Citizens for Traffic Calming on Old Courthouse Road (CTCOCR)

Testimonials

* Susan P (10/28/2011)

Last week, I had another incident, although not on tape. Traffic was very heavy and the crossing guard was having trouble getting cars to stop, heading toward Tysons. About 4 cars when past her, the the kids were very good and no one tried to cross. When she did stop traffic, the second car in line pulled to the right and tried to pass the car the was doing the right thing and stopping for the crossing guard. I was walking my dog after leaving Rachel at the crosswalk. I then yelled at the man driving the car: "What are you doing? Are you trying to kill my daughter?" He would not look at me. The crossing guard yelled for the kids to stay back, which they did. Then the car took off and sped past the crossing guard and the kids. The crossing guard kept all the other traffic still, then allowed the kids to cross.

*Mickey S (9/21/2010)

Mine are both still in preschool (and over in McLean at that). But, we walk around the neighborhood, and to and from my sister's house on the other side of Old Courthouse (on Larkmeade). My concern for my kids and for my 22-month-old nephew crossing OCR to visit is enormous. I'd rather drive 3 blocks than risk crossing OCR on foot with my kids! We routinely yell at people who come flying down Course Street because it's a convenient cut-through. It's out of control, and we're on board to do whatever it takes to make it safer.

*Julie T. (9/22/2010)

I understand the sight distance and hill problem. My concern is kids crossing Westbriar Drive, but it is also the speed at which motorists come around that corner (from both directions but especially those coming down hill) and the number of motorosist who cut off that corner as they turn left into Westbriar Drive from OCR. More than once I have almost been clipped by drivers making that left, and backing out of my drive way can be perilous.

Thanks.
Julie

*Mickey S, Course St (10/11/08)
...Just a couple weeks ago, the Vienna Police Department had three officers – two on motorcycles and one in a squad car – sitting at the end of my street (Course), “catching” speeders. I took my two small children – 3 and 1 – down to see the police officers (and motorcycles – a big draw for both kids) as part of our family reinforcement that police officers are good people to know. As we walked up, they were dealing with a couple in a convertible that they had pulled over. After I’d introduced my kids to the policemen, the woman (who was driving), spoke up and said, “These are the nice police officers who aren’t going to give me a ticket!” I was stunned for a moment – she actually thought I was going to be happy for her?? I said, as politely as I could muster, “These are the nice police officers who are out here enforcing the speed limit for this reason” and I pointed at my kids. She sheepishly said, “Oh yes, of course.” I wanted to tell the officers to give her a ticket just for being an idiot!

But what it made me think about is that I think most drivers on Old Courthouse don’t get it because they just don’t understand the problem. Most folks using that road at high speeds are commuters using it to get somewhere in a hurry. I know the feeling – I go to work, I take my daughter to preschool, I come home after a long day…it’s tempting to just hurry up on that nice, long, straight stretch of road, especially when it’s “empty”. I think most people don’t realize it’s NOT a freeway; it’s not just a road - it’s a passageway through a neighborhood full of kids, by a school, where people actually care about the speed of traffic coming through, and not just ‘cause we’re lame old fogeys!

My point is this: as we consider the things that will help people to slow down, I think we also need to think about some kind of public relations, some kind of awareness-raising campaign. For example, about two towns over from the small town in central PA where I was raised, out in the country along a similar long, straight stretch of two-lane road, there is a HUGE billboard that says, “Charlies says, Speed Trap Ahead!” You know, I don’t think I or anyone I know has ever driven over the speed limit on that road? Granted, a billboard isn’t appropriate on Old Courthouse, but the idea is that I think we need to make people aware that they need to slow down and why. We’ve talked about the efficacy of speed-sensing signs; once people realize they’re speeding, they tend to slow down. What if we went a step further and made people in the surrounding neighborhoods who use Old Courthouse aware of the issues you raised at the meeting? The people at that meeting were largely other concerned neighbors; we need to reach out to the ones that aren’t concerned, and let them know why we need them to slow down.

*Virginia P, Old Courthouse Road (10/8/08)

Thank you for the minutes. They are comprehensive but after reading them I am concerned only
bandages will be applied. One concern is the lack of agreement between Fairfax County and Vienna regarding ticketing; it makes no sense at all. Also Fairfax police were to monitor traffic to determine the extent of violations. I assume if violations are significant, police monitoring
will be increased because presently it is non-existent. It was mentioned opening up the side streets to traffic so all traffic does not come down Old Courthouse and Creek Crossing.

*Cindy D, Country Club Dr (10/5/08)

The intersection at Westwood Drive, while heavily used as an alternative to Pine Valley Drive by walkers, does not have a cross walk, crossing guard, signage or any other safety features. I am sure that the intent has been to funnel pedestrians from the school to the Pine Valley Drive intersection where a crossing guard is present.

I used Google Earth to measure the two routes between the front door of Westbriar School and the SE corner of Westwood and Old Courthouse Road. The Westbriar Drive route was 0.34 miles and the Pine Valley Drive was 0.36 miles. To me, saving this extra 50 feet is not worth taking an additional risk, especially in the winter when the sun is during in car drivers' eyes during the morning school commute. But the Westwood intersection route is apparently perceived as being much more direct by many walkers. In addition it is taken by bicyclists who don't want to use the sidewalk because Westwood is a more residential street (although the portion by the school is very narrow with cars parked on both sides).

It seems that we either need a crosswalk and signage at Westwood Drive, or the Westbriar PTA needs a safety campaign to get families to reconsider the danger of using an unmarked intersection on a busy street. It would be interesting to count the number of walkers and bicyclists using the two intersections to see which is used more.

*David H, Key West Lane (9/24/08)

I would like to voice my frustration for the problem we face attempting to walk across Old Courthouse Road. I often cross at the corner of Pine Valley and Old Courthouse Road. The signs that are posted "Yield to Pedestrians in the Cross Walk" are poorly placed for drivers to see. They should be fluorescent for better visibility. A stop sign in the middle of the road that instructs motorists to yield to pedestrians would have more of an impact. The speeding, unfortunately will only be curtailed by a Police presence.

*Susan P, Old Courthouse Road (9/19/08)

I have lived on Old Courthouse for 20 years. It has always been scary, but especially so with kids. Speeding is a serious problem. Cars come flying down from the Tyson’s direction - and flying over the hill from the Vienna direction. I wouldn’t want to see traffic stopping on this road (I don’t think stop signs are a good solution), but traffic certainly needs to go slower.

My two 12-year-old Kilmer students have to walk three times as far as they should to a bus stop, because there are no sidewalks on our side of the street leading in the direction of the nearest stop. I will not let them cross Old Courthouse alone to use the sidewalks on the other side, and then back again to the bus stop on our side. There aren’t even any cross-walks. It’s like our neighborhood is split in the middle by the barrier of the road.

I have observed 4 separate accidents on Old Courthouse, usually involving only cars, but once involving a bicyclist. Fast moving cars try to pass those moving at the speed limit on the right hand side, sometimes conflicting with right hand turns.

The speed bumps placed up at the Westbriar end function perfectly at the posted speed limit. A couple of them should be placed in the middle of the span and at our end.

*Ilana T, Old Courthouse Road (10/14/08)

More than once I have experienced aggressive drivers on Old Courthouse Road. When I'm driving I have people honking behind me, tailgating me, or worse - I had one van pass me on the left. I have started to pull over to let these people pass as a safety measure for me and my 4 children.