Yesterday, the Board approved permanently restoring funding for crossing guards at high schools, including South Lakes.

We took this action as part of our budget carryover review on September 15. Nearly $708,000 in carryover funds were approved to bring back 11 crossing guards to all the high schools where they were previously stationed. Importantly, this money is now back in the baseline budget and will be included in future county budgets based on our action Tuesday.

I opposed cutting crossing guards from the start and co-sponsored the motion to get funding reinstated. I am truly sorry I was not able to get high school crossing guard funding into the original budget, but it now restored.

Yesterday was a successful day. I especially want to thank all the Hunter Mill residents (including several South Lakes students) who came out and and helped convince my colleagues to do the right thing.

The Board of Supervisors also decided to establish a joint task force with the School Board to address pedestrian and traffic safety around schools countywide.

This effort provides an opportunity to collaborate with FCPS on critical infrastructure improvements to make our crosswalks, sidewalks, trails, and roads safer for all — starting with our kids. It also calls for collaboration with the Virginia Department of Transportation that controls most roads in Fairfax County.

During the Board’s discussion yesterday, I raised the important issue of funding. It was a funding cut supported by a majority of the Board last spring that cut high school crossing guards, and it was found funding at the carryover budget yesterday that restored the program. And according to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority the cost for upgrading Northern Virginia’s pedestrian/bike infrastructure to the level of our auto infrastructure will cost more than $14 billion. So funding is the elephant in the room, and it’s a big one.

In 2021, the Board committed to invest $100 million for projects to make walking and biking safer, and yesterday, we dedicated another nearly $9 million in carryover funding for this purpose. But most of this $100 million is tapped out, and clearly we need more. In Hunter Mill alone, the list of unfunded crosswalk, sidewalk, trail, flashing signage, and similar safety projects is north of 250 and counting.  

This continues to be a priority of mine. For example, six years ago, I moved to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety through the ActiveFairfax Plan to consolidate our bike and trails plans, and to more effectively use money and technology. I also sponsored the effort that ultimately led the county to place speed cameras in school zones, install stop-arm cameras on school buses and create the Take a Moment public education campaign. All of these required collaboration across local, state, and federal partners, and one helpful result is speed cameras near South Lakes High School, Langston Hughes Middle School, and Terraset Elementary, along with school bus stop-arm cameras.

There’s still a lot of work to do, but with support from the Fairfax County Public Schools and our state partners, we have a shot at making our streets safer for all, and well beyond the flag pole entrance at South Lakes High School.