Herrity to Host Meeting on Parkway Improvements

Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) announced Tuesday that he will hold a town hall meeting on the future of the Fairfax County Parkway on Oct. 23.

Originally scheduled for March, the town hall meeting will feature Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) officials, who will go over improvements that have begun and to gather public input on local residents’ “vision” for the road.

“We have had some successes in improving parts of the Parkway but I believe we need to get in front of the problem and establish a vision for its long-term future now,” Herrity said in a motion to the Board.

The parkway, one of the county’s key thoroughfares, is suffering from congestion that turns it into a “parking lot,” Herrity said.

Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) agreed.

“For the first time since I have been using the parkway as a way to get to the government center, I have never seen as much traffic backed up coming east,” Hyland said of his Tuesday morning commute. “The change is really spectacular on the one hand, but on the other hand, a tremendous problem.”

The Parkway’s status was upgraded from a secondary road to a primary road earlier this year, making it eligible for more state maintenance funding. FCDOT is also expected to add an additional lane to the Park southbound between U.S. Route 29 and Braddock Road beginning in 2013.

Herrity’s town hall will take place at Robinson Secondary School at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23.