Does Anyone Think the Traffic on Maple Avenue Equates with Small Town?

Some small towns have better planning like fewer cul-de-sacs and more roads to allow traffic to move. The town did an injustice to itself. By taking the Abbottsford connector off the Comprehensive Plan way back to allow more traffic on Maple Avenue was one big mistake. The Town does have the mentality of a small town run by clowns.

Thanks for the reminder...not to vote for Maud.

She's living in a fantasy land and thinks that pretending we're a 1950's town will make our traffic problems go away. Nice.

When I first came to this country there was but one man. That man was Umbriago.

I looked at the tax map recently, best that I can tell, 8 houses would have to be torn down to connect Abbottsford from Lawyers to Route 7.

Anyone?

vm

Route 7 seems like a stretch. There doesn't appear to be any planned extension of Abbottsford past Old Courthouse. Old Courthouse seems possible if you don't mind taking people's homes (+/-6 by my count - 3 full lots and 3 partial). You would also need some park land.

While perhaps feasible this is not Town property. Do you think there is any way Fairfax would be willing to do this for Vienna? Any jurisdictions would be very reluctant to exercise their ability to take property anyway. In this case one of the primary benefactors would be the Town. While this may work well for Vienna I can imagine the monumental selling job it would take to Fairfax. This would dump even more traffic onto an already crowded Old Courthouse Rd (2 lanes). Also, what about property rights in this case? This seems contrary to one of the basic tenets of this site. This is a fine line between the 'greater good' and individual property rights.

I think you are on target in that the reason Vienna has such bad traffic has less to do with Vienna and more to do with our surrounding infrastructure. If the traffic actually flowed on I-66 and Rt 29 there would be less reason for folks to drive 123. It would also help with some form of Northern bypass of the Town as you have suggested. A few less traffic lights along 123 would also help traffic flow as well, but at the expense of pedestrian safety. There is already a large gap between Nutley and Lawyers to allow people to cross.

Frank, you have no earthly idea how arrogant Maud is. She has acted like an *** for 50 years and no one in the County respects her. Actions have been taken to spite Vienna due to her actions. Vienna must take responsibility.

One problem is that ALL traffic is filtered onto Maple Ave. The town protects certain neighborhoods, (at the cost of others) by privatizing their streets during rush hour. These streets are paid for with tax dollars and belong to the public--not just the people who live on them. They should be put back into the public street grid for all to use. It wouldn't solve all the traffic problems, but it would be a good start.

Ultimately, Maud has had many opportunities to make good decisions regarding traffic management and other issues, but has failed to do so. Worse yet, she's bullied other Town Council members into sticking their heads in the sand, too.

How many more years are we going to waste on this woman?

DO NOT VOTE FOR MAUD AGAIN.

Abbotsford was a done deal with the county. If it were not the exisitng portion would not have been built with four lanes and tree planted island.

The town nixed the deal because they feared the loss of business on Maple Ave. They also had control of some land needed for Abbottsford. They held a certain portion of land which they later sold for the construction of houses to insure, in their minds, that Abbotsford was forever blocked. At one point Charlie Robinson admitted that it was a mistake.

Maple Ave. was built four twelve foot lanes with the agreement that there would be no parking allowed. Later the town did request to be allowed parking on Maple Ave. only to be reminded of their agreement. Still later Maple Ave was reconfigured to five non-conforming ten foot lanes to accommodate a center turning lane.

Now if anyone thinks Abbotsford cannot be built today because of houses they need to check on the construction of Rt.66 where BTW three Vienna properties sit on the opposite side of Rt66 from Yeonas Ball Park. That is another story.

Notice that a week after the last post there is no rebuttal to the suggestion that Abbottsford opening is a possibility.

re Abbotsford:
I can remember being at some meeting years ago when an Abbotsfort connector was brought up. Someone, I believe from the county said that it's a dead issue. it would require more than buying the homes now in the right of way, but would also require constructing several bridges over creeks. The cost/benefit just wouldn't make sense.

Anne I wish you could recall who the persons were that objected to building bridges, etc. Bridges would always have been necessary to complete Abbotsford. Hopefully the persons against completing it are no longer with the government. Recall that Vienna was responsible for the very expensive bridge on Nutley over the beltway. Beulah Rd could have been built for thousands instead of millions. Do we need to construct roads that will expedite traffic or spend state money on rebuilding Branch Ave. uneccesarily. A road which hinders traffic rather than encourage it.

Someone on this blog also made reference the fact that the road would traverse the stream beds. How bad would that be? I direct you to visit the serene setting on Great Falls road where Lemon Road terminates, climb the crudely built steps over the guard rail and walk along the stream under the highway bridge. Notice the wear and tear this area reflects from the many visitors enjoying the serenity.

Let me say this, roads will be built where and when I do not know.

I guess we should not lose any sleep over traffic on Maple Ave. but I did. At midnight I made the mistake of referring to Nutley bridge over the beltway rather than Rt66. And lose sleep I did when I mulled over where roads that devoured houses were built. One example would be Rt. 123 to Woodbridge, another the Fairfax County Parkway, still another is the Loudon County Greenway not to mention Springfield Rt.95 construction. Even the historic Dransville Road, a scenic byway, is getting some improvements as we speak.
Why were those roads built? Because they were necessary. And now a road that will get traffic out of Vienna is necessary.

You Don't Say
In addition to the expense involved in connecting Abbotsford, consider that it's in the middle of a now established residential area. To disrupt such a neighborhood just so Vienna, with its illogical transportation planning, can ease traffic on its main thoroughfare, would not make sense, and would probably be politically impossible, as well. This is a case where I actually agree with the highway planners. Meanwhile, the Town has numerous streets that actually do connect that they refuse to use to mitigate Maple Avenue traffic. Why focus on a costly, unlikely option, when removing some "do not enter" signs would make some dent at no expense?

OK, now that we are getting down to brass tacks lets consider that even if we do not open Fairway, and now that Beulah is being improved why wasn't the connector road Creek Crossing improved over the years. Part of Creek Crossing is the equivalant of four lanes. Turn lanes and a traffic light at Beulah were in order.

I believe it has to do with state and/or county policy that developers should be the ones to provide road improvements whenever possible. As the subdivision(s) were built at the end of the street, the developer was required to widen the road. but at the older end, houses have been built one by one & individual builders aren't required to make such improvements. I think the widened part of Creek Crossing is overkill. It's so wide that it just encourages speeding. And of course, the narrow end is, well, a mess. And speaking of speeding, just wait until Beulah is done & see how fast everyone goes. Highway engineers tell me that the better the roadway, the faster the traffic, and the worse the accidents.

When Vienna wants something from Richmond, such as red light cameras, they go to Devolites. Why don't they have the rules that are hindering us from upgrading Vienna changed. Obviously If you know why things cannot be done then the politicians and town staff should know.

It's all about money. the reason the state wants developers to pay for roads is that then the state doesn't have to. Imagine if suddenly the state had to provide all those residential streets that they've been getting for free for so many years. Devolites may work hard for her friends in Vienna, but this would be way beyond her power.