relatively narrow and I can see why bicyclists or pedestrians would think it safe to cross there. I’m not sure that a signal would have helped. Although it appears speed was not a factor in this particular incident you are absolutely right, we have a serious systemic problem regarding speeding in Fairfax County. I have a three year old daughter and I fear for her safety as I look out in front of my own house and see cars going well over the speed limit.

We have been working on some pedestrian safety enrichments in this area including two Fairfax County Franconia Road Walkway projects that will install sidewalks along the north and south sides of Franconia Road from Governor’s Hill Drive to Telegraph Road. These projects are proceeding with land acquisition.

On Wednesday of the week of the accident I spent part of the afternoon walking through the accident site and vicinity with the police and am working with the state officials to review and identify safety enhancements. As I have additional information or news, I will keep you and your community informed. As we struggle to move forward from this tragic incident, it was heartwarming to see the outpouring of support from the community as we gathered together at the candle light vigil that was held in the Wilton Woods Garden.

Supervisor Jeffrey C. McKay

Franconia Road should have a bike lane on both sides. This is a very unsafe road for children to walk to school on and I will make it my duty to pursue all I can in her name.

Dear Supervisor McKay,

In light of the recent death of Rebecca Johns in a bike crash, I am writing to request that something be done to help make Franconia Road more bike-friendly. While I do not regularly ride on the road, cyclists in the area tell me that it is a dangerous place to bike. Because of the nature of the neighborhood streets in that area, cyclists are often forced onto Franconia Rd to reach major destinations. Many cyclists ride on the road and yet there is no on-road space devoted to cyclists.

For cyclists like Rebecca who ride on the paved trail, there are few safe crossings of Franconia Road for them to use. There is nearly a mile between the crosswalks at Twain Middle School and Sable Dr, both unsignalized. This includes the stretch where Rebecca was killed.

We hope there is a way to make Franconia Rd safer for everyone. Some possible measures include:

1. Lower speeds - It's been shown that lower speeds result in fewer pedestrian and bicycle fatalities. Speed enforcement and traffic calming measures should be implemented to make the road safer. It's an outrage that police basically ignore speeding motorists unless they are exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph or more.
2. Bike lanes - Dedicated on-road space will allow cyclists a place to ride, could lead to narrower travel lanes that should help lower speeds, and be a message to motorists that bicyclists belong on Franconia Rd.
3. Safer Crosswalks - Existing crosswalks should have pedestrian-activated signals to help pedestrians and cyclists cross safely, especially at Twain Middle School. Additional crosswalks are needed between the two mentioned above.

Anything you can do to help make users of Franconia Road safer is appreciated.

Sincerely,

Bruce Wright
Chairman, Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling

"It's been a nightmare," said Mary Kelly, who lives in the neighborhood. "People have complained for years about it - all along Franconia corridor - with no response from VDOT."

Resident say there is no safe place to cross Franconia, which is the site of a park and two schools, and is frequented by children. Pedestrians and bikers only have a paved trail on the north side of the road to travel on.

"There are some painted crosswalks, but I don't trust a driver to stop just to let me cross to the other side," said Matt Iden, another neighbor.

Mary Kelly says she's complained to state legislators and VDOT for years but without success.

"VDOT says it's really just a traffic problem," Kelly said. "'We don't have money to widen the roads and there's nothing the county can do about it.'"

Kelly and her neighbors have begun an e-mail campaign, hoping that what happened to Rebecca Johns doesn't happen again.