Potomac Mills expansion to force out commuters
January 13, 2011 10:46 am - Potomac Local News
Commuters on Tuesday were greeted with yellow cones and barriers as they tried to park at a crowded parking lot at Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge. (File)
Commuters on Tuesday were greeted with yellow cones and barriers as they tried to park at a crowded parking lot at Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge. (File)
Update 5 p.m.
We now know a bit more about why Potomac Mills mall decided to drastically reduce the amount of commuter parking there.
In a statement issued by the mall, officials say an increased demand for employee and customer parking, as well as the anticipated addition of several new retailers and restaurants in the coming year has driven the need to reduce the number of parking spaces commuters use each weekday by 75 percent from when commuter parking there was at its peak.
Officials at the mall urged commuters to explore alternatives ways of getting to work, such as those provided by Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission’s OminRide commuter bus.
PRTC officials say they are ready to meet what’s expected to be increased demand for service.
“Last summer, PRTC evaluated the capacity of the area commuter lots. I can tell you that these lots were not at capacity and could absorb some of those who will be displaced from Potomac Mills: I-95 at Route 123; Dale City Commuter lot; Lindendale Commuter Lot; Kmart at Dale City Lot; Hillendale Lot. They might not be as convenient as Potomac Mills for some but they have available parking,” PRTC spokeswoman Christine Rodrigo.
“We expect that if the parking is reduced at Potomac Mills, the earlier OmniRide trips will become even more popular than they are now because people will want to park before the lots fill up,” she added.
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Woodbridge, Va. –– It won’t be a happy Valentine’s Day for some Woodbridge commuters.
Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge on February 14th will decrease the number of commuter parking spaces on its lot by 75 percent, from 1,000 spaces to just 250.
Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi made the announcement today, and said the loss of the spaces is unfortunate but added the mall is allowed to reduce the number of spaces as part of their special use permit with Prince William County.
Many Slugs (those who ride in cars of three or more occupants on Interstate 95’s High Occupancy Vehicle lanes) use the lot each morning.
Last fall, a mall spokeswoman said the mall had an agreement with Prince William to provide 275 spaces, but had been providing at least 975.
We are still waiting to hear back from Potomac Mills about this decision.
The next largest commuter lot available in the area is the Horner Road lot, off Prince William Parkway and Interstate 95. It’s the largest commuter lot in Virginia and each space in the lot is usually filled each weekday by 7 a.m. or shortly thereafter.
This latest commuter set back comes as a new slug line from Woodbridge to Alexandria failed to gain traction last fall.
?
There is no Lindendale Commuter Lot. The lot is located across the street at the Hylton Boys and Girls Club.
Thank you
“Last summer, PRTC evaluated the capacity of the area commuter lots. I can tell you that these lots were not at capacity and could absorb some of those who will be displaced from Potomac Mills: I-95 at Route 123; Dale City Commuter lot; Lindendale Commuter Lot; Kmart at Dale City Lot; Hillendale Lot. They might not be as convenient as Potomac Mills for some but they have available parking,” PRTC spokeswoman Christine Rodrigo.
– Of course they were not at capacity, if they evaluated over the summer when many people are on leave! Any commuter can probably tell you, the commute over the summer is completely different than it is during the regular school year. Traffic is better, parking is easier, etc. This just further proves the incompetency of PRTC. UGH.
I understand that Potomac Mills should not be responsible for the requirement of Prince William County to provide parking for commuters – but until such time as Potomac Mills actually needs those 1,000 empty spaces, why not let Prince William residents park there. I can tell you that ALL of my shopping at Potomac Mills is done after work when i get there from the bus. I never go there on the week ends when it is busy. It seems this customer service was beneficial for Potomac Mills. I for one will probably not shop there any longer — because, let’s face it — who wants to fight the traffic on the week ends. I will miss COSCO and my weekly massage and Kasper and Hanes — but not enough to make a special trip. This was a convenience I will miss and I’m sorry to see it change for so many of us.
What the city doesn’t get is that most slugs can’t AFFORD to pay $10.50 each day to ride Omniride. That’s an extra $210 per month that a lot of people don’t have. Slugging is free. The money we save on commuting is money we use to shop at Potomac Mills after work.
Also those empty commuter lots – DUH, they’re empty b/c they’re not slug lots. People need a central location to get picked up in the morning and dropped off in the evening. No driver wants to drive all over Woodbridge to drop slugs off at different little commuter lots. They want to drop off in one place.
I’m sure Omniride is hoping to gain some more business from this but a lot of us just can’t afford to pay that extra $210 per month. We will have to organize carpools or take lower paying jobs closer to home. Which means more cars on the local roads and more traffic on 95. Great.
I definitely won’t be shopping at the mall now, I won’t have any money!
why would you expect to continually get free parking? the threats of quitting your jobs in D.C. is comical, you ego maniacs could not do any other jobs that require real work…good luck and break out the credit card time to charge some bus rides.
why would you expect to continually get free parking?
Heres why: Commuters who park at potomac mills or Horner Road and commute to DC on a daily basis CARRY Potomac Mills Mall. We are their customer base! Our “real jobs” that you mock make the most money in PWC and we sit in the WORST traffic even when slugging. We pay the highest personal property taxes because we buy the biggest houses. Where can you work in Dale City to afford a $400,000.00 home? By slugging, we alleviate traffic…something VA lawmakers have failed miserably to do. We also dramatically reduce our carbon footprint. PRTC is a bad joke. They are clueless about the daily DC commuters needs. Thats why there are empty buses traveling to empty lots on a daily basis. So who cares what thier ametuer survey uncovers.
And I wouldn’t call battling local traffic and scurrying to find a parking space and standing in line in 25 degree weather, rain or scortching heat, waiting for a ride for 20 minutes so that we can then sit in traffic for forty minutes is necessarily free. If PRTC serviced the most popular spots (L’Enfant Plaza to Horner) many of us would be happy to fork over the fees. But again PRTC is clueless. Apparently so are you.
This is the most likely location for commuter lot expansion:
http://www.rltinc.net/property/Catonhill%20Road%20.html
The site is located adjacent to and around the I-95 / Horner Road Commuter Lot.
Does anyone plan to go to the commuter town hall meeting tomorrow night at the Ferlazzo Building?
Huh?
Okay people, lets get real. Its not the end of the world. This option is a “LUXURY” to you. Most malls across the US have never had this option. They are renovating the mall for cripes sake to allow for new businesses to better serve you. I swear with all the other things going on in this world, you have the audacity to make this about “me, me, me”, well news flash people, the world does not revolve around you. Business will prevail, because not everyone feels the same and the more reasonable people understand this wasn’t meant to last forever. Its unfortunate, but life goes on. Seriously, there are more serious problems going on in this country, then, “OMG, I’m not going to get a free hand out of parking anymore?!” They were doing something nice, but were NEVER REQUIRED to have so many spaces available to begin with. Oh and BTW, I am also effected by this change, NO BIG DEAL, I just have to make it work, but I’m not going to waste my valuable time and energy crying about it, nor will I fault the mall and stop shopping there because they are making decisions to expand the mall and need the parking for patrons and employees. Like duh? Are any of you people complaining business people? Because if you are then it would just make sense. I bet you also go shopping during the holidays and also complain there is no parking too huh?. …Get over it.