Improvements to Richmond Highway: Community Meeting May 9

MAP courtesy of Fairfax County

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FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA -- Interested in the future of Richmond Highway? Want to have a say? Mark this date on your calendar: A community meeting on the "Embark Richmond Highway" project is set for Monday, May 9, from 7 to 9 p.m., at Walt Whitman Middle School, 2500 Parkers Lane, Alexandria.

Embark Richmond Highway is a multi-year effort involving land use, transportation planning, design and construction, which will result in a bus rapid transit system to operate primarily on dedicated lanes along Richmond Highway, according to Fairfax County. The stations will run initially from the Huntington Metrorail Station to Fort Belvoir and will include a possible future extension of the Metrorail Yellow Line to Hybla Valley.

As part of the project, Fairfax County will consider how to update the land use plan to support the future population and job growth, and the planned transit system along the Richmond Highway corridor. The County says they will focus primarily on planning for walkable, urban-style mixed use development near the future transit stations with the goal of creating vibrant, active communities where people can live, work, shop and play — all with easy access to transit.

There will be a formal presentation of the project, as well as remarks by Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck.

This will be followed by an open house in the cafeteria where you will be able to talk one-on-one with county staff representatives who are leading various aspects of the project.

Watch a video "Rolling Along Richmond Highway 1960-2010" about Richmond Highway here. The video features interviews with Delegate Scott Surovell, Gum Springs Director Ron Chase, Historian/Author Mike Bohn, SFDC Director Edythe Kelleher, and Executive Director of Arcadia Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Woodlawn.