Residents say fixing Lee Chapel Road could save lives in Fairfax Co.
Residents say fixing Lee Chapel Road will save lives in Fairfax Co.
Thousands of residents are calling for safety changes to be made to a busy Fairfax County roadway. It comes less than a week after two teens were killed in a crash on Lee Chapel Road. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal is in nearby Burke, where he talked to drivers and elected officials about what they think needs to be done.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Thousands of residents are calling for safety changes to be made to a busy Fairfax County roadway.
It comes less than a week after two teens were killed in a crash on Lee Chapel Road. Police said speed was a factor in the incident. It's one of many crashes that have occurred along the same stretch before.
"I personally had somebody in my family that was hit at the cross section there, and was in the hospital for quite a while," driver Sandy Veatch recalled Monday.
Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, who represents the area, said he’s called for changes to be made to Lee Chapel Road before. Specifically, he’d like to see hills and curves eliminated while additional lanes are added. Herrity also pointed to state crash data, showing that over the last decade, more than 200 crashes have happened nearby.
"This is one of many roads in the county that, you know, when we used to be rural [they] might have been ok roads, but now that we have urbanized and cars have gotten faster and stronger, they need to be fixed," Herrity said.
A petition titled "Fix Lee Chapel Road and save lives" has garnered more than 10,000 signatures in less than a week.
Drivers who spoke with FOX 5 about the issue Monday night said they believe something needs to be done.
"I have a 17-year-old at home," Rob Pelletier explained, before adding that when it comes to Lee Chapel Road, "we tell him all the time, ‘be careful whether you’re driving or your friends are driving. Just be smart.’"
The road is maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation, which Supervisor Herrity said has added white hash marks to the road as an interim safety improvement. A request for comment emailed to a VDOT spokesperson Monday afternoon was not immediately returned.