Fairfax Board Opposes Dulles Toll Road Ramp Option

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors took steps Tuesday toward saving "one of the last standing green spaces" in a Tysons-area neighborhood.

A proposed ramp connecting an extended Boone Boulevard to the Dulles Toll Road that would ostensibly pave over a resource protection area has had residents in an uproar for months. In September, neighborhood and civic associations combined to form the Tysons Forest Coalition, gathering almost 600 signatures in an effort to save “Tysons Corner’s last forest and stream.” 

The county's department of transportation has been conducting a study of possibilities for ramp connections into Tysons, continuing the effort to turn the area into the county’s new urban downtown.

In a motion Tuesday, Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) requested county staff summarize the results of the study during the Jan. 15, 2013 meeting of the Board Transportation Committee, stressing she hoped they would remove the “Option 3,” through the woodlands, as a candidate. She said she wanted her motion to express a "viewpoint" that would be clear to transportation officials when the study came back.

The motion passed 5-1, with three abstentions. Supervisors John Cook (R-Braddock), Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and Linda Smyth (D-Providence) chose to abstain, noting it was unclear what exactly the motion was for and that they hadn’t seen the DOT’s study yet.

Frey cited the same reasons for voting against the motion.

“I’m not expressing an opinion here, I’m waiting for a study,” Frey said. “I’m happy to schedule it for the 15th … but if you’re asking me to vote today, then the answer is no.”

Supervisor Jeff McKay said he understood some of his colleagues’ confusion, and the point of the motion was to make sure the Board took into account the concerns of community members while making a decision.

Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville) didn’t hesitate to voice his support of the motion.

“It is blatantly obvious that Option 3 is not a good option,” he said. “A very large part of our community has had to live with this axe hanging over their heads.”

Del. Barbara Comstock (R-34) was present at the meeting, sitting in the back with a sign advocating to “save the forest.”

The Board of Supervisors’ Transportation Committee will convene on Jan. 15, 2013.