Friends --

As I wrap up my time in the House of Delegates, I'm busy working to close as many loose ends as possible.  One of those loose ends is the commuter lot expansion at Rt. 234 and Rt. 1. 

As you might recall, during the 2005 regular General Assembly session, I secured the funding to expand this state owned "park and ride" lot on land already owned by the Commonwealth adjacent to the existing lot.  Commuters -- and specifically, sluggers -- have been using this lot for years, and for years it has been overflowing in the very early hours each morning.  So, going in to the 2005 session, my top goal was to provide more commuter parking for eastern Prince William citizens.

The good news was that I was immediately successful in getting the necessary funds in the 2005 budget.  The project was funded in a new program the General Assembly created that year, called the "Local Partnership Program", which basically requires localities (in our case, Prince William County) to do the work, while the state pays all costs associated.  The rationale was that local governments are typically far more efficient at getting these types of projects done than VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation), and can usually do so at a lower cost. 

The bad news was that, for various reasons, it took more than 4 years to get the project completed.

But, the best news is that it is done!

So, tomorrow (11/24) at 11am, I will join County officials for a ceremonial ribbon cutting at the lot expansion, celebrating the addition of 493 parking spaces to the previously existing 350.

While I got the funds and the County supervised the construction, this lot expansion was the result of hundreds of citizen-activists continuing to push those of us in public service to put your money towards one of your priorities -- and to put that money to work.  If you're around tomorrow, please join us to celebrate this shared accomplishment.  It'd be good to see you and thank you personally.

Best wishes --

-JMF. 

P.S.  Click here to read my original 2005 press release announcing the funding for the expansion.