Fairfax County’s Department of Transportation will consider this week whether to implement a time-of-day turn restriction from one McLean road onto Georgetown Pike.
A proposal, which will be discussed at a virtual public meeting tomorrow (Wednesday), would prohibit outside drivers from turning left from Dead Run Drive during evening hours in hopes of limiting cut-through traffic in the neighborhood.
Specifically, non-local traffic would be barred from turning left at the intersection from 4-7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The change could also require a prohibition on U-turns at the intersection on Georgetown Pike.
A task force of local residents worked with county and state officials to develop the proposal, which has already been voted on by neighbors and has “obtained sufficient community support,” according to FCDOT, which is considering the change as part of its Residential Traffic Administration Program.
The meeting to discuss the restriction will be held via Microsoft Teams and begin at 6:30 p.m.
Dead Run Drive could be the first street in the county to exempt residents from cut-through traffic restrictions.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to create a permit system for residents on streets with turn restrictions, which currently apply to all drivers. The county will begin accepting petitions from neighborhoods interested in joining the permit program in July.
The permits will provide “another tool” for improving residential traffic, Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman, whose district includes McLean and Great Falls, said at the time of the vote.
Though the county has just a few streets with turn restrictions right now, more neighborhoods would be interested in prohibiting cut-through traffic, according to Bierman, if it didn’t present any challenges to local drivers — such as an increased rush hour commute.
“There are lots of people … thinking about putting in place cut-through restrictions,” Bierman said.
A staff report authored for the Feb. 18 board meeting had a mixed finding on the impact of the program.
“This could enhance equity by allowing communities who may otherwise suffer from cut-through traffic to remove that traffic without being penalized by the restriction itself,” the report said. “However, this could create issues in adjacent communities if that cut-through traffic shifts to other roadways.”
Screenshot via Google Maps
