As Fairfax County struggles to stay ahead of the population influx, its leaders are utilizing various tools to help provide transit relief for all of its residents who are all too familiar with packed roads.

One of them, the 10-year Comprehensive Transit Development Plan, drafted by the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT), is seeking to implement an overhaul of the existing bus service system. The overhaul, according to DOT officials, would streamline all of the bus service in the county, making it easier for residents to commute throughout the region without using automobiles.

“We’re trying to improve connectivity,” said Randy White, county project manager for the FCDOT. “Right now, there isn’t a way to get into Franconia-Springfield or to the Springfield Mall by bus [from Burke], so we’re trying to connect Burke to other parts of the county.”

Work began on the FCDOT’s transit development plan, according to White, in January 2008 as the county was looking to identify solutions to the transportation issues facing the area. White said that initially FCDOT carried out extensive data collection efforts to project how the population will grow and where changes to bus routes would have to be made. In addition, the department sent staff members out to ride on every single existing bus route in the county twice and while on the buses, did customer surveys to see what the public thought could be improved.

After reviewing the data, it became clear that Burke was one of the areas in need of change. The area that the FCDOT targeted for change, according to White, were the 18R and 18S bus routes. Currently, the 18R eastbound route runs from Coffer Woods Road and Blincoe Court to the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station only in the morning, and westbound, only at night. The 18S route only runs between Springfield Parkway and Bonnemill Lane and the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station traveling eastbound after 4:30 p.m., and westbound, only from approximately 6 to 8 a.m. Both of these routes, riders said, did not take them far enough and did not run frequently enough, either.

So, the FCDOT staff recommended that the 18R and S routes be eliminated, and called for the establishment of route 18A and B, which would both originate from the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station. Route 18A, according to White, would leave the Metro Station, go across the Franconia-Springfield Parkway to Rolling Road and then onto Braddock Road. Route 18B would follow a similar pattern, but would stop at the Burke Centre Virginia Regional Express Station as well.

“Essentially, what we’re looking at doing is to pull apart existing bus route 18R and S that run to the Franconia-Springfield Metro and create a couple new services that come out of there and serve Burke,” White said. “In both cases, 18A and B will go farther than both 18R and S.”

Though the development plan is only in draft form and final recommendations have not been presented, Burke Centre residents are already excited about the route’s possibilities. Kala Quintana, president of the Burke Centre Conservancy Board of Trustees, said that the proposed bus routes carry a long list of benefits that would improve the quality of life in the Burke area. Quintana said that people such as senior citizens who cannot drive would have access to the entire region, and that it would give working people more commuting alternatives. In addition, she said that taking more drivers off of the road would not only improve driving safety, but would also raise property values.

“We will be able to provide access so folks who cannot drive, and it allows working people to leave their car at home and avoid some stress,” Quintana said. “It’s things like these that draw people to our area and keep our property values high, and that is very important to our residents. It is a vision for the kind of system we should have.”

While the plan may solve some of the area’s transportation problems, White cautioned the Burke community not to expect any of these changes to happen in the near future. White said that at the moment, no money is available to institute the development plan, and as a result, the plan will remain in limbo until funding is secured.

“This is a 10-year plan, so people should not expect all of these things to happen on July 1, because they will not,” White said. “While we have identified quite a few changes, we do not have a funding source. Given the current budget projections, it’s an open question whether we will be able to implement the recommendations anytime soon.”

In the meantime, public hearings will continue to take place so that residents can voice their opinions on the changes, or to suggest any more. White said that five public hearings on the plan have taken place, and two more are slated for Monday, Nov. 16 from 6-8 p.m. at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax and Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 6-8 p.m. at the South County Center in Alexandria.

After the meetings are completed, White said that the consultant team that put the plan together would accept comment on the proposals through the end of the month and should have final recommendations completed by the end of December. The Board of Supervisors would most likely then discuss the recommendations in late January or early February.

“It’s important that the public stays engaged because the elected officials and county staff do listen,” Quintana said. “As the plan progresses, people who want these changes need to advocate for it.”