Open Abbotsford Drive.

Is that even within the town's borders? Or is this a county issue?

Why don't you stir up sentiment about an issue that actually matters?

Abbotsford Drive is outside the Vienna town limits. Therefore, you guys are barking up the wrong tree. Fairfax County and/or the Virginia Department of Transportation would deal with that.

I believe the original bypass was meant to go from Route 7 to Nutley Street (cutting down Abbotsford through Peterson Lane Park). So, yes, it was a Vienna issue. It was killed by Charlie Robinson because he believed it would kill businesses in the Town of Vienna. Here we are, over 30 years later and the traffic is cutting-through like gang-busters. Do these commuters do anymore than stop at Starbucks or fill up on gas?

I would like to note, the Town of Vienna believes they have every right to kill projects (or try to) right outside their border (Wedderburn houses at Midgetville, Town Center at Vienna Metro and the Abbotsford Bypass) but NO ONE can say anything about what stupid stuff goes on inside their borders. Residents are left to rot with the dumb decisions made in the past decades.

Obviously, the Town Council views their role as much larger than the confines of the borders of Vienna.

From the Town Newsletter, Jan '07:

Council Resolution Urges
Consideration of Tysons Tunnel

At its December 4 meeting, the Town Council adopted a resolution calling for consideration of a tunnel through Tysons Corner as part of the construction of a Metrorail line from East Falls Church to Dulles Airport.

The resolution urges the Commonwealth of Virginia to:
1. Conduct public, competitive bidding of the final design and construction work for the Metrorail extension through Tysons Corner;
2. Simultaneously consider construction of the extension via a 3.5-mile tunnel under Tysons Corner; and
3. Conduct side-by-side competitive bidding of the extension as a tunnel and as elevated rail.

The resolution also expresses agreement with the Summary of Issues of the group TysonsTunnel.org, a coalition of the McLean Chamber of Commerce, community and business leaders, and concerned citizens. Residents who favor an underground Metro-rail extension through Tysons Corner can visit www.tysonstunnel.org to sign an online petition of support.

While the Town certainly has a right to note its opinion on projects near its borders, the County is under no obligation to listen or even care. Ditto for the County and Town, although I suspect the County could put the kibosh on things -- didn't they make the Town change its electoral process a couple years ago?

I am assuming the idea here is to reduce cut-through traffic in NE Vienna. I can see extending it being useful for the folks who live West of Beulah outside of town, But it seems traffic coming from Reston along Route 7 can already get to Old Courthouse.

Town influence not only reaches out to the county and the state but also to congress. Didn't they get Tom Davis support to stop development outside the town of vienna at the metro station?

An issue that really matters? That's the pea brain mindset of the dolts who have run Vienna non-stop since 1976. They have built a moat around Vienna in their minds. How well has that worked? Vienna has to work with the County and they don't. Vienna is viewed in County government as Jerry's kids - "special".

The Town has leverage, they just have no clue how to use it, but saying it is outside the borders of Vienna is beyond short-sighted, it's dumb.

The planning of Abbotsford was accomplished by professionals, it was not a folly. The folly was that the town of Vienna wanted the traffic because it would help local businesses. Opening Abbotsford has more to do with eliminating the gridlock on Maple Avenue than it has to do with cutthrough traffic, except for the current bypass via Mill Street, Church Steet, Dominion Road, Ayr Hill to Lawyers Road.

I can see a whale of problems on this one. Peterson Lane Park would have to go; you'd have to pave across the WOD with an active road, cut across Northside Park/Eudora Park, and then Wolftrap Stream park to get to Old Courthouse.

Throw in the residential resistance, and you're going to have a mess....

The part of Abbotford Road close to the W&OD trail is currently cleared and already has a power line down it. It is up higher than the W&OD trail and looks like it could easily be connected to the other side of the W&OD trail via a bridge. The bridge could still allow animals to pass under and wouldn't impact the bike trail at all. The cleared area is right on the border of the Town of Vienna and Fairfax County. I can't believe the town wouldn't have a voice in determining what happens to this part of Abbotsford.

Remember that Rt66 and the beltway created a necessary mess. Want to get the feel of a park under a highway go to Lemon Road in Mclean and walk through the stream park. Quite intriguing.

Vienna Dude, building houses in the ROW of Abbotsford was part of the towns plan to assure Abbotsford would not be built. However, I witnesed many homes razed or moved for the construction of Rt66.

Think this through to its logical conclusion.

- Roads are a state issue - not town or county. Where are the multi-millions of dollars going to come from in an environment where the State legislature is loathe to support Northern Virginia transportation projects?

- Where would the bypass dump out on the west side of town? Lawyers? (ever drive that road during rush hour? Its already way over capacity and more cars would mean that road would have have to be significantly reengineered, straightened, and made wider. Lots of houses in the way there...

If not Lawyers -- you are going to take this through to its original design (Peterson Lane park through to Nutley? -- that is just what we need, all that traffic going past the elementary school.) Again, lots of houses would have to come down.

-- What about the impact on the park and bicycle trail?

The face of NW would have been substantially changed with a bypass and the added traffic on Nutley had it been done many years ago.

What was done was done thirty years ago and can't be changed. But its pretty clear to me that this is not a realistic or feasible option now.

If I am correct, there are about 3-4 houses in the way, if you look at the tax maps.

At the very least, opening up Abbotsford between Eudora and Barrister's Place would be interesting.

Tearing houses down and realigning roads is just the price the town, county and the state have to pay for their mistakes. I am surprised we haven't been offered a better idea other than tunneling under the length of Maple Avenue.

Pay now or pay later. Where are we headed...elevated trains down the middle of Maple Avenue? All of the people who are saying "No" are the exact same people (at least their attitudes)...who got us to this mess.

How long has this been talked about? How long have we known we need to drill for oil? If we had done all these things 10 plus years ago wouldn't we be in better shape now? I am so tired of this "thinking"(or lack thereof). It just seems that some do nothing politicians want to study and study a situation until it puts us in a decline! The time is NOW!