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.
The data from Virginia’s Traffic Records Electronic Data System (TREDS) also showed that 51 out of 59 serious or fatal crashes involved walkers, and the remaining eight involved bicyclists.
NoVA FSS is now calling on Fairfax County, Alexandria and Virginia Department of Transportation officials to prioritize field reviews in the Bailey’s Crossroads/Skyline and Beauregard/King Street/Glen Forest areas.
“These aren’t random tragedies. They happen in the same places, after dark, where people are trying to reach a bus stop or a store across a busy highway,” Mike Doyle, the group’s executive director, said in a press release. “With bus rapid transit coming to Route 7, we have a once-in-a-generation chance to build safe crossings and lighting in from the start. Field reviews at the worst locations should begin now.”
The all-volunteer organization recommends that local and state transportation officials audit lighting along crossing paths and bus stops, add or improve crossing signals near high-risk stops, and consider moving bus stops to safer crossing areas.
It also expressed support for a planned VDOT and Fairfax County project to add a sidewalk on the north side of Route 7 from Magnolia Avenue to just east of the Liberty gas station at 5930 Leesburg Pike in Culmore. A 68-year-old woman from Falls Church, Nguyet Ly, was killed by a driver while walking in that area on Dec. 13, 2021.
Design work on the sidewalk is underway, but VDOT doesn’t anticipate starting construction until early 2029, according to its project page.
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