A Penny for Your Thoughts

By Penny A. Gross: Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Local transportation projects would get a jump start under a proposal adopted by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Monday. Crafted by Board Chairman Gerry Connolly, the proposal would make significant improvements to Fairfax County’s trans-portation network, including roads, transit, and pedestrian facilities. Funding would come from a combination of federal, state, and county monies to complete projects.

Chairman Connolly noted that transportation historically has been a state responsibility, but the pressing need for improvements to our transportation infra-structure demands that the county also use its resources. “We must get Fairfax moving,” he said. Projects in the proposal realistically can be completed within the next four years, have no other sources of funding, and provide significant congestion relief for minimal capital outlay. The funding plan calls for a total investment of $215 million throughout the next four years, including $165 million in general obligation bond funding.

The Board already had adopted a Capital Improvement Plan that includes a $115 million transportation bond on the November ballot. Voters will be asked to approve an additional $50 million in bonding capacity for transportation. That additional money would be coupled with $50 million in state and federal funds anticipated by the county for regional transportation and air quality improvements. Major transit and highway projects would cost $90,850,000; spot intersection improvements would be $3,825,000; and pedestrian improvements are estimated at $5,325,000.

Major transit and highway projects include improvements to the Route 29/ Gallows Road intersection in the Merrifield area, a parking structure at the Virginia Railway Express station in Burke Center, and new transit centers and bus enhancements in the Richmond Highway corridor in the southern part of the county. Pedestrian improvements would construct sidewalks in several areas that receive heavy foot traffic. The spot improvements are intended as lower-cost, quick-hit fixes to clear bottlenecks, such as those on Little River Turnpike at Beauregard Street and at Braddock Road in the Lincolnia section of Mason District.

A variety of other transportation initiatives are included in the plan designed to encourage more residents to use transit (both rail and bus). Traffic flow would be improved by changes to signalization such as using a flash sequence at night, reducing gap time when there is no cross traffic, and enforcing “don’t block the box” laws at congested intersections. Enhanced incident management of fender benders and disabled vehicles would clear congestion and delays quickly.

Chairman Connolly also noted that the plan will provide Fairfax County residents with a range of choices, from teleworking to HOT lanes, from mass transit to additional road capacity, pedestrian access, and bicycle lanes. He also cautioned that Fairfax County must be a partner with, not a substitute for, the state in meeting these responsibilities. To suggest otherwise, he continued, “is to risk incurring billions of dollars in transportation backlog and to put unsustainable additional pressure on the backs of Fairfax County homeowners. With this plan, we will measurably improve our transportation network, or environment, and our quality of life in Fairfax County.”