Everyone seems to agree that Oakton’s roadways are untenable for drivers as well as pedestrians and cyclists, especially in light of recent fatal crashes.
The dividing line between supporters and skeptics of a proposed overhaul of AT&T’s office campus and other mixed-use developments in the area has become whether they believe the impending projects will alleviate or exacerbate the current congested, hazardous status quo.
Fearing an influx of additional traffic, a collection of homeowners and community associations urged the Fairfax County Planning Commission earlier this month to postpone consideration of the AT&T redevelopment until a comprehensive study of Oakton’s Chain Bridge Road corridor can be conducted.
“We continue to hear great concerns from our members about the impact that the proposed project as currently shaped would have on density and intensity in the face of already difficult traffic and pedestrian safety conditions throughout the greater Oakton area,” the Greater Oakton Community Association, Options for Oakton, Smart Growth for Oakton, Miller Heights Neighborhood Association, and Oakton Homeowners Association and Civic Leader Coalition said in a Feb. 12 letter to the commission.
Scheduled for the planning commission’s meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) night, the public hearing will look at a potential comprehensive plan amendment to allow residential mixed-use development on the approximately 33-acre site at 3033 Chain Bridge Road.
In addition to changing the site’s designation from office to housing, the amendment would increase the permitted intensity of development from a 0.4 floor area ratio (FAR) — a metric that compares the amount of building space to the size of the land it’ll occupy — to 1.0. That would be equivalent to what’s currently allowed in Centreville but lower than Merrifield’s planned 2.25 FAR, according to a county staff report.
If approved, the changes would set the stage for developer EYA’s vision of a mixed-use center with roughly 854 residential units and 110,850 square feet of retail and restaurants in place of the existing 440,000-square-foot office building, which has filled by AT&T since it was constructed in 1981.
AT&T leased a building (4807 Stonecroft Blvd) at Westfields Center in Chantilly last year, where its Virginia offices will be consolidated.
Since initially pitching a redevelopment in 2022, EYA has scaled down its proposal multiple times, decreasing the number of homes first from 1,500 to 1,000, then to the current 854 units and dropping plans to retain about 80,000 square feet of office space.
The revisions have yet to win over the aforementioned resident groups, who argue that the existing infrastructure won’t be able to handle the increased density, particularly when compounded by other developments like two on Jermantown Road that got approved just last week.
“The overall density is 250% more than what it’s currently zoned for, and we feel overall that’s just too much for our community to bear,” Smart Growth for Oakton’s Patty Montanino told FFXnow during a call with some of the group leaders.
Miller Heights Neighborhood Association President Doug Shuster expressed support for some of the changes that EYA has promised to bring, including an internal grid of streets with wide sidewalks, bicycle facilities and crosswalks with stop signs at every intersection.
But with the development projected to draw an additional 6,660 vehicle trips during weekday rush-hours and 11,333 more trips during peak hours on weekends compared to the existing office building, per a transportation impact study, more improvements are needed to the major roads surrounding the site, Shuster says.
“Essentially, what you have is … a lovely development being planned and then another one across the street with 550 new homes, and a traffic sewer in between it,” he said. “And all they’re required to do is to bring the level of service of those roads back to the level of a traffic sewer.”
The proposed transportation improvements
The need to improve the safety and functionality of Oakton’s roads hasn’t been lost on EYA and Fairfax County officials.
While its submitted development plan focuses on internal improvements, EYA Executive Vice President of Acquisition and Development Evan Goldman says the company spent 18 months working with county staff and community members on a comprehensive traffic analysis that studied intersections adjacent to and in the vicinity of the AT&T property, including ones on Chain Bridge Road, Blake Lane and Jermantown Road.
“The redevelopment of 3033 Chain Bridge Road presents an incredible opportunity to create a safer, more connected, walkable community,” Goldman said. “As part of this mixed-use development, we are committed to adding increased pedestrian safety measures such as a mile-long, shared-use path, new trails and enhanced crossings and pedestrian infrastructure around key areas.”
Recommendations in the study, which was conducted by the consulting firm Gorove Slade, included:
- Adjusted signal timings at Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) and Rose Forest Drive/White Granite Drive
- Adjusted phasing and signal timings at Chain Bridge and Jermantown Road
- A traffic signal at Jermantown Road and a new north-south road at the existing site entrance
At Chain Bridge and Jermantown, Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan currently calls for a grade-separated interchange with a bridge, but that would worsen safety issues at the intersection for pedestrians and bicyclists, Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff said in the plan amendment report.
