Fairfax County’s study of the Gallows Road corridor is entering its final stages, with a report expected to head to the planning commission early next year.
The project aims to address long-standing safety and mobility challenges along the busy stretch of roadway connecting Tysons and Annandale, but proposed redesigns have sparked debate among residents.
An online survey, open through Dec. 31, offers residents a last chance to weigh in before the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) finalizes its recommendations, which were shared at in-person community meetings in November and a virtual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Launched in late 2022, the study divides Gallows Road into three segments — northern, middle, and southern — with each area having tailored options to balance competing needs for drivers, transit users, cyclists and pedestrians.
The proposed alternatives fall into three categories: a vehicle-focused option, a transit-focused plan, and an active transportation approach. However, each offers trade-offs that residents say require careful consideration.
Northern segment
Gallows Road from Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to I-66 currently has two travel lanes in each direction, turn lanes, a bicycle path without a protective buffer and narrow sidewalks.
The vehicle-focused option retains four lanes but narrows them to reduce speeds, while adding landscaping, wider sidewalks and some bicycle improvements. However, it offers only modest safety enhancements for cyclists and pedestrians.
The transit-focused option reduces car lanes to one per direction to accommodate a dedicated bus lane, with the county aiming to increase transit ridership by up to 10%. But the loss of vehicle lanes could worsen congestion, and dedicated bike lanes would remain inconsistent.
The active transportation option keeps four vehicle lanes while moving bike lanes to one side of the road. It also includes landscaping and wider sidewalks. Though it significantly improves pedestrian and cyclist safety, it could lead to slower vehicle and transit speeds, according to FCDOT staff.
Middle segment
From I-66 to I-495, Gallows currently has three lanes in each direction with basic sidewalks.
The vehicle-focused option retains the current lane setup but narrows them to slow speeds, adding wider sidewalks where space permits. It improves intersection flow but offers limited safety upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists.
The transit-focused option introduces a bi-directional, bus-only lane in the center of the road. While this supports faster, more reliable bus service, it reduces vehicle lanes, increasing congestion, and provides no dedicated bike lanes.
The active transportation option reduces car lanes to two in each direction, adds a two-way bike path on one side, and incorporates wider sidewalks with landscaped buffers. This enhances pedestrian and bicyclist safety and accessibility but reduces road capacity, potentially causing delays for vehicles and transit.
Southern segment
The southern segment, from I-495 to Columbia Pike and Little River Turnpike, has two lanes in each direction with narrow, outdated sidewalks.
The vehicle-focused option keeps two narrower lanes per direction and adds landscaping and 5-foot-wide sidewalks. While it alleviates congestion at intersections, it provides minimal improvements for pedestrian and cyclist safety.
The transit-focused option reduces car lanes to one per direction to make room for a dedicated bus lane, boosting transit ridership and reliability with the possible drawbacks of increased congestion and a lack of consistent bike facilities, staff say.
The active transportation option includes one car lane in each direction, a shared turn lane, and a two-way bike path on one side. South of Annandale, bike lanes would extend to both sides of the road. While this plan enhances pedestrian and cyclist safety, it reduces vehicle capacity, leading to potential delays.
Balancing trade-offs
Each alternative requires compromises. The vehicle-focused option minimizes disruption for drivers but provides limited safety improvements.
“There are fewer safety countermeasures compared to alternatives two and three,” FCDOT planner Tim Kutz said during last week’s virtual Q&A. “So, while it does improve on a no-build scenario in terms of safety, alternatives two and three do a bit better in that regard.”
The transit-focused option improves transit efficiency but could worsen traffic and provides limited protection for cyclists.
“The corridor currently has [Fairfax] Connector routes 401 and 402, which are the highest ridership lines in the county, and the [bus rapid transit lanes] could expand the service and offer a more reliable trip as part of active transportation,” said Nanditha Paradkar, another planner with FCDOT.
Meanwhile, the active transportation plan makes the corridor safer for pedestrians and cyclists but reduces vehicle capacity, potentially slowing car and transit speeds.
