Transit now and down the road

STAFFORD — Regional transportation planners may not have found all the solutions to Stafford’s road woes, but at least a few county residents are glad that they’re still on the case.

That was the sentiment Tuesday night at an open-house-style public meeting held by the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which sets transportation-funding priorities in

Fredericksburg and the counties of Stafford and Spotsylvania.

The impetus was to get input on FAMPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan, which looks at transportation needs from now until 2035.

Kim Fritz was glad to give her two cents. Fritz happened upon the meeting at the Stafford Courthouse Community Center by accident. Her 5-year-old daughter Mia was at a dance lesson next door, and Fritz saw signs for the meeting.

She said her family bought their house in the Austin Ridge subdivision in 1997 as an investment property, but they’ve made it their home as her husband, Marine Col. Jim Fritz, has been stationed at Quantico.

That has meant trucking four kids around increasingly congested county roads.

“I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, this is affecting our lives,’ ” said Kim Fritz, who noted that she avoids Garrisonville Road “like the plague.”

Some may think of Stafford as simply a bedroom community for Washington, Fritz said, but people like her who don’t commute face travel challenges not just on Interstate 95 but on local streets.

So she was glad to learn about FAMPO’s plan, which includes widening U.S. 17 and Garrisonville and Onville roads, replacing the Falmouth Bridge, increasing bus service, and improving I-95.

“This is planning,” Fritz said. “This is good to hear.”

Stafford County Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer, who chairs FAMPO’s policy committee and was elected after frequently speaking out on the issue of transportation, likewise is encouraged that planning is under way, even if it’s unclear where funding for roads will come from.

FAMPO estimates that fulfilling all the area’s transportation needs by 2035 would cost $10.1 billion but that the government would have only $2.5 billion in revenue by then to pay the bill.

Nevertheless, Dudenhefer said, “By doing this, you’re making progress toward the future.”

Further progress could include seeking new sources of revenue for transportation or ensuring that road proposals jibe with land-zoning plans, said Lloyd Robinson, FAMPO administrator. His staff can provide the facts and analysis if residents decide they want to pursue those options, he said.

Tuesday’s meeting was one of several to be held around the region over the next few days. FAMPO’s policy committee is scheduled to vote on the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan on Dec. 15.

Residents have until Nov. 28 to comment on the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan. The document is online at www.fampo.org/2035LongRangeTransportationPlan.html, and written comments can be mailed to 406 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or e-mailed to lrtpcomments@fampo.gwregion.org.

Jonathan Hunley is a contributing writer at the Stafford County Sun. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com.