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COALITION FOR SMARTER GROWTH
For Immediate Release: July 13, 2006
For more information, contact:
Stewart Schwartz 202-244-4408 ext 3#
Laura Olsen 202-244-4408 ext 4#

Statement on VDOT's Analysis of
Developer Proposals to Add 28,000 More Houses to Loudoun County

Developer proposals to flood Loudoun County with 28,000 additional houses (on top of 37,000 already approved to be built) would add another 250,000 to 300,000 additional vehicle trips per day to Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William roads. In a letter to the Loudoun County Department of Planning, VDOT summarized the negative impacts of the development on the County's already-congested roadways. It forecasted that some intersections would experience over 6 hours of stop-and-go traffic per day. Significantly, these predictions take into account all proposed improvements in the regional long-range plan, including improvements to Route 50.

"The road improvements won't put a dent in the traffic generated by the new development because these houses aren't anywhere near jobs or transit," said Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. "Most people will be driving east to and through Fairfax get to work, and the few road options available to them are already clogged."

VDOT's letter strongly recommends that Loudoun discuss the traffic implications of the proposed plan amendments with both Fairfax and Prince William Counties. The intersection of Route 50 and Route 28 in Fairfax County would be one of the roads where drivers would face 6 or more hours of stop-and-go traffic per day.

VDOT’s analysis is a pilot study, its first under legislation passed this year by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Kaine, who made traffic impact studies a core part of his agenda. The legislation had strong support from both political parties and requires VDOT to assist localities in evaluating the traffic impacts of local land use decisions.

"VDOT's letter did a great job in highlighting how the proposed development will impact regional traffic patterns," Schwartz added. "Governor Kaine and the General Assembly deserve praise for enacting legislation that will help us make better decisions about where and how we grow.”

Click Here to read the Letter from VDOT to Loudoun County.