Fairfax City has received funding for a study to identify potential safety improvements along heavily used but crash-prone Pickett Road.
The city was awarded $80,000 for the planned roadway safety audit by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board (TPB), which approved a total of $980,000 in grants last month for 12 different local transportation consulting projects in Virginia and Maryland.
The Pickett Road audit funding came from a Regional Roadway Safety Program that the TPB established in 2020 to support planning and preliminary design work, educational campaigns, studies and other efforts to improve road safety. Studies of Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria and Prince William County’s Maplewood neighborhood also secured funding from the program.
The TPB also approved grants through its Transportation Land-Use Connections Program, which similarly funds consulting services with a greater focus on promoting walkability and travel options other than driving, including cycling and transit.
“These initiatives advance regional collaboration to create a more accessible, livable, and sustainable metropolitan Washington,” the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) — which hosts and staffs the TPB — said when announcing the grants.
Fairfax City transportation staff identified Pickett Road as an area in need of safety improvements due to its high crash rate and importance “as a regional north-south corridor” that serves as an “important truck route,” according to a presentation given to the city council at its Feb. 17 meeting.
The 1.6-mile segment connecting Route 50 (Fairfax Blvd) and Main Street provides a link to several notable destinations, including Fairfax Circle, three different shopping centers near the Main Street intersection, Woodson High School and the currently closed-for-renovation Thaiss Park.
However, the segment has also seen more than 200 crashes over the past five years, according to the city. Challenges reported by residents and staff include high speeds, hilly topography, limited safe crossing options and a significant volume of trucks visiting a private fueling yard resulting in an uncomfortable experience for pedestrians.
“Improving roadway safety is a priority for the city due to the mix of uses and the local and regional importance of this corridor,” Fairfax City said in a press release announcing the safety audit.
The city previously conducted an audit of a segment of Main Street in 2024 that recommended 31 short- and long-term improvements, from new sidewalks and crosswalks to a shared transit-bike lane and lighting enhancements. A more detailed study of one intersection flagged as a priority — the three-way crossing at Lyndhurst Drive and Trapp Road — launched earlier this year.
Conducted by a technical consultant selected by the city in coordination with the TPB, the Pickett Road audit will similarly recommend short and long-term strategies for improving safety. The review is expected to finish by June 30, 2027.
“Funding for infrastructure improvements, educational campaigns, and other countermeasures may be pursued later,” the City of Fairfax said.
Kingstowne safety project doesn’t make the cut
Last month’s TPB grants announcement brought less-happy news for Fairfax County transportation planners: their lone request for $100,000 for a safety project on Kingstowne Village Parkway was denied funding from either the roadway safety or land use connections programs.
According to a COG spokesperson, the TPB can’t delve into the details of how the submitted projects were ranked by selection panels, but this year’s cycles for both grant programs “were highly competitive for Virginia projects.”
“Other projects received higher scores than the Kingstowne Village Parkway,” COG’s transportation team said.
The proposed project would add protected bicycle lanes and improved crosswalks on Kingstowne Village Parkway between South Van Dorn Street and Cross Gate Lane, as supported by the county’s comprehensive plan and ActiveFairfax Transportation Plan, according to Fairfax County Department of Transportation spokesperson Benjamin Boxer.
“We are currently pursuing alternatives to obtain the funding to launch that work,” he told FFXnow.
FCDOT doesn’t have a timeline for planning, designing and implementing the project yet, since it first needs to funding to get it off the ground.
“The Regional Roadway Safety and the Transportation Land-Use Connections Programs provide essential funding for transportation projects across the DMV,” Boxer said. “We have been the beneficiaries of that funding in the past and we look forward to continuing to pursue opportunities to secure funding for future projects.”
