Friday, December 16, 2011
Buses, telecommuting, staggered schedules and transportation fixes will be needed.
Congress is set to pass legislation today that chastises the Army and imposes restrictions to cap parking at the controversial Mark Center property in Alexandria at 2,000 spaces. The announcement was made today by U.S. Reps. Jim Moran (D-8), Gerry Connolly (D-11) and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner (D) at the U.S. Capitol. Language in the Department of Defense and the Military Construction Appropriations Acts will allow 2,000 parking spaces at the Washington Headquarters Services facility for more than 6,000 federal employees. It will also require the DoD to complete an "accurate" transportation study of the area, revise their Transportation Management Plan and comply with the recommendations of a damning report released last month by the U.S…
Saturday, September 3, 2011
The sixth part in a series of interviews with key officials
Thousands of federal workers will relocate to new offices in Northern Virginia in less than two weeks. Base Realignment and Closure, since it was announced in 2005, has threatened to cripple road networks as nearly 50,000 employees will soon be working at Fort Belvoir's main post, the former Engineer Proving Ground in Springfield and Alexandria's Mark Center off Interstate 395 and Seminary Road. "We've basically doubled the footprint of Fort Belvoir in four years - pretty phenomenal," said U.S. Army Col. Mark Moffatt, Fort Belvoir's Deputy Garrison Commander for Transformation and BRAC. "We were asked to do a mission set that's basically going to bring $4.5 billion worth of construction to reality. That equates to about 6.5 million square …
Friday, July 22, 2011
'The details are that you end up in traffic congestion, but we have jobs,' says FCEDA Chief.
Severe traffic aside, Base Realignment and Closure is a net positive for the Northern Virginia economy, according to Dr. Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. “Ghost towns don’t have traffic. Cities with a 15 percent unemployment rate don’t have heavy traffic during rush hour because nobody is going to work,” said Gordon, who spoke with Patch from his office in Tysons Corner. “Our traffic is all these people going to work. It’s hard to argue.” And Gordon had advice for commuters: "Start early. Adjust your hours. Go in early, go home early. Go in late, come home late. I think that’s the answer. Or go further out, get near a VRE [Virginia Railway Express] station, and take the train. Carpool…
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Senators Webb and Warner, and Reps. Moran and Connolly express concerns in letter to Defense Secretary.
The Department of Defense's occupancy plans for the Washington Headquarters Services facility at Alexandria's Mark Center property has been met by "strong opposition" by members of Northern Virginia's congressional delegation. It is widely agreed that the road network surrounding the facility cannot currently meet rising demand. The facility has to be ready for operation by Sept. 15, 2011. "The plan… contravenes the department’s assurances to work with the Virginia delegation and local governments to ensure that the occupation of the Mark Center does not cause failing levels of service to surrounding roadways and intersections, including Interstate I-395," wrote U.S. Senators Jim Webb (D) and Mark Warner (D), and Reps. Jim Moran (D-8th) …
Will Radle
4:02 pm on Sunday, December 18, 2011
Claims that the US Army ignored concerns of local officials is disputed by Dick Saslaw, Democratic state senate leader, who campaigned in 2011 showing voters a letter from Alexandria Mayor Euille and the City Council supporting and encouraging the project. more ›