Traffic Problems for Pedestrians and Bikers

by Larry Good, Chair, MCA Traffic and Infrastructure Cmte, transportation@mantua.org

Hazardous Road Crossings on the Cross County Trail

I recently had a close encounter with a car when crossing Prosperity Avenue by bike on the Gerry Connolly

Cross County Trail. Despite the crosswalk and the flashing lights that drivers see when someone on the trail

approaches Prosperity, I’ve heard from other bikers about speeding cars and near misses at the path crossing.

In my case, I stopped before crossing Prosperity on my bike when I saw an approaching car. The car appeared

to stop, so I started to cross the street. The car suddenly started moving across my path. I slammed on the

brakes and turned my bike to narrowly avoid a collision. The car kept moving.

I contacted our County Supervisor, Dalia Palchik, to tell her about the incident and others like it. I told her it

illustrates the inadequacy of (1) the VA law requiring motorists to yield to anyone crossing the street on the

path and (2) the flashing lights alerting drivers to the need to yield to pedestrians and bikers.

Supervisor Palchik said she recognizes that the path crossing remains dangerous despite the flashing lights and

crosswalk. She contacted the Mason District Police station and FCDOT Active Transportation and asked them

to take a look at it. The Mason District quickly responded, asking Traffic Enforcement Officers to spend time

at this location to ensure motorists are complying with the law. The FCDOT Active Transportation team also

responded, saying they will visit the site and assess the signage needs.

Supervisor Palchik said that she will work to get this and other CCT crossings prioritized in the placement of

new “State Law to Stop for Pedestrians” signs.

If anyone has had a close call or observed speeding cars at CCT crossings, please let me know at Transporta-

tion@mantua.org.

Speeding on Acosta

We relayed to the Supervisor’s office complaints about cars speeding on Acosta. They have requested tempo-

rary speed feedback signs on the street. These signs are designed to (1) make drivers aware of their speed and

slow down if they’re going too fast and (2) provide information on the extent of speeding.