Transportation planners look to 2045, see fewer free parking spaces, more toll lanes

WOODBRIDGE — Transportation planners in the Metropolitan Washington region are trying to get a glimpse of what the future holds.

Lyn Erickson, of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board, says the future of transportation in our region will hinge on seven new initiatives. They include doubling the number of workers who telecommute, expanding toll lanes, and express bus service in the region.

“The whole purpose of this exercise is to identify game-changing policies and positions for the next generation to include new roads, transportation systems, and also look at land use and population growth and how it’s going to impact congestion in the region,” said Erickson.

She and handful of members of her team held a public meeting Wednesday night at the Prince William County Government Center to go over the TPB’s plan called Visiulize 2045. It’s a long-range plan for not only Prince William County but also localities surrounding Washington like Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia, and Montgomery, Prince Georges, Charles, and Frederick counties in Maryland.

Erickson said about 27 percent of the region’s workforce telecommutes today, and their plan aims to double the number of people in the region who have the option to work from home. But that may be easier said than done, as some participants in the group told officials they like the separation of work and home because they can become easily distracted when working from home, that they don’t want purchase the necessary computer hardware to work remotely.

When it comes to expanded bus rapid transit — buses that operate more like trains with dedicated lanes for a fraction of the cost of a heavy rail Metro line — would serve Downtown Manassas, ferrying passengers to and from Dulles Airport via Route 28. Other BRT lines would carry passengers from Waldorf, Md. to Washington, as well as other Maryland commuters from northern points in northern Montgomery County, Md.

No BRT lines are envisioned for heavily congested eastern Prince William County, according to TBPs map. Further expansion of the region’s E-ZPass toll lanes is listed, with regional express bus services running along Route 7 between Leesburg and Washington via Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway.

About 1.3 million more people expected to move to the region in the coming years, adding to the five million people and three million jobs that are already here.

“That’s like adding the population of Dallas, Texas to our region,” said Erickson.

With the expected influx, planners also want to see more homes built closer together, around existing Metro stations, and fewer parking spaces in downtown areas to encourage more people to ditch their cars for transit.

There’s also a call for changes to local governments and employers to stop subsidizing the cost of parking in downtown “activity centers,” and instead support workers who do not drive their cars and instead take transit allowing workers to cash-out free parking vouchers for transit benefits.

An interactive page on the Visualize 2045 website shows the projects.

The nearly 40 people who attended the meeting Wednesday were asked for their feedback to think about the region as a whole and not just for what’s best for Prince William County residents. So far, there have been more than 230 people who have come to 11 “Visualize 2045” meetings held around the region.

An online forum will be held on June 7.