Route 7

News

Pedestrian safety advocates call for Route 7 lighting, crossings review based on new study

By Mary Stachyra Lopez
Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) approaching Glen Carlyn Drive in the Culmore area near Bailey's Crossroads (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Darkness closely correlates with fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists along Leesburg Pike (Route 7), with walkers bearing the brunt of such incidents regardless of the time of day, according to a new study that analyzed nearly a decade’s worth of data.

Using police-reported records from Virginia’s crash database from 2017 to 2026, the nonprofit Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS) found that 10 out of 11 fatal crashes that occurred along the Route 7 corridor from the Fairfax/Loudoun county line to the west end of Alexandria happened at night.

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News

Three pedestrians hit, one fatally, in Fairfax County crashes over weekend

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County police siren (file photo)

Two pedestrians were seriously injured and another was killed in three separate vehicle crashes on Fairfax County roads this past weekend.

Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department responded yesterday (Sunday) at 3:47 a.m. for a crash involving a pedestrian on southbound Route 28 near Air and Space Museum Parkway, according to a press release issued this afternoon (Monday).

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News

Fairfax, regional leaders eager to turn Route 7 bus rapid transit from plan to reality

By Scott McCaffrey
Bus at a busy intersection with cars lined up and pedestrians nearby on a blue-sky day. A no U-turn sign is visible near the curb.
Pedestrians and Metrobus Route F20 to Tysons waits at a traffic light on Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) near Pimmit Hills on Feb. 14, 2026 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County leaders and their regional counterparts are champing at the bit to get moving on a coordinated Route 7 bus rapid transit (BRT) network.

“If there’s only one thing I hope to see in my lifetime, it’s this project,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said half-jokingly at an Oct. 1 meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) board of directors.

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Countywide

Report: Close calls with drivers on Fairfax roads are recurring issues, not isolated

By Angela Woolsey
Two-lane street with dense trees on the left and power lines on the right, approaching a school zone with 'SCHOOL ZONE' painted on the road and a few cars ahead.
Gallows Road approaching the pedestrian crosswalk at Aston Road near Woodburn Elementary School (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Since it began collecting near-miss data for local roads in 2021, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets has accumulated more evidence that such close calls between drivers and other travelers reflect patterns of behavior, rather than random or one-time slip-ups.

More than 70% or 94 of the 129 near-misses reported by community members in Fairfax County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church between January 2025 and June of this year were marked as recurring incidents, according to an analysis released by the volunteer-led safety advocacy organization on Sept. 10.

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News

Route 7 bus riders want to retain curbside stops when rapid transit arrives

By Scott McCaffrey
Overview of Envision Route 7 project (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Most bus riders along portions of Route 7 seem skeptical of placing future transit stops in the center of the busy roadway, but local leaders at least want the option considered before being discarded.

A recent survey of riders along the portion of the bus rapid transit (BRT) line proposed to connect Tysons to Alexandria found 60% preferred retaining curbside stops. The remainder were split between moving to center-of-the-road stops or having no opinion.

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News

Fairfax County reaches double-digit pedestrian deaths for 2026 after four in two days

By Angela Woolsey
Fairfax County ambulance (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Four pedestrians have been killed in crashes on Fairfax County roads within the past two days, bringing the total death toll for 2026 up to 10.

Fairfax County police officers responded at around 3:38 a.m. today (Friday) to Little River Turnpike at Southland Avenue in Lincolnia after an adult man was struck by the driver of an eastbound 2018 Honda Civic.

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News

More input sought on planned bus rapid transit service in Route 7 corridor

By Scott McCaffrey
Participants at 2025 community forum in Culmore discuss potential Route 7 transit upgrades (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) has embarked on a new round of community engagement in its Envision Route 7 effort to upgrade transit options.

NVTC has opened an online feedback form, asking a host of questions about how bus riders in the Route 7 corridor between Seven Corners and Alexandria’s Mark Center/Southern Towers areas currently interact with the system, and what they would like to see in the future.

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News

VDOT to present plan tomorrow for widening Route 7 in Tysons

By Angela Woolsey
Traffic on eastbound Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) in Tysons south of Route 123 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Design work has been underway for about a year now on plans to widen the portion of Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) that runs through central Tysons.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will present its initial concept for widening the road between Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and the Capital Beltway (I-495) to the community for the first time at a virtual public information meeting at 7 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).

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News

Route 7 BRT planners welcome feedback at recent Culmore open house

By Scott McCaffrey
Participants at 2025 community forum in Culmore discuss potential Route 7 transit upgrades (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Regional transportation planners continue to take the pulse of riders and other local residents as they prepare for a major revamp of the Route 7 bus corridor.

“It’s a good thing” to be out in the community, said Kate Mattice, executive director of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), which is overseeing a study that could bring bus rapid transit (BRT) service to the corridor from Tysons to Alexandria.

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News

Hit-and-run in Seven Corners leaves motorcyclist hospitalized

By Jared Serre
Fairfax County police logo (file photo)

Fairfax County police are investigating a hit-and-run crash that happened in Seven Corners late last night (Thursday).

One man is in life-threatening condition after his motorcycle was struck by a “dark color SUV.” The SUV then fled the scene, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

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