For any drivers who’ve endured bumper-to-bumper traffic on Chain Bridge Road or pedestrians wishing they could walk from Oakton Shopping Center to the Oakton Library without risking life and limb, an opportunity has arrived to contribute to a potential solution.
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) is inviting members of the public to share their ideas for addressing traffic congestion and safety issues in Oakton at a community workshop that will be held tonight (Thursday) at 6:30 p.m. at Oakton High School (2900 Sutton Road).
Input from the workshop will guide a congestion mitigation and safety study focused on the Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) corridor. According to an FCDOT press release:
The study will include transportation analysis to test the effects on congestion from enhanced, modified, and/or new roadway connections, lane configurations and other improvements. Study recommendations also will factor the impacts to bicycle, pedestrian and bus networks in the study area, while considering expected impacts to safety for all roadway users.
The workshop will include a brief presentation from staff to introduce the project and a mapping exercise, which will divide attendees into small groups and allow the public to share their recommendations to improve transportation in Oakton. At the end of the workshop, each group will present their ideas and discuss priorities for short-term and long-term improvements.
The study was authorized this spring by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors after it adopted a comprehensive plan amendment to open the door for mixed-use development on AT&T’s former campus at 3033 Chain Bridge Road.
The proposal from builder EYA envisions a mix of housing and retail and service uses to revitalize the 33-acre property, one of several office sites in the area turning to redevelopment after struggling with rising vacancies.
However, many Oakton residents have expressed concern that the influx of development will exacerbate traffic conditions in a corridor where rush-hour backups are routine, and one intersection — Hunter Mill Road and Lynnhaven Place — became the site of two fatal crashes last year.
The approved comprehensive plan amendment crafted by county staff recommends that any future development of the former AT&T campus include enhancements to the pedestrian, bicycle and transit networks.
Among the proposed improvements are:
- Pedestrian safety facilities, including crosswalks, accessibility ramps and median refuges
- A traffic control signal at the Chain Bridge Road and Blake Lane intersection, along with a possible second signal on the Miller Road side of Oakton Elementary School
- Seating and shelters at bus stops
- A redesign of the roads around Borge Street Park
- Realignments of Rose Forest Drive at Chain Bridge Road and Rosehaven Street to eliminate existing channelized islands and provide a through connection between Chain Bridge and Jermantown Road
As part of its development plan, which is currently being reviewed by county staff, EYA conducted a traffic study that indicated eliminating left turns from Jermantown to Chain Bridge and redirecting traffic onto Rosehaven Street would reduce wait times for drivers as well as the crossing distance for pedestrians and cyclists.
The plan amendment doesn’t specifically support that change, but it did recommend exploring “options to improve safety and congestion between Blake Lane and Hunter Mill Road along Chain Bridge Road,” spurring the study that’s now underway.
The study goes beyond the scope of what the AT&T redevelopment could address to encompass essentially Oakton’s entire commercial core.
Correction: There were two fatal crashes on Hunter Mill Road at Lynnhaven Place in 2024, but they didn’t both kill pedestrians as initially stated. In one crash, the person killed was a driver.
