An estimated $10 million would be required
to improve pedestrian safety along only
2.5 miles of the Mount Vernon-Lee Dis-
tricts’ portion of the Route 1 corridor.
Presented to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Jan. 23, the Fairfax County Pedestrian Task Force’s report estimated an expenditure of $60 million would be required over the next decade to deal with transit access, intersection retrofits, arterial walkways, creation of new bus stops and improvement of existing stops, and an overall upgrade of “substandard pedestrian facilities.”
Topping the list of sites needing action was the Route 1 corridor from Fort Belvoir to the Capital Beltway, a distance of 16 miles, which presently has 20 bus stop intersections. The $10 million would only provide funds to “complete 2.5 miles of missing trail and sidewalk along one side” of the corridor, plus intersection and bus stop improvements within that stretch.
As one “of the central Pedestrian Initiatives of the Board of Supervisors,” the task force was convened in early 2004 with representatives from a range of county departments and agencies ranging from police and schools to the Fairfax Area Disability Board and private groups such as Safe Crossing/MetroPed.
It also included staff representatives from the Virginia Department of Transportation.
In addition to specific projects, the report focused on various suggestions dealing with community outreach and education programs. Pedestrian projects costs for the next four years was estimated at $7.5 million. In accepting the report, the Board of Supervisors emphasized the challenge will now be to convince the General Assembly to provide funds.