| Traffic
Safety Concerns Reviewed |
By Rebecca Plevin
Observer Staff Writer |
| Herndon High School parent Randy Palmer used to drive his
daughter, Emily, to school in the mornings. He said he observed
lots of drivers rushing onto Bennett Street and saw students
darting across the dark, busy street. It was, he said, an
"accident waiting to happen." |
| The accident finally occurred on the afternoon of March
7, when a 15-year-old student walked into the road without
looking and into the path of an oncoming car driven by a 17-year-old
student, according to Don Gotthardt of the Fairfax Police.
The 15-year-old was taken to the emergency room and treated
for non-life-threatening injuries, he said. |
| Palmer said his daughter was "sitting in line when the girl
was hit, and saw her go flying." He said, "She was really
shook up about the whole thing. It's not something you want
children going through." |
| The accident has highlighted the high school's traffic issues,
and parents and administrators said they are now doing what
they can to alleviate the problem. Fairfax County Public Schools
is dealing with the on-campus traffic issues, but since the
school is located just outside the Town of Herndon limits,
the town staff, Fairfax County and the Virginia Department
of Transportation may all play a role in ensuring safer conditions
on Bennett Street and Dranesville Road. |
| Some parents have called for a crossing guard in front of
the school, but school resource officer Thes Posey said the
traffic problem is larger than a police issue. There is an
influx of cars every morning at about 7 a.m., he said, and
students often cross the street without heeding oncoming cars.
"Bennett is not designed to hold that traffic," he said. "The
entrance and exit are not designed for that amount of traffic." |
| Posey, who was new to the high school this year, voluntarily
directed morning traffic-until he was hit by a student. The
accident occurred in December, at about 6:50 a.m., and Posey
recalled that he was "catapulted onto the hood of a truck."
The accident damaged his knee and he could not work for almost
a month, he said. |
| Since that incident, Posey said, he is not interested in
directing traffic. "My position is in the school," he said.
"That's where I'm supposed to be." |
| Posey has worked with principal Agustin Martinez and security
specialist Jack Brown to develop possible solutions to the
traffic situation. He said they are considering rerouting
morning traffic, so that all buses and cars enter through
the school's second entrance, and then continue in a one-way
circle around the school. This would ensure that all traffic
exits through the school entrance closest to Dranesville Road,
he said. |
| Martinez said he has a limited ability to solve the traffic
woes and, "Fairfax County schools sees it as a community issue."
He said he has commissioned a traffic study for the school
campus, and has also contacted Town Manager Art Anselene and
requested safety improvements for the roads. |
| In an e-mail to Anselene, which Martinez shared with The
Observer, the principal asked for two pedestrian crosswalks
on Bennett Street, near each entrance of the building, two
pedestrian crossing lights, located just before each entrance,
and four additional streetlights on Bennett Street. |
| In an e-mail response, Anselene said he would share the
request with town staff and suggested involving the school
safety staff and VDOT in the issue. The school is just outside
of the Town of Herndon limits, and Anselene said streetlights
and crossing lights on the school side of the street might
be outside of the town's jurisdiction. Anselene said the town
staff would review the crosswalk request. |
| Martinez said that for liability reasons, he cannot ask
any school personnel to serve as crossing guards. Ken Campo,
school safety specialist for FCPS, said the school could request
a crossing guard, but the school already has a controlled
intersection with a traffic light at the corner of Dranesville
Road and Bennett Street. |
| "At the high school age, kids are expected to push the pedestrian
crossing button and cross themselves," Campo said. "Even if
you put a crossing guard in, you can't make the students use
the crossing location." |
| Martinez said he has urged students and parents to be vocal
about the issue, because "more voices are better than one
voice." Palmer, the HHS parent, said he is planning on writing
letters to Superintendent Jack Dale, as well as state representatives
and the Fairfax County Police, to ask for help with the situation.
Palmer said the simple solution would be to have a police
officer directing traffic and said, "I'm just disappointed
in the police response to it." |
| Posey offered a short-term solution until traffic patterns
change and street improvements are implemented. He said that
parents, students and teachers should use their time more
wisely in the mornings, so that not everyone rushes to school
at 7 a.m. "Be a little more patient in getting to school,"
he said. |
