The idea of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on Interstates 95 and 395 is not sitting well with Parkfairfax residents, and applying pressure on the Alexandria City Council to oppose their controversial construction is beginning to pay off.
The council voted unanimously last week to approve a resolution strongly opposing the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) plans for HOT lanes along the heavily traveled corridor. The vote, in part, was in response to members of Parkfairfax’s HOT Lanes Task Force, the community and surrounding neighborhoods who have been lobbying the lawmakers on these issues since spring.
“Parkfairfax became worried about this, and we put together this task force to look into [the HOT lanes],” said Greg Cota, co-chairman of the task force. “Since last spring, we have met with VDOT and [the Alexandria] City Council, and at one of those meetings, over 300 residents showed up. It really opened their eyes to the fact that there is opposition to this.”
Mr. Cota, 33, and the task force raised a number of issues about expected negative impacts on the neighborhood from HOT lane construction, including increased traffic congestion and accidents, pollution, noise and environmental effects on the Parkfairfax area, which borders Alexandria and Arlington. The group is made up of 15 to 20 community members who have held community events to inform residents and seek their support.
Transportation and traffic gridlock, especially in Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area, are major issues in Tuesday’s statewide elections at every level, from governor to state representatives. HOT lanes, which VDOT contends will ease congestion during peak traffic hours, already are under construction on the Capital Beltway (I-495) between Annandale and Tysons Corner. Commuters will have to pay tolls to enter the lanes to avoid traffic tie-ups.
In August, Arlington County filed a lawsuit against the proposed I-395 HOT lane project, Mr. Cota said, on the grounds that “the Federal Highway Administration and VDOT improperly granted a categorical exclusion.” A categorical exclusion allows a project to proceed without a full environmental review and fast tracks construction.
“If there was an environmental review,” Mr. Cota said, “we don’t even feel this project would get off the ground.”
The HOT lanes construction project would allow more cars to be on the road at once, he said, which has created an outcry from residents living not only in Parkfairfax but in other I-95 and I-395 neighborhoods in Arlington and Prince William counties, Alexandria and Fredericksburg.
“If you’re adding a lane, then you’re adding cars, and that will impact the whole city,” Mr. Cota said.
High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) express lanes, which do not involve tolls, already operate from the District to Prince William County, switching directions to accommodate morning and evening rush-hour traffic.
Another major concern for residents is the necessity to remodel the busy and tricky Shirlington Circle to accommodate HOT lanes. Mr. Cota said cement would have to be torn down and the project would have to “rebuild everything” while trying to keep traffic going.
VDOT has put the project on hold for now and has estimated it possibly would take up to five years to complete.
Mr. Cota said the Parkfairfax task force is planning to monitor the situation closely and considers its work far from done. Members plan to continue to speak with the mayor, state senators and VDOT. He said the City Council also is expected to produce a recommendation packet that will ask the state for an environmental review of this project.
“We’ve been filling up the in-boxes of the City Council, and we need to know about the pollution, air quality and noise,” Mr. Cota said.
Encouraging more single-occupancy drivers is not the solution to Virginia’s transportation problems, he added. “This [construction] could affect home values and make the traffic worse.”
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