Attention Civic Association Leaders: It is important that your association adopts a position on Beltway widening and communicates it to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Two way you can do that are to sign a resolution and complete petitions. Here are some examples you can use:
Resolution (Word97)
Resolution (Text)
Petition (Word97)
Petition (Text)
Did you know?
- VDOT is planning 10 years of continuous construction to expand the
Springfield Interchange and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, repave I-66, widen
I-66, and expand the Beltway to 12-lanes for a combined cost of $5 Billion --
WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL SOLVE TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
(Click here for a picture of the proposed Springfield Interchange.)
- Most of the tree buffer around the Beltway will be lost if they widen the
Beltway.
- Expanded interchanges at Braddock Road, Little River Turnpike, Gallows
Road, Route 7, Route 123, and Georgetown Pike may be up to four times as large
as they are now, with towering overpasses and exit ramps extending deeper into
communities.
- VDOT predicts 300,000 cars per day will travel the Beltway, meaning more
and more will exit and require widening of intersecting roads listed above.
- National studies demonstrate that widening urban highways does NOT relieve
congestion. Additional automobile trips move to the new capacity which fills
up within five years. Widening the Beltway may still leave no room for an
extra 100,000 or more cars and trucks predicted for the year 2020.
- The expanded interchanges may destroy homes, neighborhoods and businesses.
- The project will damage or destroy wetlands and creeks such as Scott's Run,
Mill Creek, Backlick Run, Cameron Run, and Hunting Creek, due to excavation,
sediment and toxic runoff.
- Our air is already unhealthy, but more and more cars and trucks and no tree
buffer mean even more air pollution in your community.
- VDOT did not properly study light rail or Metrorail alternatives. They
rejected rail at an earlier stage even though the rail option will help move
more people through the area during rush hour than any other alternative.
- Unlike a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), VDOT's
decision to do a more limited Environmental Assessment (EA) means that they
will not adequately assess the impacts on your community or more thoroughly
investigate alternatives.
New Solutions Are Needed:
"If building new highway's solved traffic congestion,
then Los Angeles would be commuter paradise."
It's time for comprehensive solutions:
a. Change the way Fairfax and other counties design commercial and
residential areas. Rather than spread out development and office parks where
people have to drive everywhere for everything, concentrate development in
mixed-use town centers (e.g., Merrifield, Tyson's Corner, Annandale) where
people can walk or bike for some trips.
b. Link these centers to light rail, Metrorail and express bus service.
Providing rail access and an internal bus circulator to the largest center
Tyson's Corner, and redeveloping Tyson's Corner into a pedestrian friendly
center could significantly reduce traffic congestion on the Beltway.
c. Support growth management in Loudoun, Stafford and Prince William counties
and link their development to public transit. Significant amounts of traffic
in Fairfax orginates in these counties.
d. Provide safe transportation choices by improving access to expanded rail
and bus service. Make it easier and safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and
drivers to reach rail stations. Improve bus quality, bus service, and bus
shelters. Improve the links between our bus and rail systems.
e. Build a Metrorail or light rail circle line to connect the spokes of
Metrorail.
What you can do:
1. Attend these important meetings.
2. Ask VDOT to:
a. STOP their 12-Lane predetermined conclusion, until they,
b. LOOK in depth at rail, light-rail and expanded bus service as an
alternative.
c. LISTEN to the community by including citizens in the planning and study
process and conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement as recently
requested by the Environmental Protection Agency.
3. Call, write, and visit your Fairfax County Supervisors: 12000 Government
Center Parkway, Suite 500, Fairfax, VA 22035-0071; Phone 324-3231; Fax
324-3955. (See addresses, phone, fax, and e-mail contact information on our
Fairfax County Contact page.)
What kind of questions can I ask?
Click here for a Top 10 List of Questions to ask VDOT. Additionally, the Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth will be available on-site at each of
the three meetings to answer questions and will provide an extensive list of
questions you can ask of VDOT staff and consultants. Sample letters to your
elected officials, civic association resolutions, and petitions will be
available.
Learn about modern rail solutions, modern transportation solutions, and how you can make a difference:
The Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth holds monthly meetings/workshops, the fourth Thursday of each month, 7:30 pm, at the Packard Center, off Hummer Road near Little River Turnpike.
Contact Fairfax Coalition for Smarter Growth, Paul Hughes (280-1719)/ Roger
Diedrich (352-2410).
Return to Sprawl Action.
