 |
| An accident on Little River Turnpike May 22. [Photo by Rob Snowhite] |
Just this week there were two major accidents, including one this morning that shut down the road for hours.
A Toyota Matrix driven by a 19-year-old female heading east on 236 and turning left onto Pinecrest Vista Drive hit a Honda Pilot at about 9 a.m., causing the other driver to lose control and strike a utility pole, reports Fairfax County Police spokesperson Bud Walker.
The driver of the Honda, a 28-year-old man, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Walker said. The driver of the Matrix was found to be at fault for not yielding the right of way. She was not injured.
Rob Snowhite, a resident of Pinecrest, says lots of people exceed the 35 mph speed limit on 236 and ignore the red light and pedestrian crossing at Pinecrest Vista Drive. “It’s a dangerous intersection that needs to be monitored regularly police,” he says.
Another nearby resident said cars rarely stop for pedestrians, making it hard to cross the street in time to catch the bus.
Mason Supervisor Penny Gross noted that there already is a lighted walk signal, known as a “ped head,” in that spot but agreed that more needs to be done to improve safety.
Gross said issue of pedestrian safety on Pinecrest Vista Drive came up at a meeting of the Pinecrest HOA May 20, and members of her staff and VDOT will be on that site tomorrow to look at the potential for improved signage.
Gross also said she is working with the county to get more ped heads installed and her long-term goal is to improve sidewalk trail access all over Mason District and, in particular, to install a sidewalk on Little River Turnpike all the way from Lincolnia to the George Mason Library.