They want the public’s input, and to prove that, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation is holding a series of meetings. The goal is to solicit public input on the County Transportation Plan Update, and this week the first of those meetings was held at the South County Center. Six more meetings will be held throughout the county during the next two weeks; for more information visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/transplanupdate.htm.
The purpose of the March public meetings is to introduce the plan update process, present an overview of countywide transportation needs, and engage the public in the discussion and review of the current Transportation Plan.
In addition to the March public meetings, constituents can send suggestions and comments in writing and on-line.
The Transportation Plan (Transplan) is a part of the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan and serves as a guide for long-range transportation development in the county. The current Transportation Plan was originally adopted in 1990.
The county makes modifications to the Comprehensive Plan, including the Transportation Plan, through a continual review process. In 2001, the Board of Supervisors established the 2001-2005 schedule for Comprehensive Policy Plan Review with the Transportation Plan Update scheduled to take place at the end of this process. The plan update will take approximately 18 months and is targeted for completion by the end of this year.
THE SECOND ROUND of public meetings is scheduled for summer 2005. These meetings will present a draft transportation plan for public comment. Meeting dates and locations will be announced in late spring 2005.
After the summer public meetings, the county will continue to work on the draft Transportation Plan based on public input. Public hearings will be scheduled in late fall 2005 before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
Leonard Wolfenstein, head of the transportation planning section, presented the information at this week’s meeting, along with Louis Grimm, who represents Cambridge Systematics.
They spoke about the changing demographics of Fairfax County; from 1990 to 2005, the population has grown by 28 percent and employment by 47 percent. Most trips originate from the home and occur at similar times of day, creating rush hours in the morning and the evening. They are currently looking at how many trips are taken, where the trips begin, what mode of transportation is taken and what routes. There are currently almost 3,400 lane miles of highway capacity; projections indicate that there will be almost 4,000 by 2030 based upon existing trends of land use development and economic growth.
Questions from the audience centered on issues of local roads: improvement of Fort Hunt and Collingwood Roads. There was also concern that there wasn’t enough emphasis on rail, and too much on building new roads.
Ho Chang, director of Fairfax County Department of Transportation, said that the state policy has changed towards the two modes (rail and road), but that there is still work to be done.
Wolfenstein emphasized that what they are currently working on is a “needs plan,” not a “funding plan.” This will become the basis for what gets funded.