ALEXANDRIANS AGAINST A HIGHWAY CONNECTOR

P.O. Box 1417-224

Alexandria, VA 22313

(phone) 703/838-0376 (fax) 703/838-1698

(website) www.NoHighwayConnector.org

To:	Alexandrians Against A Highway Connector

From:	Lou Cordia

Re:	Vision For Alexandria

At the October 29th City Council Connector Work Session, neighborhoods won the connector battle; now we must make certain we win the war! The City Council unanimously rejected the connector proposed by the City transportation staff, and called upon them to provide analysis on no more than two-lane streets that would be bound by City covenants to prevent their being widened.
The City Council specifically stated:

1)	There would be no further consideration of a four-lane connector. It was taken off the table. The idea of three lanes was also rejected.

2)	City transportation staff must provide analysis of two-lane streets. They are to provide information on whether or not there should be two-lane streets; and if so, how many and where.

3)	The "no-build" option would remain on the table for further consideration, and

4)	The "No Build With Improvements" package was also taken off the table because it creates a "Van Dorn Freeway bringing Fairfax County traffic into Alexandria" said Mayor Donley.

That was a good victory. Now we citizens must make certain that the next steps solidify our progress. We need you to write or

e-mail each City Council Member asking them to take the following four positive steps. Their mailing and e-mail addresses are on our website, or could be obtained by calling 703/838-0376.

The four action items and key dates are:

1)	On November 12th, the City Council should have a recorded vote to formalize the Work Session decisions stating unequivocally that they reject the City transportation staff's recommendations, that they are against three-or-more lane connectors, and they will only consider building no more than two-lane streets bound by covenants to prohibit them from being widened in the future.

2)	At the December 10th City Council meeting, each of the City Council Members should provide citizens with his/her own vision statement conveying what kind of City they think Alexandria should be. In their statements, they should explain their development, open-space, residential and commercial goals and objectives for the City. For example, should Eisenhower Valley erect "mega" office complexes as "economic engines," be a residential neighborhood, mix these uses, or be a "green crescent-like" open space? Should Eisenhower Valley West be developed like Eisenhower East? It is important that we citizens understand in which direction our elected officials plan to take Alexandria. It is incumbent upon them to provide us this information to help us make informed choices in the spring elections.

3)	At the December 14th City Council Public Hearing, the Council should schedule enough time for the public to comment on the Council Members' vision statements, provide their own thoughts and recommendations on the future of Alexandria, and express their opinions on the connector as we would have at the cancelled Public Hearing on

November 19th,, and

4)	At the January 14, 2003 City Council Meeting, the City Council should present their collective vision for Alexandria to provide leadership and direction to city staff. Only at this time should the City Council undertake a comprehensive land-
use plan. The comprehensive land-use plan should be developed to implement a clear vision statement, and should include all related city offices like Parks for open space, Planning and Zoning for development, Transportation for road construction and its analysis on the two-lane idea, Police/Fire/EMS for public safety, as well as substantial citizen participation. The City Council needs to stop being led by one of its department's road construction initiatives.

On behalf of Alexandrians Against a Highway Connector, I want to recognize the vital leadership of Vice Mayor Bill Cleveland and Councilwoman Del Pepper who led the opposition to a connector. They were the only City Council Members who signed our petition clearly stating their objection to any and all connectors. At the same time, we want to thank the rest of City Council for hearing citizens' concerns about the adverse impact of a connector on our neighborhoods; and acting accordingly at the Work Session.

Most of all, I want to thank 4,300 Alexandrians who signed our petition; and in so uniting, helped convince the City Council that we were, and remain, very serious about our opposition to the connector. Thank you for standing up for what you believe. I will keep you apprised of developments so that we do not let a transportation department determine the direction for our city, and cause us to end up with multiple two-lane connectors that would add as much traffic to our neighborhoods as a four-lane highway connector.