FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE DATE CONTACT: Paul Hughes
January 23, 1999 703/280-1719
VDOT’s Proposed 12-Lane Beltway Widening
Public Meeting of Chairman Hanley’s Task Force
to be held at the
Shrevewood Elementary School on Shreve Road
in Falls Church, January 26th, 7:30 p.m.
Fairfax, VA – The most significant meeting to date on proposed plans by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to widen the Beltway to 12 lanes and construct Los Angeles-style interchanges along a 13-mile corridor will be held on Tuesday, January 26th in Falls Church. Chairman Kate Hanley and Supervisor Gerry Connolly will hear first hand citizen demands for public transit in the Beltway Corridor, rather than the more ineffectual lane widenings VDOT prefers.
Several hundred Fairfax County citizens and civic association representatives, are expected to strongly register their displeasure on VDOT’s study at a public meeting of the Citizens Task Force appointed by Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Kate Hanley to "mitigate impact of any construction" of such a project. The Task Force is chaired by Jack Herrity, a former chairman of the Board of Supervisors. In the second of its four scheduled public meetings, the Task Force will hear from citizens from communities along the Beltway who, in most cases, have not even been made aware of this project by either VDOT or their elected representatives until the past few weeks.
Like those who confronted the Herrity Task Force and VDOT last Tuesday at similar meeting in North Springfield, citizens are not only concerned with the fate of their own neighborhoods but believe, as many others do, that we no longer have the funds to "build our way out of traffic congestion." Quality of life and neighborhood preservation issues are also primary concerns voiced by the citizens. A similar approach tried in Maryland a few years ago when I-270 was widened to 12 lanes, which almost immediately became clogged again. In fact, VDOT’s own analysis shows that even a 12-lane Beltway will reach saturation levels again within 5-8 years after its construction.
The Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth is in the midst of a campaign to inform communities along and near the Beltway of VDOT’s proposed plans and that these plans are being supported by their Fairfax Board of Supervisors. It has been trying to make clear to the VDOT and the Board of Supervisors that they must begin to "Plan with citizens, not for them." Its campaign slogan of STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN is meant to get elected officials and highway planners to STOP focusing simply on widening the Beltway; LOOK at Metro, light-rail, and significantly enhanced bus service along the Beltway Corridor from Springfield to the American Legion Bridge; and LISTEN to the citizens who desire to play an active role in determining the kind of transportation system affecting their communities, not merely react to a predetermined approach dictated by VDOT and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
Citizens will be asking VDOT why it is NOT studying a comprehensive public transit system that will "move people, not just vehicles." Citizens view this as critical since this project will affect travel patterns in Northern Virginia for the next 50 years. They will want to know what the total bill for this project is and how far from the Beltway will its impacts be felt – if current plans for a 12-lane Beltway go forward. They also will make their elected representatives aware of the human toll in their communities – to individuals as well as to their sense of neighborhood -- as a result of lifelong dreams and home investments crumbling in the face of bulldozers.
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