Linda Smyth and Gerry Connolly have straddled the fence, reacting to the almost universal public outcry against the EL by paying lip service to support for the tunnel, but behind the scenes (and probably in their secret, closed door Board of Supervisor meetings) facilitating the EL.
Smyth and Connolly don't want to upset some of their biggest campaign contributors who want something, anything to justify the high density development in Tysons that will enrich them.
Noting that the County has exposed taxpayers to an open-ended commitment that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars, Hall said:
"These are very significant cost exposures at a time when Fairfax County is heading into a tough budget period," Hall said. "These are not topics for closed-door discussions. The best way to protect taxpayers is to come out into the open and make the public part of this critical discussion."
Prominent spokesmen of redevelopment and mass transit in Tysons state that an elevated track would permanently partition Tysons Corner, making its redesign as a pedestrian-friendly urban environment difficult or impossible, including:
- Stewart Schwartz, executive director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth:
- ?Tysons can be transformed, but only if the planned Metro line is run underground instead of on an elevated track.?
- ?The four outer stations of the Orange Line, where the tracks are located in the center of the highway right-of-way, have seen far less development, far fewer pedestrian trips and far more auto trips. More of the same could be expected with an elevated system in Tysons Corner.?
- TysonsTunnel.org: ?An elevated track will not only snarl roads during construction but also stymie Fairfax County's efforts to turn Tysons into a walkable downtown?
- Dana Kauffman, Metro board member and Fairfax County Supervisor: ?We only have one shot to do this project right, and for me that means serving Tysons with underground rail." "Sixty years from now, our excuses for not doing the right thing today won't hold water."
- Clark Tyler of McLean, chairman of the Tysons Task Force Committee, ?The last thing Tysons needs is another silly barrier, and that's what it's getting?We've got the Beltway and Route 123 and Route 7, and now we'll get this thing sticking up that you can see from Pittsburgh."
It's time to make our elected officials take a stand and not allow them to be mug whompers (that means having your mug on one side of the fence with your whomp on the other). Just say...NO EL! Why would we spend $5 Billion dollars to continue to destroy Tysons? If the county is going to spend this outlandish sum of money, shouldn't our investment be a positive investment in Tysons future?
Smyth is fighting for us. She has 20+ years of experience as a community activist plus 4 years as supervisor and 4 years as planning commissioner.
You can either go with the activist who knows how the system works and can get things done or you can go with a person who just got involved in local politics last year and is just mad about the development decisions that were made in his neighborhood after a series of public hearings.
Sean
As Gerry Connolly's planner, it was her responsibility to advise him on the project's planning legitimacy. As Providence Supervisor, she should have spoken out against such a planning disaster as this. But she never did until Tysons Tunnel publicized the issue and thousands of people signed up to oppose it. Then, out of the blue, she starts running around wearing stickers.
Excuse me madam, but where have you been on this issue for the last eight years? AWOL is the answer.
The El is in Providence District. That's been Smyth's District for the last eight years. A lot of the fault for this catastrophe is hers.
Smyth's leadship is nil and broad planning for future needs in Providence is myopic. So far her "leadership" has been to take all park and sidewalk monies (her secret stash of budget monies) and plow them into Oakton. Even with input from county staff and residents to put sidewalk money into connections to the metro station areas in Vienna and Merrifield/Dunn Loring, she announced to the board that she would not commit to such, even though this is where she's approving huge developments.
As an area Merrifield resident, I'm upset that
1. The $2M from a bond issue to purchase a central park in Merrifield, promised by Connolly & Smyth to gain support for the up densities proposed in the plan changes in 2002, was instead used to purchase a park in Oakton.
2. That the $1M sidewalk monies that each Board member voted for themselves this year are going to Oakton to build connections to their new park.
3. Money developing the new park in Oakton are coming from Tysons developers - probably for future favors of not developing parks in Tysons.
Merrifield is being left in the new Oakton dust...but then you wouldn't recognize this because you've only been on the scene for 3 years and probably only began paying attention last year. You should ask questions to know why people don't trust Smyth's or Connolly's leadership. Are you going to ask...Is Merrifield going to get the benefits it was promised, beyond the traffic and overdevelopment densities?
However, Oakton residents should question her commitments to historical preservation, which has previously been used to define Oakton. She has instead used her "planning credentials" to destroy the integrity of the Hunter Mill Corridor in favor of banking institutions. I guess it takes a PhD in history to determine new banks are better than historic buildings in defining a community.
Why not use the scarce sidewalk dollars to put in a flashy sidewalk for the rich while the poor fall into the ditch trying to get to the bus stop in Merrifield? Sidewalks in Oakton is voter appeal! Maybe RaisingKaine or a newspaper would like to follow that story. There is a story there!
Remember the poor often don't get to vote because they are either trying to get to work, or working, or coming home between those hours that the "others" go to the polls.
I guess Smyth will count the sidewalk in Oakton as being a champion of sidewalks, just like she claims to be a champion of the environment. If I read one more Smyth mailer about how she is an environmentalist because she put in something called low impact development at her district office, I think I will barf. What about all the trees that have been chopped down for more structures to cover up the very surfaces that are needed to collect run off water. This runoff finds its way to the streams and on to the Potomac. Come Smyth....please stop it!
1) The Oakton parkland was NOT purchased with money earmarked for a Merrifield park. Kindly provide the basis for your inaccurate assertion.
2) No money whatsoever is coming from any Tysons' developer to pay for the development of the Oakton park. Please identify the developer and the amount that they currently have agreed to pay to support your claim that developers are paying for the Oakton park in return for an agreement not to put parks in Tysons.
3) Supervisor Smyth was able to preserve the Oakton Schoolhouse. The bank is entirely funding and overseeing the preservation work. Smyth has demonstrated her preservation credentials!
Let's talk issues -- and stop making up "facts".
Because Smyth wears a tunnel supporter sticker? I don't think so. She has spent 8 years supporting the elevated. Not until the Tysons Tunnel folks raised the issue, did Smyth take an interest. Wouldn't be because there are tons of voters and money in this group? This is election time and Smyth wants their vote. Isn't it a bit odd, that the BOS votes after the election. We "ain't stupid"....we know the game that Smyth is playing. It won't work. People want a change and Hall is that change.