ALEXANDRIA, Va. 鈥斅燜airfax County is reaching out to the community in hopes of getting residents on board with a bus rapid transit system planned for a busy U.S. 1.
A聽public meeting for the 聽drew residents to聽an auditorium at Walt Whitman Middle School in Alexandria to hear from project planners and local lawmakers about the project鈥檚 progress.
The project would be the county鈥檚 first BRT system, running聽down the median of Richmond Highway (U.S. 1), with plans of linking the Huntington Metro Station to Fort Belvoir by 2028. A longer-term plan would eventually extend the system to Woodbridge.
鈥淲e want to try and make improvements to the transit system in the corridor as quickly as we can, and we know that bus rapid transit has a lot of potential for this corridor,鈥� said Tom Biesiadny, director of Fairfax County鈥檚 Department of Transportation.
With any possible Metrorail extensions to areas past Huntington as far away as 2040, planners say the BRT will provide an聽option that will get more people moving more quickly through Fairfax County from destinations such as聽D.C.
鈥淲e have a way to build up the highway, invest in bus rapid transit, make this a transit corridor without having to wait on Metro to get its act together before future expansions can be put in place,鈥� said Fairfax County Supervisor Jeffrey McKay, of the Lee District.
David Storck, county supervisor for the Mount Vernon District, says residents are on board with the plan, which he says will bring in more businesses and more housing to the area.
鈥淩eally less expensive housing than what you might find in Washington D.C. or other places that are already further urbanized,鈥� Storck said.
The plans are being worked on in coordination with the Virginia Department of Transportation, and also call for the road to be widened to three travel lanes in each direction. Bike and pedestrian lanes will also be installed on both sides of the street.
Stewart Schwartz, with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, said there is a big demand for walkable communities, and this plan answers that demand.
鈥淭o compete, counties like Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George鈥檚 are seeking to invest in more transit and more walkable communities,鈥� Schwartz said.
Studies are being conducted for the project and those will last through 2017. The county is planning several more community meetings before design plans are finalized.