“This alternative is really best for people who want to feel comfortable walking or biking along the corridor,” Kutz said. “It significantly improves pedestrian comfort and reduces bicycle traffic stress, but reducing vehicle lanes means more congestion, which can also impact transit speeds.”
Residents voice concerns
Safety emerged as a key concern for many residents, who repeatedly called for improvements to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike during the virtual meeting.
Some residents expressed frustration over the lack of physical separation for bike lanes in the vehicle-focused and active transportation options. They argued unprotected bike lanes would do little to encourage use, particularly by families or children, and fall short of providing meaningful safety.
“We’re obviously in the midst … of upgrading and redoing [Fairfax County’s] Active Transportation Plan,” one attendee said. “By my understanding, what the county is essentially signing up for, would sort of preclude these exact kinds of unprotected facilities.”
Others raised concerns about inadequate lighting and the dangers posed by narrow sidewalks and high vehicle speeds. Several attendees called for pedestrian-scale lighting, safer crosswalks, and refuge islands to address visibility issues and reduce risks.
Residents also urged planners to consider how the redesign would impact nearby schools, including the not-yet-approved Dunn Loring Elementary. Increased foot and vehicle traffic near schools was flagged as a safety risk that requires coordination with school officials to ensure safe routes for students.
“The Dunn Loring school will be open in the next few years. That will add much more traffic to this area, much more foot traffic, as well as much more car traffic,” another attendee noted.
Dan Gibson, president of the Holmes Run Acres Civic Association, pointed to Gallows Road’s four-lane layout as a contributing factor to speeding and left-turn conflicts, particularly in residential areas near schools like Woodburn Elementary and Luther Jackson Middle. He supported the active transportation plan’s proposed “road diet,” which would reduce the road to two travel lanes with a shared left-turn lane, addressing these safety issues.
“The lane configuration of the active transportation-focused design potentially solves this problem and can even reduce vehicular stacking behind turning cars,” he wrote in an email to FFXnow follow the meeting. “The enhanced sidewalks and biking lanes are a bonus.”
Intersections near the Mosaic District in Merrifield were also frequently cited as dangerous for both pedestrians and cyclists. Residents called for better signalization, turn lanes, and traffic-calming measures to improve safety.
First- and last-mile connections to transit stops also came up during the meeting. Suggestions included adding bike lockers, expanding Capital Bikeshare, and creating protected pathways to make it easier for residents to reach transit hubs without driving.
“There’s a lot of suburban sprawl throughout the neighborhoods,” an attendee said. “The buses can’t get to all of it.”
FCDOT responds to safety concerns
FCDOT staff said improving pedestrian and cyclist safety is a priority across all redesign options.
For cyclists, staff acknowledged the desire for fully protected bike lanes and said they are collaborating with the Active Fairfax team to incorporate their recommendations into the redesign.
“If we ended up leaning more towards an active transportation-focused alternative, I think that’s probably the way we would go, given their guidance on it,” Kutz said.
On pedestrian safety, VDOT said “pedestrian-scale lighting,” high-visibility crosswalks and median refuge islands are being considered for high-traffic areas, including near schools and the Mosaic District.
Staff also said they’re working with school officials to ensure safe routes to Dunn Loring Elementary in the northern segment.
“We’ll have to coordinate with FCPD on that,” Kutz said. “… But yeah, we’re definitely looking at trying to minimize impacts to schools and pick-up and drop-off as well.”
Over the coming months, FCDOT will review survey responses and other feedback to develop a preferred concept. The recommendations could go before the planning commission and Board of Supervisors as soon as spring 2025.
Until then, county officials are urging residents to participate in the survey before it closes.
“We’ll get feedback via the survey and from comments here today and from our previous public meetings, and of course, we’ll be looking at the analysis, which, again, is detailed online, to try to develop something that is sort of the best between all worlds here, and it makes the most sense for Gallows Road and that would be our preferred concept,” Kutz said.