Fairfax County Public Schools already deems Route 123 unsuitable for students at nearby Flint Hill Lower School and Oakton Elementary School to cross.
After looking at the possibility of a roundabout, EYA instead proposed an “innovative” reconfiguration that would eliminate left turns from Jermantown onto Chain Bridge and instead have vehicles turn left at Rose Forest Drive and White Granite Road. According to the study, the change would reduce wait times for drivers, while shrinking the distance that pedestrians and cyclists have to cross.
The county’s proposed plan amendment also recommends:
- Updated shelters at transit stops
- Buffers and street trees to make the pedestrian experience more pleasant
- Improved crosswalks
- The construction of pedestrian facilities to fill existing gaps and connections to the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail and I-66 Parallel Trail
- Improved bicycle facilities with buffers or clear paths away from vehicle travel lanes. On-road lanes are recommended for low-volume streets, such as Borge Street and Bushman Drive, while off-road facilities “should be incorporated” on high-volume streets.
The promise of improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities has convinced local transportation safety advocacy groups, including Fairfax Families for Safe Streets and Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, to support EYA’s proposed development.
The Coalition for Smarter Growth, NoVA Affordable Housing Alliance and YIMBYs of NOVA are also expected to testify in support of the amendment at the planning commission hearing.
“I think those types of improvements can be delivered through this project, and without the project, those are not likely to be seen for, well, if not ever, for decades,” Fairfax Families for Safe Streets President Chris French said.
A 25-year resident of Oakton, French says Oakton is currently “unwelcoming” to both pedestrians and bicyclists, even in some areas that ostensibly have sidewalks and bicycle lanes. Bushman Drive, for example, has on-road bicycle lanes that start and stop, switching from one side of the road to the other, mostly with no separation from traveling or parked vehicles.
Though EYA’s project will bring more vehicles, mixed-use developments reduce congestion compared to low-density sprawl by making it easier and safer for people to get around outside a car, according to French.
“It’s not the development that’s creating the safety issues,” French said. “It’s the arterial roadways that are designed to move high volumes of cars quickly through our neighborhood, not the people that are living in our neighborhood.”
Full Chain Bridge Road corridor study in the works
The AT&T redevelopment could serve as the foundation for additional transportation improvements in Oakton.
When the comprehensive plan amendment reaches the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is slated to hold a public hearing on March 18, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik intends to propose a follow-up study to assess the entire Chain Bridge Road corridor.
“I am committed to ensuring that transportation planning in Oakton is thorough and community-focused and am in support of a data-driven approach to address traffic concerns,” Palchik said.
Any recommendations from the study will likely be the responsibility of Fairfax County and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), but Goldman says EYA is “committed to working with the county and Oakton community to improve traffic and pedestrian safety and welcome continued discussions around our efforts to build toward a safer and more connected Oakton.”
French expressed optimism about the potential follow-up study but worried that it might end up prioritizing moving traffic over safety by widening roads.
“I worry that VDOT doesn’t quite have the same goals as the county, so that would be my concern, that we would end up with more pavement and no real, effective solution,” French said.
Coincidentally, Montanino with Smart Growth for Oakton also suggested that insufficient coordination between Fairfax County and VDOT is “really the crux of the problem” when it comes to implementing transportation improvements.
Prompted by safety concerns reignited by the June 2022 crash that killed two Oakton High School students, a road safety audit of Blake Lane released last year identified several possible improvements relevant to the AT&T redevelopment site, a VDOT spokesperson said by email:
- Centerline hardening (northbound Borge Street approach to Jermantown Road)
- Temporary curb extensions (Jermantown Road and Borge Street)
- Green paint and trail crossing signage (Jermantown Road and Borge Street, Blake Lane and Bushman Drive)
- Transit stop optimization (Jermantown Road and AT&T driveway, Jermantown Road and Borge Street, etc.)
- Blake Lane and Bushman Drive geometric improvements
- Design Alternative 1: Restrict left turns from Bushman Drive onto Blake Lane
- Design Alternative 2: Separate right and left turning movements for northbound Bushman Drive
However, VDOT and Fairfax County haven’t solidified timelines for implementing the recommendations.
While the county has made some changes on Blake Lane, including increasing the fines for speeding and relocating school bus stops, French and the homeowners’ groups both say the most effective measure has been the addition of a speed camera near the high school.
As of last September, average driver speeds have dropped from nearly 34 mph before the camera was installed to 31.7 mph, according to the county.
