Letter: HOAs Oppose Pleasant Valley/Braddock Road Roundabout

Editor's note: This is an edited version of a letter sent by Joseph Johnston, president of the Virginia Run Board of Trustees, to the Sully District Council.  

At this month’s meeting held on June 13, 2013, the Virginia Run Board of Trustees voted unanimously to oppose the alteration to the Pleasant Valley and Braddock Road intersection.

Virgina Run would like to join other HOA along the Pleasant Valley and Braddock Road and oppose the proposed alterations (round-about) to be built at a cost of approximately $6 million of taxpayer money in place of the current four way stop sign. We would also respectfully suggest that the SDC oppose the alteration as it represents significant safety issues for the surrounding communities and a sever degradation in the quality of life for all concerned. The discussion over the past few weeks is as follows:

On Wednesday evening, June 5, 2013, the Board of Trustees of Virginia Run sponsored a meeting of concerned residents and homeowners regarding the alterations to the Pleasant Valley and Braddock Road intersection as presented in March by Supervisor Michael Frey and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). The Board thanked Senator David Marsden, Delegate Tim Hugo, Supervisor Michael Frey and Bud Siegel from VDOT for their participation.

In part is a summary of the evening’s events. The turnout was significant in terms of the desire to have a voice in the decision to install a roundabout at the intersection of Pleasant Valley and Braddock Roads. An assessment of the proposal that impacts so many people needs to have the widest possible forum to understand how the public feels. Based on the audience on Wednesday evening, the Board believes we have given at least some of the residents an opportunity to be heard. That said, based on the outcry of non-support for the proposed roundabout, the Board believes the perceived benefits to the Fairfax County residents are overwhelmingly negative. We would only expect that when offered other public hearings are offered, the negative benefits would have similar consequences.

The Virginia Run Board of Trustees has no desire to oppose this alone. In addition to the negative impacts to Pleasant Valley Road, there are equally significant negative impacts on Braddock Road to the residents of Pleasant Forest Drive, Tre Towers Court, Chandley Farm Circle, Starry Night Lane, Cub Run Park Drive, and the homes of Sully Station II. A steady stream of traffic with few breaks in the flow because of the S-curve and left hand turns onto Old Lee Road will cause additional backups and constriction along Braddock Road. These are old country roads that were never built to handle this volume of traffic. At the conclusion of the meeting, we thanked all attendees for their attendance and offered that we all look forward to additional open forums and public hearings on the intersection. In addition to these concerns, there are concerns over the environmental impact to the area—rare plants and to mammal inhabitants (wood turtle) that should be considered.

Just today VDOT withdrew its recommendation for the use of Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) for the project, as it was deemed inappropriate and "was an error, and that the funding type will be corrected to read 'STP' in the FINAL version of the Six-year Improvement Plan." This was a direct quote from Leonard (Bud) Siegel to Supervisor Michael Frey based on questions raised by a Virginia Run resident and former representative to the WFCCA.

Joseph W. Johnston
President, Virginia Run Board of Trustees
Centreville