In Northern Virginia, where D.C.'s suburbs dissolve into rural landscape, the state's Department of Transportation is planning the Bi-County Parkway. Opponents question whether the state should provide a multi-billion dollar subsidy to developers.
"The debate over whether Northern Virginia needs a new highway is central to a larger question facing a region whose existing transportation infrastructure is bursting at the seams with finite funds to fix the bottlenecks: are more roads that cost billions of dollars to build the answer to fulfilling the Washington metropolitan area’s economic potential?" asks Martin Di Caro.
"Depending on who looks at these maps, the Bi-County Parkway is described in dramatically different ways. To [Ed] Gorski and his fellow environmentalists, the roadway is a boon for developers, a potential six-lane, divided highway with designs to leap across the Potomac River into Maryland."
"To supporters, the Bi-County Parkway is the culmination of years of planning and studies, a four-lane road that has been on both Prince William’s and Loudoun’s county-wide transportation plans for decades, designed to connect commuters to future job centers in a region expecting a population explosion over the next half century."
FULL STORY: Developers, Environmentalists Battle Over New Highway in D.C. Suburbs
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Depending on who you're asking, Virginia's proposed Bi-County Parkway is either critical to supporting the state's growth or a sprawl-inducing gift to developers. With a key milestone in limbo, Governor Terry McAuliffe will have a chance to weigh in.
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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