Vienna-area families have until Thursday, Oct. 15, to flag walking and biking safety concerns near their children's schools through a Fairfax County Public Schools survey.

The district's Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Survey takes about five minutes. It covers walking and biking routes, traffic near schools, kiss-and-ride (drop-off and pickup) experiences, accessibility and other safety concerns, according to an FCPS bulletin sent to families. Responses will feed into the Fairfax County School Board's annual assessment of traffic and pedestrian safety near schools.

The FCPS Office of Safety and Security and the Safe Routes to School program are running the survey. The district asked respondents to name the specific school and pinpoint locations where they have seen a safety problem. Families with children at more than one FCPS school should fill out a separate survey for each.

The survey carries practical weight. Last year's version helped determine which schools were chosen for the SafeWalkr safe-walking app pilot that launched Oct. 7 at 14 FCPS schools, including Vienna's Freedom Hill Elementary, Patch reported.

The survey follows a series of pedestrian safety incidents in Fairfax County. Superintendent Michelle Reid said in a Sept. 8 statement that three students were involved in separate accidents with vehicles that day while riding a bicycle or scooter, and one middle school student died.

A Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets analysis found that 94 of 129 near-miss incidents reported countywide between January 2025 and June 2026 were flagged as recurring problems at the same locations, FFXnow reported. Children were present in 54% of those reports.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors also voted to restore crossing guards at 10 high schools, approving $707,908 in recurring funding, and created a joint task force with the School Board on pedestrian and traffic safety, Patch reported.

October is Pedestrian Safety Month. Responses will be kept confidential and shared with school administrators and the Office of Safety and Security, FCPS said. Questions can be sent to [email protected], and the survey is available on the FCPS Safe Routes to School page.