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Only 4 lanes for Belmont Ridge Road

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LOUDOUN COUNTY CITIZEN PETITION TO FURTHER ASSESS THE NEED FOR THE FUTURE EXPANSION OF BELMONT RIDGE ROAD TO 6-LANES According to the current draft of the revised Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP), the section of Belmont Ridge Road, located south of route 7, is planned to be expanded to a 120 foot wide 6-lane road, with a maximum speed limit of 65 miles per hour. According to Loudoun County's Office of Transportation Services (OTS), future traffic projections for Belmont Ridge Road (south of the Greenway) is estimated to increase from it's current level of approximately 9,000 average daily trips (ADT) to approximately 46,000 ADT in the year 2030. And because future traffic projections exceed 40,000 ADTs, OTS has concluded that Belmont Ridge Road (south of the Greenway) ultimately needs to be expanded to 6-lanes. However, others in the Community still question the need for such an expansion and continue to express issues and below. Therefore, an electronic petition is being circulated to concerned citizens and HOA's in the Community so that it can be forwarded to the Loudoun County Planning Commission (LCPC) before the Planning Commission Public Hearing End of October 2009. If you share or have other concerns regarding the future expansion of Belmont Ridge Road to 6-lanes, please add your name and address to the electronic petition (www.ipetitions.com/petition/4LanesBelmontRidge) and forward this notification to others in the Community that either share or have similar issues and/or concerns. Community Issues and Concerns 1. The Community does not understand the data, modeling assumptions, and rationale that led OTS to conclude the need to expand Belmont Ridge Road (south of the Greenway) from 2 to 6 lanes in the CTP (especially given that the quality of these modeling inputs directly affects the quality of the modeling output (forecasted ADTs). 2. The Community recognizes that 20-year forecasts are difficult at best and would also like to better understand the historical reliability of previous modeling forecast, in order to determine the level of confidence that should be applied to these forecast (especially given the projected 20-year ADT forecast is only ~15% over the 40,000 ADT threshold which triggered the increase of the roadway from 4 to 6 lanes). 3. The Community believes that a 6 lane expansion of Belmont Ridge Road is not necessary given that there are already several other NORTH-SOUTH bound 6-lane roadways in the CTP (i.e.; Hwy 28, Claiborne Pkwy, Moorefield Pkwy, Loudoun County Pkwy, Ashburn Village Drive, Ox Road, etc) -- perhaps more than necessary. 4. The Community also believes that there are very little EAST-WEST bound 6-lane roadways in the CTP -- perhaps less than necessary. Thus it seems that if additional east-west roadway improvements were included, it would provide additional traffic relief to future north-south bound roadways. 5. The Community questions the timing and ability to fund all of the roadway improvements in the CTP, and is concerned about the increasing amount of high traffic that will ensue because of the planned roadway expansion in the environmentally sensitive Suburban/Transition Area near Beaverdam Reservoir (a drinking water source for residents of Fairfax and Loudoun County). 6. The Community is concerned that the curvature and design of the Belmont Ridge Road has not yet been designed by VDOT. This means that the expanded roadway may ultimately be positioned closer to homeowner properties, bike paths, and walking trails, creating a serious safety concerns or unsightly noise barrier walls, and result in declining values to homeowner properties.

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Concerned citizen of Loudoun County

Links

http://www.loudounctp.com/documents.htm Discussion Group: http://groups.google.com/group/4lanesbelmontridge
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