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Streetlamps to improve safety at Sterling intersection
CountrySide residents are breathing a sigh of relief this week as streetlamps at the intersection of Countryside Boulevard and Algonkian Parkway are finally lit.
It's been a long process, said Don Brock, vice president of the CountrySide Homeowners Association board of directors, but now, the hope is the intersection will be safer.
Two pedestrians were killed at night at that intersection in 2007, Brock said.
That January, Melanie A. Yost, 25, was hit by a car shortly before 8 p.m. as she was crossing Algonkian Parkway at Countryside Boulevard. She later died of her injuries.
Then, in August, around 9:40 p.m. 21-year-old Evgeniya Shcheglova was struck by a car and killed as she tried to cross the intersection.
There also have been numerous car accidents there, according to Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. Police recorded 11 crashes there in 2007 and two so far in 2008, he said.
Brock said it is a dark area where pedestrians, especially, are difficult to see and drivers can't see very far ahead.
“The problem is coming from the [Dulles Town Center] mall toward CountrySide Boulevard, you're going downhill,” he said.
Representatives from the CountrySide HOA have been working with Loudoun County supervisors and the Virginia Department of Transportation for years to improve safety there.
In 2004, former Potomac District Supervisor Bruce Tulloch secured funding for the project, and crosswalks and signs alerting drivers to slow down were installed.
Three streetlamps were approved in the fall, and the CountrySide HOA made an agreement with VDOT to pay $34 per month for electricity and maintenance, Brock said.
After more negotiations about the streetlamp design, the lights were installed April 1 and were turned on in the past week or so.
To address the car accidents, VDOT also is considering adding a right-turn lane from Algonkian Parkway to Countryside Boulevard.
Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac), elected in November 2007, helped the streetlamp process go through. This was an important addition for that intersection, she said.
“It was hard to see pedestrians there,” she said. “Hopefully this will help.”
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com
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