1. Attendance:
   1. Members: Jim Hart - Heritage Forest, Al Linch - Virginia Run, Mark McConn - Bull Run Civic Association, Jeff Parnes - Chantilly Highlands, Glenn Stroup - Franklin Farm, Larry Tessier - Franklin Glen

   2. Guests: Lee Fifer - McGuire, Woods, Battle; Ron Koch - Sully Planning Commissioner; Ron Peterson - Virginia (unknown); Lynn Strobel - Walsh, Colucci, et al; Phil Yates - Dewberry and Davis

2. Presentations:
   1. 7:30
      • Action: plan amendment to extend sewer
        
      • Location: upper reaches of the Cub Run watershed

      The committee heard a proposed plan amendment to extend sewer to the upper reaches of the Cub Run watershed. The lower part of the Cub Run watershed currently has sewerage with the capacity necessary to support the remainder. By introducing sewer service, it will be possible to build residences using in clusters, rather than having to spread them out in order to allow each their own septic fields. With the clustering of residences, additional open space and roads can be proffered. The proponents of the plan amendment envision that water service would also be introduced to the area. County staff is already considering the realignment of Braddock Road to Westfields to decrease traffic pressure on the two-lane section of Braddock Road southeast of the Chantilly Golf Course. The proponents talked about creating a new road that would bring Pleasant Valley Road to the tri-county connector. The portion of Pleasant Valley Road that goes through Virginia Run would meet in a T-junction with the newly extended Pleasant Valley Road. No increased density or attached dwellings within the watershed are envisioned by this plan amendment. The committee had no objections to this plan amendment at this time, but wished to see a more fleshed out version in the future.

   2. 8:00
      • Proponent: Korean Catholic Church
        
      • Action: increase the number of parking spaces and build an addition to the present structure
        
      • Location: corner of Stringfellow Road and Fair Lakes Parkway

      The committee heard a proposal by the Korean Catholic Church at the corner of Stringfellow Road and Fair Lakes Parkway to increase the number of parking spaces and build an addition to the present structure. The Church recently purchased the land immediately to its west, and there it plans to build the additional parking spaces. It is negotiating with VDOT to build an entrance to the church's parking space on Stringfellow Road opposite the entrance to the Poplar Tree Park. The church would like the entrance to be open on Sundays from 9am to 1pm, and has proffered that it would remain gated at all other times. VDOT may only allow right ins and outs if they allow the entrance at all. The committee had no objection with the proposal at this time.

3. Old Business:
   1. The committee reviewed the many worthwhile submissions it had received as possible nominees to the county's spot improvement program. The committee forwarded improvements to the Route 29/ I-66 intersection and the Fairfax County Parkway between I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road as its recommended nominations to Dick Frank, the Sully Transportation Advisory Committee member.
      • The Route 29/I-66 intersection needs a light on the east side of the intersection to allow traffic from east bound I-66 to safely make a left turn to go westbound on Route 29. This light would allow eastbound Route 29 traffic to safely turn onto eastbound I-66. In addition, there needs to be a pedestrian walkway under the Route 29/I-66 overpass. Although pedestrians can walk in the shoulder elsewhere, it is very dangerous right under the bridge as there is nowhere to go except in the lane of travel.
      • VDOT needs to optimize the timing of the traffic signals along the Fairfax County Parkway from I-66 north to the Dulles Toll Road. While this will not eliminate all of the currently observed peak hour congestion along this route, it should provide some improvement.
      The committee forwarded to VDOT several nominations it had received that it thought could be accomplished at little or no cost. These included:
      • Excavate away some of the land on the south side of Rte 50 and west of Stringfellow Rd to improve the line of sight for Stringfellow Rd traffic turning right onto east bound Rte 50. Since VDOT made the eastbound far right side lane of Route 50 at Stringfellow Road both a through traffic and right turn lane (previously right turn only), it is now dangerous to make a right turn on red from northbound Stringfellow Road to eastbound Route 50. Drivers waiting on Stringfellow Road at Route 50 to make this turn can only see a very short distance (perhaps 50 ft past the intersection) because of the rise in Route 50 and the high mound of earth and associated tall grass immediately adjacent to the highway.
      • On northbound Stringfellow Road at Route 50 repaint the Stringfellow Road stop line for left hand turn traffic and move it farther back from the intersection so that those trying to make the right had turn can see the eastbound traffic approaching the intersection. Cars pull too far up and block the vision of adjacent vehicles in the right turn lane.
      • Paint left turn lane arrows on the left turn lanes that were created on Stringfellow Road at Point Pleasant Drive and at Poplar Tree Road.
      • Make the center lane on the nearest exit from the Fair Lakes Center (Hechinger mall) both a left-turn as well as a straight through arrow. People get stuck through two lights trying to make a left turn with only one short turn lane. There are rarely any oncoming vehicles exiting the TRW entrance that is on the opposite side.
      • Widen the entrance/exit to Greenbriar Park parking lot on the eastern side of Stringfellow Road, making it two lanes wide. The existing entrance/exit is only wide enough to accommodate one vehicle at a time. When an exiting car is blocking the drive, southbound Stringfellow Road traffic backs up for literally blocks when a car is waiting to make a left turn into the parking lot. Because of the high volume of traffic on Stringfellow Rd, it often impacts both north and southbound traffic. The park is in very high demand on afternoons and weekends with countywide youth and adult sporting activities.

