Report: Prince William County pedestrians need help

By Elisa Glushefski

Published: April 28, 2008

A report released last week ranked Prince William one of the most dangerous areas for pedestrians in the Washington, D.C., region, and one of the authors of that report says the county needs to be doing more to identify ways to make it safer for those who don’t have the added protection a ton of steel provides.

The report by the Coalition for Smarter Growth examines pedestrian deaths in Fairfax, Prince William, Loudon and Arlington counties, the city of Alexandria, the District of Columbia and two counties in Maryland — Montgomery and Prince George’s — and the efforts local and state government are taking to improve safety for those who sometimes opt for alternatives to the automobile.

Prince William came in at third with an average of three pedestrian fatalities and 52 injuries per year, according to the report.

Additionally, it states that among other things, the county has not identified high-crash and high-risk areas nor is it in the process of fixing “priority areas.”

“It seems to be doing the least on the list,” Cheryl Cort, the group’s policy director and one of the author’s of the report, said Monday.

But Rick Canizales, transportation planning manager for the county, said he disagrees with that claim.

While the transportation office hasn’t done any studies on the most dangerous roadways and intersections, it does keep data on where accidents are happening and uses that information to determine what areas are in most need of improvements.

The transportation office, he said, is already working with the Virginia Department of Transportation on two sidewalk projects on Old Bridge Road and is looking into making similar improvements to U.S. 1 and parts of Va. 234.

“The system is working for us,” Canizales said. “We do a lot of planning in the comprehensive plan. ... I don’t necessarily see the need for some of the policies the Coalition for Smarter Growth would like to see us have.”

And Prince William’s ranking is slightly misleading, he added.

While the county had the fourth lowest average of pedestrian fatalities on the list, it ranked higher overall because of the methodology that was used.

To calculate a jurisdiction’s Pedestrian Danger Index, the Coalition for Smarter Growth examined pedestrian deaths relative to the percent of people walking to work and to bus or metro stations.

But compared to places like Arlington and Alexandria, which ranked lowest on the list, Prince William has a much smaller populace that walks to work, Canizales said.

Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said making the county more pedestrian safe will require encouraging more mixed-use developments and looking at reducing speed limits on some of the secondary roads.

While speed limit falls under VDOT’s purview, Stewart said the county could push for such changes.

“The truth is in many parts of Northern Virginia you take your life in your hands if you decide to go take a walk,” Stewart, R-at large, said. “…What we have to do is mix the retail in with the residential and not force people to walk on busy roadways that contain little or no pedestrian access.”

To view the coalition’s full report, visit www.smartergrowth.net/pressroom/csgfullpedreport08.pdf.

Potomac News and Manassas Journal Messenger staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062.