Neighbors are pressing county leaders to deliver tangible safety improvements to S. Carlin Springs Road by the time students return to school in August.
“This is an immediate emergency — an urgency that we cannot look beyond,” Glencarlyn resident Dixie Duncan said at the Board’s public-comment period on Saturday.
Duncan is among Glencarlyn residents who have pushed county leaders in the past to accelerate their efforts making the four-lane north-south arterial safer as it passes three local schools: Kenmore Middle School, and Carlin Springs and Campbell elementary schools.
She pointed to a June 2 incident, the latest in which a student was struck by a vehicle.
“We do not want more accidents on Carlin Springs,” Duncan said. “[Improvements] need to be in effect by mid-August so we can keep these kids safe.”
In response, County Manager Mark Schwartz said “tactical steps” had been taken in recent years to address safety issues. Efforts, he said, are ongoing.
“This is a hot spot. We’re paying a lot of attention,” Schwartz said, though he acknowledged that “at the end of the day, there’s more to be done.”
Board members largely echoed the theme that much had been done but more is left to do.
“There’s been a great deal of work,” Board member Susan Cunningham said.
“We’re going to try and do our best to mitigate any problems that exist,” said Julius “JD” Spain, Sr.
Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said he anticipated a safety audit for the roadway would be delivered before the 2026-27 school year opens, but hedged his bets.
“Overpromising and under-delivering is the worst, so I’m not going to promise,” de Ferranti said.
Duncan told Board members that accident statistics compiled in the corridor had a significant flaw: Some students involved in vehicle/pedestrian incidents never report them.
During the pandemic, one of the four vehicular lanes was closed to traffic as a pilot program. While county officials abandoned the effort, Board member Takis Karantonis said he would like to see the idea revisited.
A two-lane road until it was widened in the 1970s, S. Carlin Springs now handles about 33,000 vehicles per day, according to 2024 data.
Karantonis noted that much of the traffic is not local in nature, but from drivers attempting to connect between Arlington Blvd in the north to Columbia Pike and Leesburg Pike (Route 7) to the south.
Concerns of Glencarlyn residents probably were fresh in Board members’ minds at the June 13 meeting. A week before, four of the five had attended a breakfast as part of the annual Glencarlyn Days celebration, giving residents another chance to raise their concerns.