4. New Business:
   1. The committee reviewed the I-66 Corridor Major Investment Study strategies. The strategies studied were redefined by the I-66 Corridor MIS Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and the I-66 Corridor MIS Policy Advisory Committee. These strategies represent a range of modal choices focusing on transit and highway improvements. Two of the strategies to be evaluated serve as the base for comparing the effectiveness of the strategies and are defined as follows:
      • Baseline Scenario: The existing transportation system and committed improvements as defined in the region's Constrained Long Range Transportation Plan (CLRP). This alternative will serve as the basis for all future travel demand model applications.
      • Enhanced Baseline Scenario: The Baseline Scenario with significant bus system improvements represents the low capital cost transportation system management alternative (or TSM) required to be evaluated in an environmental review.

      The strategies to be evaluated are combinations of two or three of the following four major elements:

      1. General Purpose Lanes - Adding general purpose lane capacity to I-66 and/or adjacent arterials.
      2. High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) - Adding barrier-separated HOV lanes on I-66 and/or adjacent arterials.
      3. Light Rail Transit (LRT) - Construction of a light rail transit system in the corridor to serve the Dulles Airport and Manassas areas and the terminal Metrorail station.
      4. Metrorail (Metro) - The extension of the existing Metrorail system in the corridor beyond the existing terminus at Vienna.

      The committee evaluated the following transportation strategies as redefined by the TAC and PAC:

      1. Strategy #1 General Purpose Lanes and HOV
         • Improvements to I-66, Rt. 29 and Rt. 50
         • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
         • HOV extension on Rt. 29
         This strategy is primarily highway oriented. The HOV demand in the corridor would warrant barrier-separated HOV lanes.

      2. Strategy #2 General Purpose Lanes and Light Rail
         • Improvements to I-66 (only)
         • Light Rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas
         This strategy would combine additional general-purpose lanes on I-66 with light-rail service focused on the existing Metrorail terminus at Vienna.

      3. Strategy #3 General Purpose Lanes and Metrorail
         • Improvements to I-66, Rt. 29 and Rt. 50
         • Metrorail extension to Gainesville
         The improvements to I-66 would add one additional general-purpose lane in each direction between I-495 and Route 50. Metrorail would be extended in the median of I-66 from the existing terminal station at Vienna to a new terminal station in the vicinity of Gainesville with a number of intermediate station sites.

      4. Strategy #4 HOV and Light Rail
         • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
         • HOV extension on Rt. 29
         • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas
         This strategy combines reversible, barrier-separated HOV lanes on I-66 with light rail lines to Route 28/50 and Manassas serving the existing Metrorail terminus at Vienna.

      5. Strategy #5 HOV and Metrorail
         • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
         • HOV extension on Rt. 29
         • Metrorail extension to Centreville
         This strategy combines reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66 with an extension of the existing Metrorail system to Centreville.

