The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is looking to fund upgrades for its aging public safety facilities and transportation network through bond referenda that may appear on the November ballot.
The supervisors unanimously endorsed a plan yesterday (Tuesday) to seek voter approval for a $306 million investment that would modernize Metro facilities, refurbish old fire stations and build a new police training center.
With Route 7 still years away from getting a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, regional transportation planners want to improve Metro’s existing service in the corridor from Tysons to Alexandria.
In response to feedback suggesting the process could be sped up, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) is developing a strategic implementation plan that considers short-term enhancements for Metrobus 28A, even as it keeps studying how to eventually convert the route into a higher-capacity, higher-frequency BRT.
Metro is planning to spend the summer hyping up the D.C. region’s public transportation, starting with a family-friendly celebration for transit lovers this Saturday (June 29).
The inaugural Metro Fest at the Franconia Metro station is open to the public at no cost. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and include arts and crafts, games, entertainment, snacks, water, and Metro-branded giveaways, according to a press release.
In the D.C. area, the summer solstice has brought a reminder that heat doesn’t just make people sluggish. It can affect transportation infrastructure too.
Metro has instituted a systemwide speed restriction, limiting all trains to a maximum of 35 mph when they’re above ground due to rail temperatures exceeding 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The limit took effect today (Thursday) at 2 p.m.
Work is underway to replace the escalators at the Vienna Metro station.
Started on Monday, June 3, the project will replace each of the escalators to the train platform one at a time with new escalators that are “more durable and reliable,” the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced.
Thursday afternoon commutes to and from Tysons are about to get more melodious for transit users.
Throughout the summer, musicians will serenade riders at one of the area’s four Metro stations every week for a free “Metro Musicians” concert series organized by the Tysons Community Alliance (TCA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
The concerts will be held every Thursday at 5-6:30 p.m., starting tonight with acoustic soul duo Zach Cutler and Deborah Bond at the McLean Metro station. The series will continue through Aug. 29.
According to the TCA, the series is part of WMATA’s Art in Transit program, where the transit agency collaborates with visual and performing artists around the D.C. region to bring their work to Metro facilities.
The program has introduced murals, sculptures, digital displays and poetry at various Metro stations and buildings. It also ran a contest where students submitted designs for Earth Day-themed bus wraps.
The full Metro Musicians schedule is below:
The cost of riding Metro trains and buses will go up, starting July 1, when the transit agency’s new budget takes effect.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) board of directors approved a $4.8 billion fiscal year 2025 budget yesterday (Thursday) that will increase fares by 12.5%, including by ending the flat $2 rate for weekend and late-night rides introduced in 2021 and expanded in 2022.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is asking the county’s General Assembly delegation to oppose Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed funding cuts to Metro in the state’s budget.
During a board meeting on Tuesday (April 16), supervisors unanimously approved a letter written by Chairman Jeff McKay, Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw, and Dranesville District Supervisor James Bierman, asking the delegation to oppose the cuts and retain the funding needed to address the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) estimated $750 million shortfall.
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A boy was taken to the hospital yesterday (Sunday) after a crash near Inova Fairfax Hospital.
The Fairfax County Police Department reported at 6:32 p.m. that officers were on scene of a crash involving a sedan and a bus on Gallows Road at Anderson Road in Merrifield.
Local and state officials in Virginia say the path to dig Metro out of its looming $750 million deficit is uncertain — but action is necessary to avoid the significant service cuts, systemwide fare hikes, layoffs and station closures laid out in the transit agency’s newly proposed budget.
Leaders in Fairfax County — which already faces lean economic times — say they don’t plan to offer up additional funds unless jurisdictional and federal partners can throw some more skin into the game.
