Additional Commuter Parking Spaces to Come in 2012
600 additional parking spaces to come to Telegraph Road parking lot.
Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean T. Connaughton announced today Prince William County would be seeing construction of a 600-parking space park-and-ride lot at Telegraph Road in the next year.
The Telegraph Road parking lot is the former Potomac Rappahanock Transportation Commission parking lot and it is located less than a quarter of a mile from the popular Horner Road commuter parking lot.
“These are making additional improvements,” said Secretary Connaughton. ”We need to make sure that we keep the capacity that we have.”
Since the reduction of 700 spaces at the Potomac Mills commuter lot, the county has been looking for a way to make up the difference.
Virginia Department of Transportation said that construction of the Telegraph Road lot would cost $7.2 million and would take about a year to construct.
“We want all the access to be safe,” said Director of Prince William County Transportation Tom Blaser. “We want to do it right with lighting and safe pedestrian access."
Secretary Connaughton said that the state would invest $7.8 million in total to help alleviate commuter concerns countywide.
The Telegraph announcement coincides with an official announcement of an additional 370 commuter parking spaces at First Baptist Church in Woodbridge, which will be open for commuters to use on March 14.
Blaser said that the county has inked a one-year renewable lease for $288,600 per year; Virginia Department of Transportation has also pledged that it would fund the church lease for up to five years.
Secretary Connaughton also said that in the longer term, there are plans for thousands of commuter parking spaces along the Interstate 95 corridor that would accompany the High Occupancy Transportation (HOT) Lanes project.
Chairman Corey Stewart also noted that two-thirds of the population of Prince William County commutes mostly north on I-95 and that there is a need to continue to focus on commuting.
Jan Cunard
11:42 am on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Surely the amount is a misprint -- the taxpayers of PWC should not have to be paying so that others don't have to pay for parking. Let those who park there, pay a fee.
Lauren Jost
12:06 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Hi Jan, the amount is correct. The price per parking spot ends up being $780 for the year.
Jan Cunard
12:11 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Lauren:
You have GOT TO BE KIDDING! Boy is that church going to make out at taxpayer expense. Am I way off base in thinking that the drivers that use the lot should share in at least some of the expense?
Sabrina A
3:30 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Which breaks down to $65/month. Which isn't that far off from what a lot of the PM slugs said they'd be willing to pay for use of guaranteed spaces ($20-50/mo).
Lauren Jost
12:14 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
The county hopes to be fully reimbursed by VDOT, which is pretty typical according to the PW Department of Transportation. You can read more about the church deal here: http://patch.com/A-fsXZ
Connie Moser
12:18 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
One word...TELEWORK!
Take 25% of the vehicles off the daily commute. We won't need HOT lanes, more parking spaces, more road building. What could we do with all that money we save on highway and parking construction? (...and Jan-I agree, the commuters should pay the cost of parking, but it should be a tax deductible item as work related expense.)
Sabrina A
3:33 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Which is nice depending on what you do.
If you're support-staff (receptionist, some secretarial, security) you cannot tele-commute. I have only 2 facets of my job that can be done remotely. The bulk of my workday must be done on-site, as it involves handling & mailing of paper files.
But agree 100% that parking, or metro'ing, or any kind of commuting, especially when you're using a "green" method, should be allowed some sort of tax break. If I had to drive my private vehicle for work, I would be reimbursed by my company or the Govt. Why not reward me for going green?
Karin Arnold
3:40 pm on Friday, April 22, 2011
Without those willing to slug into the city, and those willing to pick up slugs for the convenience, there would be MADNESS on the roads! Sluggers save the government from the cost of upgrading and expanding the current infrastructure. The roads are not built wide enough to get everyone to and from work, and what are the alternatives to getting into the city? The train? I think not. Slugging helps this transportation mess!
I agree -- teleworking is not practical for everyone. In theory, it would be perfect!
Lauren Jost
3:37 pm on Thursday, February 24, 2011
Sabrina A.,
You are correct. On a monthly basis, the county lease breaks down to $65/month.
Jimmy J.
11:08 am on Monday, February 28, 2011
I don't agree with the location. I truly miss parking at Potomac Mills, but going all the way down Dale Blvd, only to come back to essentially half a mile or so from where I live just to hop on 95 is ridiculous. I wish a deal could be brokered with the Hylton Memorial Chapel.
Lauren Jost
12:57 pm on Monday, February 28, 2011
Hi J. Jaen,
Where do you slug to in Washington, D.C.? There are other deals in the mix and we'll see them come out in the coming weeks and months.
Jimmy J.
1:19 pm on Monday, February 28, 2011
I actually slug down to Rosslyn. Potomac Mills was very convenient. I went down to the Dale City lot one time last week, but have been going to Tackett's Mill since then. The Dale City lot while a decent option is just too far for me and coming back in the evening you get stuck in the exit traffic from 95.