Lawmakers who represent southeastern Fairfax County at both the state and federal levels are looking to clear the way for increased speed enforcement on the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Rep. Don Beyer unveiled legislation yesterday (Wednesday) to authorize revenue generated by any speed cameras on roads maintained by the National Park Service, such as the GW Parkway, to be used for speed camera installations, maintenance and construction projects on those same roads.
While the GW Parkway doesn’t currently have a speed camera program, the bill is intended to ensure that the revenue “stays in the community” if cameras are ever installed, according to Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff for Beyer’s office.
“Speeding is a persistent and dangerous problem along the George Washington Memorial Parkway – and on Parkways across the country – that threatens drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike,” Beyer said in a press release.
The congressman’s office began studying options for addressing safety concerns on the GW Parkway, particularly at the Belle Haven Road and Belle View Blvd intersections, last year.
Beyer indicated in a letter to constituents that he would propose legislation authorizing the use of speed cameras on the GW Parkway, Alexandria Living Magazine reported in October 2024. Revenue from citations going back to the parkway could help offset some of the program costs, a concern for the NPS.
No concrete plans for adding speed cameras on the GW Parkway have been announced, but Fritschner says “there’s definitely been discussion” on the topic by the park service.
“This bill enables revenue from speed camera enforcement to be reinvested within our national parks to fund safety improvements, critical maintenance, and educational efforts without diverting resources from these treasured public lands,” Beyer said of his proposed Parkway Safety and Reinvestment Act. “It is smart, responsible policy that keeps Americans safe and strengthens the national parks and major transportation corridors they use every day.”
According to the U.S. Park Police, Congressional legislation is still required to authorize the National Park Service to use speed cameras on the GW Parkway.
“Installation and use of cameras need enforcement authority, corresponding regulations, and policy,” a park police spokesperson said. “The enforcement authority for speed cameras is generally civil. NPS does not have this specific statutory authority and would need congressional action to provide it.”
Bill allowing local and state police assistance expected to return
Separately, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-34) confirmed to FFXnow that he will reintroduce a bill in the Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 session authorizing local and state police to respond to traffic violations on the GW Parkway.
While the new legislation hasn’t been filed yet, as of press time, Surovell’s proposal for the 2025 session would’ve allowed state and local law enforcement agencies to install and operate a photo speed camera on the GW Parkway or other national park highways with the federal government or National Park Service’s permission.
Senate Bill 776 passed its originating chamber on a 25-13 vote in January, but it was defeated 6-14 in the House Transportation Committee.
“I’m going to again carry a bill that would allow the Fairfax County police to conduct speed enforcement, traffic enforcement in general along that stretch of road, and/or collaborate with the Park Service to install speed cameras, because it’s become a very dangerous stretch of road for the people who live in that part of Fairfax County,” said Surovell, whose district encompasses southeastern Fairfax from the Capital Beltway down to Lorton and Mason Neck.
Surovell contends that the U.S. Park Police, the National Park Service’s law enforcement arm, has “largely abandoned policing or enforcing the traffic laws on the GW Parkway within Fairfax County.”
At the urging of Beyer, Surovell and Del. Paul Krizek (D-16), the NPS conducted a traffic and safety study starting in 2017 of the parkway’s southern section from Belle Haven Road south of Alexandria City to Stratford Lane in Mount Vernon.
Completed in April 2021, the study confirmed that most drivers exceed the road’s posted speed limits, which range from 35 to 45 mph, and concluded that speed was likely a “primary cause” in many of the 389 crashes recorded on the southern section of the parkway between 2005 and 2018, though the study had a gap in crash data for the years 2016 and 2017.
The NPS subsequently modified the traffic patterns at the Belle Haven and Belle View intersections in September 2023, turning a travel lane into a left-turn-only lane, among other changes. The agency also got federal approval in January 2024 to begin design work on a road diet and other planned improvements on the GW Parkway and Mount Vernon Trail.
Speeding and other concerns about the corridor’s safety have persisted, however.
Surovell says he attempted to discuss his concerns about a lack of traffic enforcement on the GW Parkway with the Park Police, but his request for a meeting was declined.
In a Sept. 3 memo shared with FFXnow, U.S. Park Police Lt. Anna Rose told Surovell that the agency’s “full attention and resources” were being devoted for the time being to carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive order that established a federal task force to “beautify” and police D.C.
“That said, we want to emphasize that we take the issues affecting the south end of the Parkway very seriously,” Rose wrote. “We recognize the concerns surrounding speeding and other dangerous driving behaviors, and we are actively working to address these challenges with every tool at our disposal.”
When asked about Surovell’s planned bill, the Park Police said it doesn’t comment on proposed legislation.
Fairfax County Supervisor Dan Storck, whose Mount Vernon District includes the southern GW Parkway, said he has heard “from many residents about the need for increased enforcement” and has no objections to Surovell introducing a bill to give the Fairfax County Police Department and sheriff’s office the ability to provide assistance.
However, he believes state legislation might not be necessary.
“The County’s longtime belief is that no additional legislation is needed, just the willingness of the National Park Service’s George Washington Memorial Parkway and Park Police to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the County and FCPD to do so,” Storck said.
Storck’s office says the county and FCPD have explored entering an MOU with the park police that would enable them to assist with traffic enforcement, but didn’t comment on the timing and current status of those talks.
“Discussions on how the FCPD could enforce traffic violations on the GW Parkway are ongoing,” the police department’s public affairs office told FFXnow.
Insufficient traffic enforcement appears to be less of a concern in the northern section of the GW Parkway, which has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation work since summer 2022.
Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman says he hasn’t received any complaints from residents in his district, which includes a portion of the northern GW Parkway in McLean.
“I have not received complaints from Dranesville District residents about traffic enforcement on the George Washington Memorial Parkway but I understand it is a concern of residents elsewhere in Fairfax County and support efforts to address those concerns, whether through legislation or an agreement between the relevant parties,” Bierman said.
This story has been updated to include comments from the FCPD and U.S. Park Police. The names of Belle Haven Road and Belle View Blvd, which were originally identified as Belle Haven Blvd and Belle View Road, have also been corrected.
