February 9, 2010
A concerned resident of Heywood Glen wrote to us today to inquire about the lack and/or poor quality of snow plowing by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) in that neighborhood. Although VDOT apparently has plowed Heywood Glen after this most recent storm, there was no plowing after the big storm in December and the roads through the neighborhood were a real disaster.
The quality of VDOT’s work remains problematic in Heywood Glen and in the portions of Lincolnia Hills that lie in Fairfax County; several vehicles were stuck in snow piles early this afternoon at the Lincolnia Road entrance to Lincolnia Hills because of a poor plowing job.
We have since learned that an officer of our civic association wrote to Penny Gross, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Mason District, in late December to ask about this problem. We print the correspondence below for your information:
From: Mason BOS Email <Mason@FairfaxCounty.gov>
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:23:48 -0500
To: Alex Sinaiko
Subject: RE: VDOT Question
Good morning Ms. Sinaiko. I am responding to your e-mail on behalf of Supervisor Gross. Thank you for sharing your observations about the lack of snow removal in the Heywood Glen and Lincolnia Hills neighborhoods.
On your behalf, the information you provided was shared with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the state agency that controls and maintains the roads in Fairfax County. After each snow event, VDOT’s superintendents for the nine maintenance headquarters in Northern Virginia assess with their contractors what worked and what didn’t so that service may be improved. Our office has not received any information about the percentage of neighborhoods VDOT’s contractors plowed during the recent heavy snowstorm.
The information you provided will be helpful to VDOT’s superintendent of maintenance for Area 2. Our office also asked him to flag the roads in the Heywood Glen and Lincolnia Hills communities on the snow map in anticipation for the next snow event. By flagging the roads on the map, particularly those closest to the city of Alexandria boundary, it will help ensure that they are not overlooked in the future. I hope this information is helpful to you, and thank you for your inquiry.
Sincerely,
Clara Pizana
Office of Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross
703-256-7717
From: Alex Sinaiko
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 11:53 PM
To: Mason BOS Email
Subject: VDOT Question
Dear Supervisor Gross, I was wondering if VDOT has supplied any information about the percentage of neighborhoods, subdivisions, etc. in Fairfax County it plowed during the recent heavy snowstorm. Unlike in previous years, our neighborhood (Heywood Glen) was never plowed, and neither were the Fairfax County portions of our adjoining community, Lincolnia Hills, to my knowledge. We have questioned friends of ours from various parts of Fairfax County and have yet to hear that any of their neighborhoods were plowed. Yet, the recording we listened to several times at the VDOT number kept saying that VDOT was still working night and day to meet its goal of plowing us all out within 3 to 4 days of the snow stopping. I realize that there have been budget cuts and money is very tight, but if plowing is no longer a service we are going to get, maybe it would be better to just have VDOT tell us that. I would appreciate any information you have about this matter. Thank you very much, as always. Best wishes for the new year, Ivy Sinaiko
Residents are encouraged to contact Penny Gross’s office and VDOT about problematic plowing.
February 3, 2010
Some articles from the end of January that touch on BRAC-133 and the I-95/395 HOT lanes project:
Murray sees traffic as one of the biggest issues facing Alexandrians and sneers at the Department of Defense building being built at Mark Center with lacking infrastructure to support the incoming 6,400 employees. He says it should not have happened under Moran’s watch. (However, it was the city government’s decision to shop the land to the feds.) Regardless, Murray hopes to seek out federal support and incentives encouraging teleconferencing and other alternatives to the daily commute.
Originally, the congressman had also intended to ask for $60 million to construct another direct access ramp for HOV and general traffic lanes from Interstate 395 to the new military facility off Seminary Road. But some members of the Alexandria City Council and the public objected to the project because of its effect on a nature preserve in the area.
Moran was unclear as to what infrastructure improvements that City Council was interested in seeing at the Seminary Road location and so he decided to devote his efforts and the additional federal funding to Fairfax County’s requests instead.
“I am very fond of the City Council and the mayor but they did not put in a request for a plan to be funded. I worked with Gerry Hyland, Jeff McKay and Sharon Bulova on a proposal,” said Moran.
Nevertheless, a lack of transportation infrastructure at Seminary Road is likely to impact Fairfax County residents who travel interstates 95 and 395 during the morning and evening rush hours, said several elected officials.
“I am going to do my very best to avoid that area in the morning and evening because it is going to chaos. I would advise other people to do the same,” said Moran.
January 24, 2010
From the latest newsletter of Penny Gross, supervisor of Fairfax County’s Mason District (of which Heywood Glen is a part):
The Mason District Area Plan Review (APR) Task Force has been assembled, selected from Mason District residents who volunteered in response to a notice in the Fall 2009 print edition of Mason Matters! Task Force members have a diverse range of backgrounds and a strong interest in land use planning. The Task Force will be responsible for analyzing the merits of all nominations submitted for Mason District properties, and will participate in the public meetings listed below. Recommendations generated by the Task Force will be included in the staff reports drafted by the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning. Staff reports are made public, and will assist the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in their decision-making. Nominations that satisfy the criteria and scrutiny of all three bodies will become amendments to the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan.
Mason District Task Force meetings will be held at the Mason District Governmental Center, 6507 Columbia Pike in Annandale, beginning at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3 – APR# 09-I-1B and APR# 09-I-3B (Bailey’s Crossroads); Wednesday, February 17 – APR# 09-I-2B and APR# 09-I-1J (Seven Corners); Wednesday, March 3 – APR# 09-I-1A and APR# 09-I-2L (Annandale/Van Dorn); and Wednesday, March 17 – APR# 09-I-1L (Lincolnia). APR information is available by calling the Department of Planning and Zoning 703/324-1380, or visiting the APR Web site.
January 22, 2010
Recent letters from local officials on access from I-395 to the new Department of Defense/Washington Headquarters Services complex at Mark Center (a.k.a. BRAC-133):
- Sharon Bulova, chair of Fairfax County’s board of supervisors, has written a letter to Virginia’s outgoing and incoming transportation secretaries with the county’s comments on the proposals presented last October by the Virginia Department of Transportation for getting I-395 traffic into and out of Mark Center.
- Rob Krupicka, a member of Alexandria’s city council, has a letter to the Alexandria Gazette Packet in which he notes that a “recent Gazette Packet article about the Council deliberations on transportation issues related to BRAC perpetuates the zero sum game mindset that leads to bad planning and bad outcomes.”
- William Euille (added after original post went up), mayor of the City of Alexandria, has a letter on AlexandriaNews.org about the city council’s actions on BRAC. Mayor Euille says, “The City Council has requested a more comprehensive and multi model I-395 corridor analysis from VDOT including a third option in making Duke Street an exit/entrance point for high occupancy vehicle and transit use on I-395…In addition, the Council requested VDOT to evaluate if Sanger Avenue could support a full or partial interchange without harming the Winkler Nature Preserve and evaluate neighborhood impacts. Other flyover options into the Mark Center will also be reviewed.”