      6. Strategy #6 Light Rail and Metrorail
         • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas Airport with connection at Centreville
         • Metrorail extension to Centreville
         This strategy tests the effectiveness of extending Metrorail to Centreville with a Light-rail connection to the north and south from the Metrorail terminal station.

      7. Strategy #7 General Purpose Lanes, HOV, and Light Rail
         • Improvements to I-66 (only)
         • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
         • HOV extension on Rt. 29
         • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas
         This strategy would combine additional general purpose lanes on I-66 with reversible, barrier-separated HOV and light rail lines to Route 28/50 and Manassas serving the existing Metrorail terminus at Vienna. This strategy would not include additional general purpose lanes on Route 29 or Route 50.

      8. Strategy #8 General Purpose Lanes, HOV and Metrorail
         • Improvements to I-66, Rt. 29 and Rt. 50
         • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
         • HOV extension on Rt. 29
         • Metrorail extension to Centreville
         This strategy combines additional general-purpose lanes on I-66, Route 29 and Route 50; reversible, barrier-separated HOV; and extension of the existing Metrorail system to Centreville.

      9. Strategy #9 General Purpose Lanes, Light Rail and Metrorail
         • Improvements to I-66, Rt. 29 and Rt. 50
         • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas Airport with connection at Centreville
         • Metrorail extension to Centreville
         This strategy combines additional general purpose lanes on I-66, Route 50 and Route 29 with light rail service focused on an extended Metrorail terminus station at Centreville.

      10. Strategy #10 HOV, Light Rail and Metrorail
          • Reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
          • HOV extension on Rt. 29
          • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas Airport with connection at Centreville
          • Metrorail extension to Centreville
          This strategy combines reversible, barrier-separated HOV with light rail lines to Route 28/50 and Manassas serving an extended Metrorail terminus station at Centreville.

      11. Strategy #11 I-66 Express/Local
          • Widen I-66 to six lanes in each direction
          • Widen I-495 to six lanes in each direction
          This strategy would widen I-66 to six lanes in each direction with an express/local configuration. This strategy would also assume that I-495 is widened to six lanes in each direction with an express/local configuration consistent with the Recommended Strategy Package in the Capital Beltway Study MIS Results Report (January 1997).

      12. Strategy #12 'Super Bus'

          This strategy would consist of significant bus system improvements that include expanding existing service, providing new service between various origins and destinations, reducing bus headways and increasing the frequency of service on Metrorail to Vienna. This strategy is intended to represent a more flexible transit improvement that could better serve the travel patterns in the corridor.

      13. Strategy #13 County Highway Plan

          This strategy would include selected roadway improvements that are part of the County Comprehensive Plans but are not in the CLRP. The improvements to be included in the strategy will be defined in consultation with county staff. Preliminary recommendations for inclusion in this strategy include the following roadways:

          • Proposed Tri-County Parkway
          • Proposed Stone/Braddock Road Connector
          • Proposed Rt. 234 Bypass north of I-66

      14. Strategy #14 Generic Rail to Gainesville

          This strategy would put a fixed rail system in the median of I-66 between the Vienna Metrorail station and Gainesville. The rail system may be directly compatible with Metrorail or may be a different technology requiring a transfer at Vienna.

      15. Strategy #15 Virginia Railway Express

          This strategy would extend VRE service to Gainesville. This element could be combined with any of the strategies defined above.

      The committee felt that a combination of alternatives would best meet the needs of the corridor. These would include:

      • Construction of the reversible, barrier-separated HOV on I-66
      • Light rail to Rt. 28/50 and Manassas Airport with connection at Centreville (as per the Route 28 Task Force recommendations)
      • Fixed or light rail system in the median of I-66 between the Vienna Metrorail station and Gainesville. The rail system may be directly compatible with Metrorail or may be a different technology requiring a transfer at Vienna, but in any case the connection to Centreville should be of a higher priority than it's eventual expansion to Gainesville.

5. The next meeting will be held on 1 December.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeffrey M. Parnes
Chair, Sully District Council
Land Use and Transportation Committee