The City of Fairfax is seeking public input on possible improvements to a wonky intersection along Main Street.
The city is studying the intersection of Main Street at its terminus with Lyndhurst Drive and Trapp Road. The intersection is just west of Carter G. Woodson High School.
The intersection is tricky for drivers and pedestrians alike because the two connecting streets — Lyndhurst on the north side and Trapp on the south side — do not line up, creating an awkwardly angled intersection. There’s also a crosswalk across Main Street immediately west of the intersection.
City spokesman Matthew Kaiser said the intersection has caused issues for everyone who uses it, from pedestrians crossing Main Street to the drivers on Main Street and drivers turning onto Main Street on either side in and out of neighborhoods.
The city says there have been “numerous crashes” in recent years with several pedestrian injuries, including one man who was killed crossing the intersection in 2022.
“The priority for this study is to identify a feasible alternative to improve transportation safety for all road users,” Kaiser said.
Between 2020 and 2025, there were 25 total crashes at the intersection, of which 20% involved some injury. Vehicles making a left turn from Lyndhurst Drive onto southbound Main Street were involved in 36% of crashes, and another 28% occurred in the functional area of the crosswalk.
The city conducted a safety audit of Main Street and identified the intersection as a top priority for improvement. The safety project was one of five initiatives approved by the Fairfax City Council in the city’s two-year transportation program in February 2025.
The study, which is being conducted by Timmons Group, has a budget of $130,000.
The city held an open house last Wednesday (April 22) to receive input from the community and will continue gathering information through a survey that’s available through May 10. Kaiser said the consultants will develop a concept for intersection improvements and present it later this year.
If the concept is approved, the city could seek funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation to offset the cost.
