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See below for an update from Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay on the story I posted about back on September 1 (After 16-Year-Old Student Hit by Car Near South Lakes HS in Fairfax, Three Former/Current School Board Members Urge the Board of Supervisors to “reconsider the defunding of high school crossing guards”). In short, according to Chair McKay:
- “Over the past several weeks, I have heard from many parents, students, educators, and residents about crossing guards at our high schools.”
- “Today, the Board of Supervisors approved $707,908 as part of the FY2026 Carryover Budget Package to restore crossing guards at Annandale, Centreville, Chantilly, Edison, McLean, Oakton, South County, South Lakes, West Springfield, and West Potomac high schools for the remainder of the school year. Coverage will be provided through a combination of contracted crossing guards and uniformed police officers.”
- “A crossing guard can help students navigate a particular crossing at a particular time of day, but creating safer roads requires us to look at infrastructure, driver behavior, enforcement, and how all of us use our transportation network.”
- “…earlier today, I introduced a Board Matter to establish a joint effort between the Board of Supervisors and School Board focused on identifying and advancing solutions to pedestrian and traffic safety challenges in our school zones. Restoring crossing guards addresses an immediate concern, but this joint effort will help us stay focused on the longer-term solutions needed to make travel around our schools safer.”
I’d just point out that pedestrian and bicyclist safety should be a much bigger issue than it’s been, but unfortunately, in this country – and certainly in a suburban (less so in Metro corridors, of course) county like Fairfax! – for generations the car has been king, with priority *overwhelmingly* given to (often huge!) motor vehicles than to pedestrians and bicyclists. Which, of course, is the polar opposite of the way things should be! The problem/challenge, though, is that to really get at this problem, you’d have to fundamentally examine and ultimately change the entire way people move around in suburbia, if there’s even a way for that to be “fixed.” Because, fundamentally, unless you have a high-density, transit-oriented development pattern, you’re inevitably going to have a LOT of cars to move people from their (usually single-family, detached) homes to the supermarket, work, school, or wherever else they need to go. And that, unfortunately, is going to lead to collisions with pedestrians and bicyclists – plus, of course other motor vehicles – and, REALLY unfortunately, injuries and even deaths. Not good…
P.S. Also worth pointing out is that Fairfax County appears to be the only jurisdiction in northern Virginia that has crossing guards at high schools. Which makes one wonder how kids can safely get to school in places like Loudoun, Prince William, etc.
Friends,
Over the past several weeks, I have heard from many parents, students, educators, and residents about crossing guards at our high schools. I appreciate everyone who called, emailed, testified, and shared their concerns with us. Public input matters, and your engagement helped inform the decision we made today.
Today, the Board of Supervisors approved $707,908 as part of the FY2026 Carryover Budget Package to restore crossing guards at Annandale, Centreville, Chantilly, Edison, McLean, Oakton, South County, South Lakes, West Springfield, and West Potomac high schools for the remainder of the school year. Coverage will be provided through a combination of contracted crossing guards and uniformed police officers.
Following the start of the school year, the Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) conducted evaluations at every high school location where crossing guards had been eliminated. Those reviews looked at existing traffic controls, pedestrian crossings, vehicle speeds, sight distance, crash and near-miss history, traffic patterns, and other conditions that could affect student safety. While the evaluations did not identify immediate safety concerns requiring crossing guards, they did identify opportunities for additional infrastructure and operational improvements.
Restoring crossing guards is an important step, but we cannot allow the conversation about pedestrian safety to end here. Recent events across our community have underscored that pedestrian safety extends far beyond our schools. A crossing guard can help students navigate a particular crossing at a particular time of day, but creating safer roads requires us to look at infrastructure, driver behavior, enforcement, and how all of us use our transportation network.
FCPD and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) have identified additional measures for consideration, including enhanced pedestrian beacons, crosswalk improvements, additional lighting and signage, radar feedback signs, and changes to traffic and parking patterns near schools. FCPD has also offered to train FCPS employees identified by the school system to serve as crossing guards and will continue working with FCPS School Security and school administrators to identify and address concerns.
This work builds on significant investments already underway throughout Fairfax County. The Board has endorsed the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All recommendations, and our 2025-2030 Transportation Priorities Plan includes $368.04 million for pedestrian and bicycle projects. As part of today’s carryover package, the Board also approved an additional $8.94 million toward our $100 million commitment to active transportation infrastructure.
These investments are part of a broader commitment to improving how people safely move throughout Fairfax County. I led efforts to develop the Countywide Bicycle Master Plan and establish free Fairfax Connector access for FCPS middle and high school students, and worked with our General Assembly delegation to secure the authority that ultimately allowed Fairfax County to implement school-zone speed cameras and school bus stop-arm cameras. Our approach to transportation safety also includes our “Take a Moment” public safety campaign for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists and FCPD’s Road Shark enforcement initiative targeting aggressive and reckless driving.
Local government has an important responsibility to provide safe infrastructure and make improvements where they are needed, but safer roads require collaboration. Most roads in Fairfax County are owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), meaning many infrastructure improvements require close coordination with the state. At the same time, the Safe Routes to School assessment identified challenges within FCPS’s control that also need to be addressed, including school arrival and dismissal operations and Kiss and Ride practices.
Improving pedestrian safety requires each of us to act on the areas where we can make a difference. We will continue working with VDOT, FCPS, law enforcement, and our community to advance improvements, while drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists also have a responsibility to safely share our roads.
That is also why, earlier today, I introduced a Board Matter to establish a joint effort between the Board of Supervisors and School Board focused on identifying and advancing solutions to pedestrian and traffic safety challenges in our school zones. Restoring crossing guards addresses an immediate concern, but this joint effort will help us stay focused on the longer-term solutions needed to make travel around our schools safer.
Thank you again to everyone who made their voices heard. I hope we can build on that engagement as we work together to make our school zones and our entire transportation network safer.
