Crosswalk Enforcement in Merrifield Starts Monday

Fairfax County police hope there won’t be a third person hit by a vehicle while crossing the intersection near the Dunn Loring Metro station this year.

With two people hit already near the busy Merrifield intersection, county police are beefing up their enforcement efforts along Gallows Road. County police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said the intersection has been identified as a problem area.

“The job of public safety is to protect people to keep them out of harms way,” Caldwell said.

Starting Monday, police will begin actively enforcing pedestrian traffic laws near the busy intersection. Over a recent five-day span, police cited 361 people for failure to cross in a crosswalk, Caldwell said. With a slew of construction projects, sidewalks around the station have been closed or blocked.

Caldwell said pedestrians are asked to veer in a slightly different route towards a crosswalk, which may take approximately three minutes longer to walk. Construction around the metro station is expected to continue through the next four years.

Pedestrians who don’t cross in the crosswalks could be fined $250.

“Instead of risking people being hit, they stand the risk of getting a ticket. Our goal is not to write tickets but to educate people," Caldwell said.

Jessica Gordon waited for the green light Thursday afternoon to cross Gallows Road to enter the Metro station. Looking both ways for possible motorists turning into her path, she said getting pedestrians to pay attention to traffic while crossing the congested area is a good idea.

“So many people just dart out into traffic without looking and I understand they’re in a rush or whatever, but they should pay more attention,” said Gordon, of Falls Church. “Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks but most people who cross near this intersection don’t cross at the light.”