Dear Friend,
Delegate Barbara Comstock and Delegate Mark
Keam sent the following letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in
opposition to the proposed Bus Route 432 which would impact the Creek Crossing
neighborhoods in Vienna.
July 29, 2013
The
Honorable Sharon Bulova
The
Honorable John C. Cook
The
Honorable John W. Foust
The
Honorable Michael R. Frey
The
Honorable Penelope A. Gross
The
Honorable Pat Herrity
The
Honorable Catherine M. Hudgins
The
Honorable Gerald W. Hyland
The
Honorable Jeffrey C. McKay
The
Honorable Linda Q. Smyth
Fairfax
County Government Center
12000
Government Center Parkway
Fairfax,
VA 22030
Re:
Opposition to Board Action on the Proposed Fairfax Connector Route 432
Dear
Madam Chair and Members of the Board of Supervisors:
At
your next Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 30, 2013, the proposed
Fairfax Connector Route 432 is on the agenda. We join hundreds of our
constituents and neighbors of Vienna in voicing our strong opposition to
including Creek Crossing Road and East Street in the proposed Route 432, and we
urge you to either delay or deny this proposal.
Residents
of the Vienna community who will be most directly impacted by your decision
have collected 450 petition signatures against this proposal, which represents
95 percent of the affected neighbors. These constituents have been diligent and
consistent in speaking out against this plan at every local, FCDOT, VDOT and
other public hearings scheduled on this topic.
As
Chairman Bulova has done so, we have personally driven on the proposed transit
route and have spoken with neighbors multiple times. Based on extensive
research conducted by these residents as well as experts who have reviewed this
matter, we agree that traffic calming and safety concerns along the proposed
routes require significant further attention and proper long-term planning and
correction.
Creek
Crossing Road and East Street cannot sufficiently accommodate a transit bus
route as envisioned by this transit plan, due to existing road geometrics,
traffic congestion, vehicle speed, lack of sidewalks on both sides of the
street, and the increased risk posed to pedestrians and children in the
community.
Furthermore,
the traffic calming program that was previously offered will be insufficient to
address the comprehensive safety and traffic calming needs of Creek Crossing
Road and the surrounding community. It is also important to recognize the
negative impact this proposal could have on residential property values, safety
for families, and the overall quality of life in the community.
Many
of our constituents who have expressed these concerns with Chairman Bulova,
Supervisor McKay and others on the Board, were under the impression that
further review was being undertaken to remove Creek Crossing and East Street
from the proposed routing.
This
proposal before you today has not been sufficiently evaluated on all fronts,
and many other alternative routes should be considered that could receive more
support from the community. By allowing for more time to make necessary road
improvements, we believe the County will avoid added risk, cost and liability
issues
These
concerns about how this proposal would impact the community are serious and
considerable. We respectfully request that you listen to these concerns and
vote against Route 432, or, in the alternative, postpone making any further
decisions on this matter, at this time.
Sincerely,
Barbara
Comstock
Member,
House of Delegates
34th
District
Mark
Keam
Member,
House of Delegates
35th District