Great news for Richmond Highway! The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved of Embark Richmond Highway. SFDC is proud to have served as the bridge between communities along Richmond Highway and the Fairfax County Government. As well as serving as the critical partner in a $400,000 grant awarded by the Federal Transit Administration to Fairfax County for a transportation study as part of Embark.
See how Embark was covered in the press:
Area near Mount Vernon estate in Va. headed for overhaul, with 13,000 homes, parks and hotels. Antonio Olivo reports for the Washington Post: “But, with an estimated cost of $750 million, plus state and federal funding needed for the transportation improvements, the plan will be as challenging to pull off as other major revitalization efforts in the county, including those in Tysons Corner and Reston, supporters say. “This is an enormously big financial lift for our community,” said county Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee), who represents the area. “I’m not interested in having a plan sit on the shelf and collect dust.”Under the plan, new mixed-use developments, parks and a grid of smaller streets would be built around nine county bus rapid transit stations between Metrorail’s Huntington station and Fort Belvoir.” Click here to read more.
Fairfax County signs off on massive Richmond Highway overhaul. Drew Hansen writes for the Washington Business Journal: “The plan calls for widening Route 1 for additional lanes and to accommodate bus rapid transit running primarily in the middle of the roadway between the Huntington Metro station and Fort Belvoir. Supervisors approved more residential development within a half-mile of nine new BRT stations. The plan foresees a maximum of 18,000 housing units and 8.5 million square feet of nonresidential development along the corridor, including offices and hotels.” Click here to read more.
Board of Supervisors approves Embark Richmond Highway. Covering the Corridor reports for the hometown: “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the Embark Richmond Highway amendment on Tuesday evening, capping a multi-year effort to create a new vision for the future of the Route 1 corridor. While the speakers were overwhelmingly supportive of Embark, many shared concerns about issues such as the undergrounding of utilities and whether there will be enough affordable housing to include lower-income residents of the highway. Mary Paden, convener of the South County Task Force, noted the City of Alexandria’s loss of affordable housing in the past two decades and hoped that county planners and politicians ensure that does not happen on the highway.” Click here to read more.
Embark Richmond Highway Plan Approved; Brings Bus Rapid Transit, Development.Fairfax County Government News: “The plan also features two new, innovative concepts for open space called livability and ecological spines. These spines are continuous park spaces that are integrated with streets and buildings. Livability spines act as alternative main streets to Richmond Highway, creating destinations for shopping, recreation and gathering outdoors. These spines integrate local streets with pedestrian and bike paths, linear parks, plazas, retail and restaurants. Ecological spines highlight the streams that were diverted into channels or underground tunnels before modern environmental regulations. Many of these currently hidden streams will be “daylighted,” incorporating them into the street design. These spines could offer boardwalks, seating, gathering areas, trails, fitness equipment and other recreation spaces, as well as help make connections to existing residential neighborhoods.” Click here to read more.