Skip to main content

South Side Project

 Your officials will decide next week on VDOT’s toll expansion 

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plan to widen 495 from Springfield to Oxon Hill and extend private High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes has a key vote next week on whether or not to proceed. Make your voice heard!  Send an email to your local officials before noon on Tuesday, Oct. 14!

Officials should not endorse biased and flawed studies. Despite repeated community requests for VDOT to study and report now on the traffic impacts of a widened 495 on connecting roads like MD 210, Route 1 and Van Dorn St, and to study a comprehensive transit, commuter incentive, smart land use and flexible lane alternatives, VDOT has refused. 

 

In addition, the proposed 495 HOT lanes expansion would likely block future Metrorail on the Wilson Bridge, and would clear woods and impact streams and wetlands. 

 

Your local officials have an opportunity to make VDOT do better. That’s by voting next week to reject adding the 495 Southside project to the region’s long range plan and to make VDOT collaboratively seek better solutions.

 

Your representatives on the regional Transportation Planning Board will vote on Wednesday, but the deadline to comment is noon Tuesday! 

Comments

Climate Change an existential danger to the planet. said…
Transportation Planning Board
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
777 N Capitol St Ne Ste 300,
Washington, DC 20002

https://www.mwcog.org/events/2025/10/15/transportation-planning-board/

Interested members of the public will be given the opportunity to make brief comments on transportation issues under consideration by the TPB. For any member of the public who wishes to address the board on the day of the meeting, they may do so by registering to attend and speak in person for only one minute or by emailing written comments to TPBcomment@mwcog.org with the subject line “Item 1 Public Comment Opportunity”, or by calling and leaving a phone message at (202) 962-3315. Comments will be summarized and shared with TPB members as part of their published meeting materials. These statements must be received by staff no later than 12:00 P.M. (Noon) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, to be relayed to the board at the meeting.
October 11, 2025 at 9:16 AM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts

pgc climate action plan

  Prince George's County's Climate Action Plan (CAP) Prince George's County's Climate Action Plan (CAP) is a roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience to climate change impacts. The plan, developed by the  Prince George's County Climate Action Commission , sets a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The plan includes 26 priority recommendations for county-wide climate action, focusing on both mitigation and adaptation strategies.  Key aspects of the plan include: Emissions Reduction: The plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, aligning with state and regional goals.  Climate Resilience: The plan addresses the impacts of climate change —such as extreme heat, flooding, and severe storms —by integrating climate resilience into long-range planning and infrastructure development.  Community Engagement: The plan emphasizes a collabo...
Post a Comment
Read more

House Members Vote to Ensure Safe, Efficient Travel in FAA Reauthorization Bill

  House Members Vote to Ensure Safe, Efficient Travel in FAA Reauthorization Bill    [WASHINGTON D.C., JULY 19, 2023] – This evening, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to protect safe and efficient air travel by opposing an effort to add more flights to the already at-capacity Reagan National Airport [DCA]. CPARA and its nearly 150 members nationwide commend the Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who voted to ensure safety, limit delays and cancellations, and protect regional access to the nation’s capital for communities across the country. As the issue moves to the Senate, substantial and growing opposition to adding more flights at DCA will ensure that Congress passes the critically needed FAA Reauthorization bill on time.     Tonight’s vote in the House is another example of the growing consensus that DCA is already at capacity, and that more flights will increase delays, cancellations, congestion, and safety concerns at what is...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aircraft noise environmental justice issue

 Aircraft noise is also an environmental justice issue, as it disproportionately impacts children, seniors, racial minorities, and the poor.  Southern Maryland, Fair Skies Coalition, was founded to seek solutions to decrease aircraft noise and air pollution south of DCA. The most severely impacted neighborhoods are Accokeek (CDP), Bryans Road (CDP), Bennsville (CDP), and Fort Washington (CDP), Maryland. Aircraft noise is also an environmental justice issue, as it disproportionately impacts children, seniors, racial minorities, and the poor.   How to Submit a Reagan National Aircraft Noise Complaint: File a Noise Complaint Sources of information Airport noise and pollution Working-Class Americans Inhale Private Jet Fumes; National Public Radio, Dec. 26, 2022 READ MORE → Information about the severe health risks of aircraft noise and concentrated flight paths, go to Study: Airport Flight Patterns Influence Health Care Costs; The Business Monthly, Oct. 3, 2022 READ MOR...
Post a Comment
Read more

Toxic Air: How Leaded Aviation Fuel Is Poisoning America’s Children

    Toxic Air: How Leaded Aviation Fuel Is Poisoning America’s Children Meeting Notes:  The hearing will convene in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building and over Zoom, which has been approved by the House. Date:  Thursday, July 28, 2022 - 2:00pm Location:  2154 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 “Toxic Air: How Leaded Aviation Fuel Is Poisoning America’s Children” Subcommittees:  ·         Environment (117th Congress)   On Thursday, July 28, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. ET , Rep. Ro Khanna, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, will hold a hybrid  hearing  to examine the health harms associated with leaded aviation fuel and its impacts on American communities and the environment.   To watch this hearing Click on this link -  Thursday, July 28, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. ET https://youtu.be/WiCCLa98uSg   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiCC...
1 comment
Read more