Arlington Now – Plan for trio of Rosslyn residential towers raises pedestrian safety concerns
2025-04-03
by: Scott McCaffreypublished April 2, 2025 at 9:00AM …. Mike Doyle, founder of Arlington Families for Safe Streets, and Aaron Roberts, chair of the North Highlands Civic Association’s planning/zoning committee, opposed the planned removal of an above-ground walkway over eastbound Langston Blvd between N. Moore Street and Fort Myer Drive. The North Highlands neighborhood is located immediately north of Rosslyn’s core, separated from it by Langston Blvd. Residents wanting to get to the Metro station, parks or other amenities face major risks crossing at-grade intersections, Roberts said. “The danger … is real and palpable,” he said. “I know of someone who died within a block of…
AFSS Board member Dane Lauritzen is a panelist for a public discussion of the City’s Complete Streets Program
2025-03-27
By Ryan BelmorePublished March 24, 2025 at 9:10PM|Updated March 25, 2025 at 10:30AM Alexandria’s Complete Streets program continues to spark debate among residents, with some praising its safety benefits while others criticize its impact on traffic flow. The issue took center stage at the Lyceum during an Agenda: Alexandria forum on Monday, March 24, where panelists representing various perspectives discussed the merits and challenges of the city’s approach to street design. Complete Streets is a national movement adopted by over 1,500 communities across the United States, including Alexandria. The concept aims to design roadways that safely accommodate all users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, and transit riders. “Complete…
NoVA FSS Near Miss survey captures a cluster of reports in Del Ray
2024-11-25
By James Cullum A new roundabout in Alexandria’s Warwick Village neighborhood has resulted in a surge of near-miss complaints. The Alexandria chapter of NoVA Families for Safe Streets saw a surge of reports in its crowd-sourced Near Miss and Dangerous Locations Reporting and Dashboard. The dashboard is intended to identify roadways with high risks for pedestrians. From Sept. 19 to Nov. 7, the nonprofit reported 57 near-miss incidents related to the roundabout. Concerns include drivers speeding through the newly configured roadway with few stop signs, safety signals, and poor visibility. “The parent walking with me had to physically yank her child out of the path of a car…
NBC News Story Referenced Our Near Miss Dashboard!
2024-11-01
NoVA FSS participated in the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ recent Street Smart pedestrian’s street safety promotional campaign where the utility of our Near Miss crowd sourced dashboard was referenced in the NBC news story. https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/transit-safety-campaign-implements-new-immersive-way-to-gauge-drivers-attention/3753593…
Northern Virginia’s worst areas for near-miss crashes identified by traffic safety group
2024-10-03
Author: Matthew Torres Published: 6:26 PM EDT September 30, 2024 Updated: 6:26 PM EDT September 30, 2024 ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A new report by a regional advocacy group found traffic near-miss incidents at the same location are happening more frequently in parts of northern Virginia. In its inaugural “Near Miss/Dangerous Location” summary report, Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NoVA FSS) said out of the 2,500 reports from January 2023 to June 2024, 82% had recurring dangerous events. “Whatever that location is, whatever the danger is, they see it all the time,” NoVA FSS Founder Mike Doyle said. “It’s gotten worse from two years ago.” The group began collecting data…
New report finds hot spots for ‘near miss’ traffic incidents in Fairfax County
2024-10-03
By Angela Woolsey Published September 27, 2024 at 9:00AM If you nearly get swiped by a turning car while walking across a street in Fairfax County, there’s a good chance that you or another community member has had a similar experience in that same spot before, newly released survey data indicates. The inaugural “Near Miss/Dangerous Location” summary report from the Fairfax chapter of Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets (NOVA FSS) found that 90% of the incidents recorded by pedestrians and cyclists since 2020 were recurring events — a higher rate than in Arlington (82%) or Alexandria (74%), the two other jurisdictions analyzed by the volunteer-run nonprofit. The amount of incidents flagged…
Failure to yield is top cause of “near miss” traffic incidents in Arlington, study finds
2024-09-27
By Dan Egitto A new analysis of incidents where people were nearly hit with a vehicle finds that “failure to yield” is the No. 1 risk factor in Arlington. The study by Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets, a pedestrian safety advocacy group, found that roughly 70% of responses listed this issue as the top cause of “near misses,” followed by speeding and obstructed bike lanes. Since 2019, the organization has collected 379 reports on near miss incidents in Arlington, according to a report released this week. They are most heavily concentrated on the following streets … READ MORE…