$100M Commitment For Bike, Pedestrian Safety Made By Fairfax County

RESTON, VA — Steve Steiner describes himself as a 73-year-old committed cyclist who frequently uses the bicycle trails around the Hunters Woods neighborhood in Reston.

"I consider myself to be a conservative and safe rider," he said. "I don't bolt across intersections, nor do I take unnecessary risks. However, about four years ago, on a crisp and clear winter day, I too became a victim of a bicycle-vehicle crash."

Returning home from a ride to Leesburg along the Fairfax County Parkway Trail, Steiner got off his bike at the exit for the Dulles Toll Road to wait for the crossing signal to change in his favor. When it did, he hopped back on his bike and pedaled into the roadway.

"When I was in the middle of the near right lane, I looked over my shoulder and I saw this SUV accelerating. It headed right at me," he said. "I realized the driver wasn't looking at me. But that her head was turned to the left as she was intending to execute a right turn through the red signal onto Fairfax County Parkway."

Despite veering to the right and shouting to try to get the driver's attention, Steiner was struck broadside by the SUV. He bounced off the windshield, as his bike was crushed under the wheels of the car.

"The emergency room doctor who examined me determined I had a concussion, several broken ribs, and serious internal injuries," Steiner said. "He ordered an immediate medevac transfer to Fairfax Hospital Trauma Center on a $36,000, 10-minute helicopter ride."

Thanks to the care Steiner received at Fairfax Hospital, he was released a week later. However, the incident resulted in more than $100,000 in medical expenses and months of recovery.

"As I was recovering from my injuries, I thought a lot about what could have been done to prevent another cyclist or pedestrian from repeating my experience," he said.

Steiner shared his story with a group of state and local officials who had gathered Tuesday morning near the busy Wiehle Avenue/ intersection for the launch of Fairfax County's "Take A Moment" bike and pedestrian safety campaign.

"What we're out here today is to talk about a team effort to get people in our community to simply take a moment, while they're out on our roads, out on our trails, out on our sidewalks, to become aware of what's around them and their own safety," Fairfax County Board Chair Jeff McKay said, during the presentation.

McKay was joined by community activists and representatives from the county's police and fire departments, Fairfax County Public Schools, and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The idea behind "Take a Moment" is for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers to be aware of their surroundings and take a moment to make eye contact with others to ensure everyone navigates roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, and trails safely.

"Today, I'm asking you to take a moment and really look at transportation infrastructure, and the reasons behind it," said John Lynch, the Virginia Department of Transportation district engineer. "The crosswalks exist for pedestrians and cyclists to be able to cross the road safely. Traffic signals exists to stop traffic, so others may go safely. Speed Limits exists to keep the speed and traffic down to manageable levels."

Stressing that Tuesday's event was not just a marketing campaign, McKay announced that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors would be committing $100 million over the next six years to improving pedestrian safety across the county. This would include $25 million in the carryover budget proposal that supervisors will be voting on in the next couple of weeks.

"We're putting our money where our mouth is, but we know that this is a big county, and we know that there are a lot of challenges for people using our infrastructure on a daily basis," he said. "The goal of this campaign, simply put, is to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries in our community."

One of the projects benefiting from the county's renewed investment in transportation infrastructure is a pedestrian bridge that will be installed over Wiehle Avenue on the north side of Sunset Hills Drive.

On Tuesday morning, work crews were in the process of utility relocation around the intersection to clear the way for construction.

Fairfax County Transportation Director Tom Biesiadny said his department was about to award the contract for that project, which will be completed by the end of 2023/beginning of 2024.

As of Tuesday, there have been 22 traffic fatalities across the county this year, which is two more than by the same date in 2021, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis. Year-to-date pedestrian fatalities stand at 13, which is three more than for the same period last year.

"Our overall crashes throughout Fairfax County are actually down by 400 and that's good," Davis said, on Tuesday morning. "But we still have a long way to go. Fairfax County police officers have actually issued 5,000 more traffic citations this year compared to the same time last year."