Should Fairfax City complete George Mason Boulevard? If it did, what would be the impact on the southeast neighborhood and the Crestmont community? These were some of the questions City Council members grappled with during a Jan. 13 work session on the issue.
"If we're not truly ... providing relief to the southeast community, then we should pack our bags and continue to call it the road to nowhere," said Fairfax mayor Rob Lederer.
The heart of Tuesday's discussion was an attempt to appease the two communities who would be directly affected by the road's opening. Discussed by the city since the early 1990s, George Mason Boulevard had been designed to connect downtown Fairfax with George Mason University (GMU) and alleviate traffic in the southeast neighborhood of Fairfax. If the road was completed, the city would close a section of University Drive to prevent non-local traffic from cutting through the southeast neighborhood.
A portion of George Mason Boulevard already exists. It had been constructed in 1997 when the Crestmont subdivision, a community of single-family homes and townhouses, was developed south of City Hall.
Yet the road had never been finished because of the uncertain fate of a tract of land near School Street and Route 123. But once it was determined in 2003 that the land would become a luxury townhome development, the city dusted off its plans to complete George Mason Boulevard. Late last year, the City Council approved a resolution authorizing the road's completion.
The question now was whether completing George Mason Boulevard would actually alleviate traffic in the southeast neighborhood of the city. One proposed design of George Mason Boulevard presented on Jan. 13 was to have a feeder road onto George Mason Boulevard from University Drive. The road would benefit southeast Fairfax residents who could no longer use a closed-off University Drive in order to get to downtown Fairfax.
But Council members disagreed with the creation of a feeder, arguing that cut-through traffic through southeast Fairfax would still exist if commuters discovered the feeder's existence. The only way to have the feeder, several Council members argued, was to have two no-right-turn signs for commuters traveling northbound, one at the intersection of University Drive and Armstrong Street and one at University and Sager Avenue.
"In the long range of things, we're just causing another nightmare," said Council member Patrice Winter of that proposed design.
As a result, Council members decided against a feeder from the closed-off portion of University Drive to George Mason Boulevard, arguing that no-right-turn signs would have minimal effect, since they would be difficult to enforce.
Council members also debated how to address a petition signed by 59 of the 100 homes within the Crestmont community. Since George Mason Boulevard cuts directly through the neighborhood, the Crestmont homeowners asked the city to "keep University Drive open to traffic at the city line, provide suitable noise abatement walls along the Crestmont frontage, and provide additional points of access to GMU via Roberts Road and Sideburn Road," according to petition language.
While Council members hesitated to keep University Drive open, they did grant roughly $15,000 to study whether sound barriers could be constructed along the boulevard. They also directed city staff to examine pedestrian access and safety along the street, since the current plan does not have crosswalks designed into the road.
During the close of the discussion, Lederer asked the Council members whether the city should continue its effort to complete the road. Almost all the Council members agreed to proceed, with varying levels of approval. Council member Joan Cross proposed creating a circle at University Drive, Armstrong Street and George Mason Boulevard, which would allow some avenue for southeast Fairfax residents a more direct route to downtown Fairfax.
"This needs comes creative thought," said Cross, offering the comment as a suggestion in place of approving the project's continuation.
Once city staff take the evening's notes into consideration, it will present another draft of George Mason Boulevard to the Council. With that draft, the city will approach the Crestmont and southeast Fairfax communities for feedback before proceeding with final go-ahead.
"This is crazy," said Council member Gail Lyon, confused by the complex suggestions offered to relieve traffic through the affected neighborhoods.
"Therein lies the history of George Mason Boulevard," Lederer said.