Hostile Territory for Travel by Foot

The panel recommended that $60 million be spent on upgrades, including a Route 7 pedestrian initiative to complete the sidewalk and trail system along the road where Halimo Abdi died, and an effort to improve access to 150 of the county's bus stops.

The board instructed County Executive Anthony H. Griffin to include some of the task force recommendations in the transportation bond issue that is scheduled to be brought to voters next year.

"This document will not just sit on a shelf," said Fairfax board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D). "It will be implemented."

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It is rush hour on a recent chilly evening at the intersection of Route 50 and Patrick Henry Drive in Seven Corners. A young Hispanic man stands on the small triangular island of concrete between the four westbound lanes of the state highway and a two-lane service road.

He tries to cross the service road as motorists sweep past him, failing to yield as they turn left off Route 50. He sweeps his arm through the air in resignation.

" Muy malo [very bad]," he said, before scurrying across.

This is the deadliest time of day at the deadliest intersection in Fairfax for those on foot. Three pedestrians have died and 16 have been injured by automobiles here over the last four years, according to county officials. Inova researchers say accident data show Northern Virginia pedestrians are most at risk during the evening rush.

Fairfax police say that pedestrians are at fault slightly more than half the time in traffic accidents. The most common violation is crossing outside the crosswalk.

Around 6 p.m. on Dec. 9, Isidoro Rivas-Funes, 49, slipped or fell in one of the westbound lanes of Route 50, just west of Patrick Henry Drive. Witnesses told investigators that several cars swerved to avoid him. One could not. There may have been another factor involved: Police said Rivas-Funes's blood-alcohol level was extremely high. No charges were filed against the driver.

Even under ideal circumstances, the Seven Corners segment of Route 50 is a magnet for pedestrian accidents. It carries heavy, fast-moving traffic (more than 50,000 vehicles a day on average, according to state figures) through a corridor of immigrant communities where residents are less likely to have cars and more apt to depend on walking or public transit.

The road separates residential neighborhoods from retail businesses. And with long walks between controlled intersections, the temptation to cross in the middle is considerable.