To the Editor:

Wake up politicians in Northern Virginia: we need four lanes on Route 1 in both directions that are usable. Traffic is backing up further and further at Kings Crossing and the Costco/Wal-Mart location near Hybla Valley. The back up at Kings Crossing causes commuters to take Fort Hunt, Quander Road to Sherwood Hall Lane. Sherwood Hall Lane is now backed up from Route 1 past the Sherwood Regional Library almost every afternoon.

There are several things that can be done with seemingly little effort that would improve traffic flow quickly. Please stop trying to placate us by funding another million-dollar study that talks about buses and Metro. In the last few years at least $4 million has been spent to “study” the problem of Route 1. Stop wasting our money. Everybody who drives on Route 1 could tell you what I am describing for free.

The buses and Metro solutions are in the billion $$ category. Look at how much time and money have gone into the Silver Line and it still is not operating. Modernizing and improving Route 1 would be much more cost effective and immediate.The general public is buying more cars than ever before and therefore there is a real world demand for more traffic lanes. This is today’s reality. You need to change your mass transit bias.

Some immediate action items that will benefit all of us and can be accomplished near term:

• Remove all bus stops that do not allow the bus to be completely out of the right lane to pick up passengers. And, do not permit a second bus to stick its nose into the curb which then leaves the back of the bus blocking two lanes. This happens often at Kings Crossing southbound so that southbound traffic is backed up to Quander Road.

• Install 2-foot vertical plastic poles in all of the areas where people insist turning left from the middle lane and thereby blocking a complete lane of traffic. This is not only a dangerous and unsafe condition, but it also results in significant traffic delays. Suggested locations are the Old Thieves Market and from Frye Rd towards the Post Office.

• Do not issue another building permit to anybody near Route 1 until realistic plans for achieving the desperately needed four lanes are in place.

When I read the interim report from the last “study” it was full of suggestions like more buses and extending the Yellow Line from Huntington Metro to Ft Belvoir. Del. Scott Surovell just sent me a “Your Opinion Matters” 2014 constituent survey. Question 7 in this survey does not even mention what is really needed: Route 1 should be made into a major roadway with four lanes going in each direction with left and right turn lanes; plastic poles to prevent left turns from blocking a complete lane of traffic while the vehicle is waiting to turn, and bus stops that ensure a bus completely leaves the curb lane free for traffic. To make Route 1 into a major roadway vice the congested road it currently is would likely not take nearly what it would cost to extend the Yellow Line or to buy more buses. Once Route 1 is usable then work can begin on the Yellow Line / Bus issues.

All building permits should be put on hold until the developer can help with the cost of adding lanes and traffic patterns to accommodate their developments. We now have Costco/Wal-Mart and Kings Crossing retail facilities attracting huge numbers of shoppers and yet there is not one new lane for traffic in any direction. Planning means taking into account the traffic created by growth and public requirements, with safety being paramount.

BUSES:

Facts:

• The people who drive vehicles pay 80 percent of the cost of bus transportation so we should have an input into how many there are and where they go.

• The current bus stops on Route 1 in many places reduce the available lanes by 33 percent to 50 percent because there is no dedicated pull out at the bus stops. This is especially true at Kings Crossing and Hybla Valley.

• During a two-month period during January and February 2014 I kept track of the number of people riding buses along Route 1 as observed from Beacon Hill and Hybla Valley and Fort Hunt. The Fort Hunt buses never had more than 10 passengers on the bus at one time. The Beacon Hill and Hybla Valley buses were usually half full or less. My observations were usually after 6 pm. Conclusion: the current buses are way too big. Many times in the evening the buses are completely empty. When you go to the Mount Vernon circle at about 7 in the evening you can see 2-3 buses sitting there empty. Suggest getting smaller buses, and run them less often, and stop wasting our money on the current gas hogs.

• The bus advocates have tried hard to get more riders by adding frequency and routes but nobody is stating the obvious; people do not want to ride buses no matter how frequent they come. This program needs to be cut back significantly. The money saved needs to be used to fill pot holes and repave worn roadways.

Funding Resources for improving Route 1:

• Redirect some of the $30 million Fairfax County is paying for the Lorton Arts Center. Since this land was given to Fairfax County people have tried to establish an arts and crafts center there. It is failing and would have been foreclosed by Wells Fargo if the county had not agreed to pay Wells Fargo this significant amount of money.

Phil Boughton

Alexandria