20 Safety Improvements For Blake Lane Identified In Road Audit Report

FAIRFAX, VA — Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik's office is soliciting feedback about the recently released final report from the Blake Lane Pedestrian Road Safety Audit. Members of the public can provide feedback about the report by completing an online survey.

Information in the RSA report was assembled by a team of representatives from the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Fairfax County departments of transportation and health, Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County Police Department and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets, as well as transit providers and area residents.

The RSA team focused on studying the roughly two-mile stretch of Blake Lane between Chain Bridge Road/Route 123 and Route 29, identifying pedestrian and bicycle safety issues, and proposing improvements for all road users.

After assessing current conditions and with input from the community, the RSA team recommended 20 short-, intermediate- and intermediate/long-term measures that if adopted could improve safety on Blake Lane. (See table).

"Some of these recommendations are dependent on implementation of other improvements before they can be advanced, such as the installation of new crosswalks and pedestrian refuge islands at locations where turn lanes could be removed," according to the RSA report's conclusion. "All of the suggested infrastructure improvements require additional engineering and assembly of plans for construction, funding for implementation, and coordination between appropriate entities."

Although residents had expressed concerns in the past, it was a fatal collision in June 7, 2022 that focused attention on pedestrian and bicycle safety along Blake Lane.

Ada Gabriela Martinez Nolasco and Leeyan Hanjia Yan were killed when a BMW driven by fellow Oakton High School student Usman Shahid struck them after his car collided with an SUV making a lefthand turn at the Five Oaks Road intersection. A third student walking home with Nolasco and Yan was also severely injured in the crash.

A Fairfax County jury convicted Shahid on April 25 on two counts of manslaughter in connection with the crash. The jury recommended a sentence of two years in prison for each charge. Shahid returns to court on July 19 for final sentencing.

In the months following the crash, Fairfax County took a number of steps to improve safety on Blake Lane. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the installation of “$200 additional fines for speeding” and "Watch for Children" signs on Blake Lane.

Before the start of the 2022-2023 school year, Fairfax County Public Schools moved bus stops serving all grade levels off of Blake Lane.

The board of supervisors approved a board matter introduced by Palchik and Hunter Mill Supervisor Walter Alcorn calling on the county to purchase speed cameras and install one at Blake Lane near Oakton High School.

On April 29, a speed camera installed along the southbound lanes of Blake Lane prior to the Sutton Road intersection was activated. Most of the students who live to the west and south of Oakton High School access the campus at that intersection.

Following a 30-day warning period, the county began issuing fines on an escalating scale, starting at 10 mph over the speed limit. Drivers who are caught speeding by the camera are subject to a fine in the following increments:

• $50 for 10-14 mph over limit
• $75 for 15-19 mph over limit
• $100 for 20 mph or more over limit

“I am hopeful this new speed camera will be as effective in helping reduce speeds as the other pilots have seen so far across the county," Palchik said, in May. "To be most effective, however, this new enforcement tool must continue to be coupled with education and engineering enhancements to make our roads safer for all who use them.”

Related:

• Driver Sentenced In Crash That Killed 2 Oakton High School Students
• Driver In Crash That Killed 2 Students Convicted, Sentencing Delayed
• Oakton High School Community Mourns Loss Of 2 Students Killed In Crash
• Crash Kills 2 Oakton High School Students, Injures Third: Police