Fairfax County supervisors remain supportive, in concept, of enacting a pilot program lowering speed limits from 25 mph to 20 mph on some streets.
But the availability of resources to implement a fully countywide program down the road remains an open question.
Following up on a discussion held in mid-September, members of the Board of Supervisors indicated at a transportation committee meeting on Oct. 29 that they remain receptive to a staff proposal for a pilot program to test the lower speed limit. Staff recommended selecting three streets for the pilot, but several supervisors argued that would be too few.
Chairman Jeff McKay said there are too many varied types of roadway situations in the county for such a limited effort.
“I’m not sure we’re going to get enough [of a] sample … if we don’t test it in enough physical environments,” he said.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, who chairs the transportation committee, pushed for the pilot to include at least one street in each of the county’s nine magisterial districts — at least those where supervisors have an interest in playing host.
“I just don’t think three roads is going to work. It’s got to be more,” he said. “Each supervisor district needs to have that opportunity. I’ve gotten multiple requests [to participate] all over my district.”
Neil Freschman, who heads the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s traffic engineering section, suggested having more than three streets in the pilot might stretch existing resources, but it could be done.
“We [can] take them forward as we have the capacity,” he said.
A pilot initiative likely would run at least a year before the county considers making the program permanent and expanding it. A similar trajectory played out in Montgomery County, Maryland, where officials started with five lower-speed locations in 2021, and there are now more than 100.
In Virginia, the General Assembly passed legislation earlier this year that expanded the ability of localities to work with the Virginia Department of Transportation on lower speeds. VDOT has to review and approve the proposals, with the local government footing the cost of new signage.
Falls Church used existing state law in 2023 to reduce speeds on most residential streets under the banner “20 Is Plenty.” It cost about $100,000 to replace all the affected signage, said Vanessa Holt, an engineer in the Fairfax County Department of Transportation.
Fairfax County has about 180 times the physical size of 2.2-square-mile Falls Church City, so the cost of a full program in Fairfax likely would run into the millions of dollars.
Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith urged her colleagues not to put the cart before the horse in talking about moving beyond a pilot program, voicing concerns about taxing overstretched staff and financial resources to address an issue that may not prove a pressing concern.
“We do need to check it out and see if it provides a benefit,” Smith said.
McKay agreed that the county should “see what the pilot shows us, and learn from that.”
The state legislation authorizing lower speed limits, patroned by Del. Betsy Carr (D-Richmond), had a complicated legislative history. Approved narrowly by the House of Delegates and initially defeated in the state Senate in the 2024 session, it was resurrected and ultimately sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The governor proposed that the bill not become effective unless it also passed in the 2025 legislative session. When lawmakers rejected that recommendation, Youngkin opted to sign rather than veto the measure.
Carr’s measure allows existing 25-mph zones to be restricted to 15 mph, a figure Fairfax staff concluded was too low. Her bill applies to both residential and business areas.
The new law provides more local autonomy than a measure passed in 2021 that enabled localities to ask VDOT to lower 25-mph speed limits in certain areas, but resulted in many requests being denied.
