Most near misses involving pedestrians and cyclists in Fairfax County, Virginia, happen near schools, a traffic safety group found.
Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets recently released its Near Miss Report, which collected reports from pedestrians in Fairfax County, Fairfax City, and Falls Church City from Jan. 1, 2025 through June this year.
Over those 18 months, 129 near miss reports were submitted to the group. Kids were present in more than half of those reports, and nearly three-quarters were flagged by community members as recurring incidents at the same locations.
The findings, the group said, reveal the need for increased safety measures such as speed feedback signs and stop sign cameras, particularly near schools.
“What’s at stake? Literally people’s health and lives,” said Mike Doyle, executive director and founder of Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets. “If you survive a crash, many times it stays with you for the rest of your life. And it affects you in many ways, physically and cognitively and psychologically.”
Pedestrians can submit reports through the group’s website, texting option or WhatsApp form. The crosswalk on Gallows Road near Woodburn Elementary received nine reports, making it the most-cited near miss location in the county over the 18-month period.
“Most of these reports are on corridors that are 25 mph and 35 mph,” Doyle said. “And there’s a correlation, those roads are going to schools most times.”
The top concern from drivers and pedestrians is drivers who fail to yield, Doyle said. Others describe drivers who don’t stop at stop signs or traffic lights.
The strongest comments, Doyle said, were from “parents who were talking about having to pull back their children, because the crosswalk is dangerous and the drivers don’t pay attention to that.”
Fairfax County elected officials and Virginia’s Department of Transportation, Doyle said, should be “more aggressive” in installing permanent speed feedback signs, especially on roads near schools.
Virginia’s General Assembly recently gave local jurisdictions the authority to install stop sign cameras in schools, and Doyle said it’s a step Fairfax County should consider.
“The history of these cameras when they go in, is within six months, a 70% drop in violations, and a far better percentage of compliance, where drivers have to come to a full stop, look around, see what’s on all the corners before they proceed,” Doyle said.
In Fairfax, the group said Gallows Road and Lake Newport Drive are the two most dangerous corridors. In Alexandria, it’s Mount Vernon Avenue and Kennedy Street. And in Arlington, it’s South Glebe Road and Washington Boulevard.
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