|
Twilight arrives at the Virginia Railway Express storage facility |
For nearly 12 years, commuters have boarded Virginia Railway Express trains in Fredericksburg and Stafford County.
And for about as long, officials have wondered whether Spotsylvania County would ever get a station of its own.
That discussion will continue at a public forum in Massaponax on Thursday, sponsored by the Committee of 500, a grass-roots slow-growth organization.
Transportation officials will address VRE's impact on Fredericksburg and Stafford as well as what it would cost Spotsylvania to get on board with the program.
The panel discussion will take place in Room 212 at Germanna Community College off the U.S. 17 Bypass near Lee's Hill from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Committee of 500 generally supports the idea of public transportation, said Chairman Merl Witt. But the forum is not an opportunity to lobby residents, he said.
Instead, the group hopes people will ask hard questions about the service and think about whether it's a good idea for Spotsylvania, he said.
"We're not going to get up there and say, 'It's time to get on the VRE,'" Witt said. "We want to force the discussion. We want to bring attention to it."
The panel includes representatives from the VRE, Virginia Association of Railway Patrons, the local transportation planning organization, Fredericksburg and Stafford.
"Our motivation is to get all the players together and basically sit down and talk about the facts," said Larry Gross, chairman of the transportation committee for the grass-roots organization.
In the past, opposition to joining VRE has focused on the cost to the county. Over the last six years, for instance, Fredericksburg has paid an average of $127,000 each year to support the commuter train service. Stafford has forked over an average of $707,000.
But that money comes from a 2 percent gas tax that those communities are allowed to levy because they are members of VRE.
In addition, the tax has provided millions of dollars to those localities for other transportation projects--$4.5 million in Stafford since 1998 and $3.4 million in Fredericksburg.
The Cowan Boulevard extension in the city, the new interchange at Interstate 95 and State Route 627 in Stafford and FRED bus service have all benefited from that money.
VRE officials say it won't be cheap for Spotsylvania to join the club. Spotsylvania would probably have to spend $16.5 million to $18 million just to get started, since the county would need a train station and parking lot, VRE spokesman Mark Roeber said.
But, according to conservative estimates from last year, a 2 percent gas tax in that county would probably raise in the neighborhood of $2.2 million a year, he said.
In addition, VRE riders from Spotsylvania have increased considerably. Based on surveys, the agency figures about 850 Spotsylvanians ride the commuter trains each day, a 31 percent increase over last year.
Those residents have to drive to Fredericksburg or Stafford to catch the trains now.
If Spotsylvania did build a train station, it would likely go near the Crossroads Business Park near the Lee's Hill subdivision, where VRE trains are stored overnight already, Roeber said.
Spotsylvania Supervisor Bob Hagan said he plans to attend the forum. He said he wants to know what would help residents more: An investment in VRE or a similar investment in other transportation options.
"I'm really going with an open mind," he said.
Supervisor Hap Connors said he thinks the board is ready to seriously examine whether joining VRE is good for the county.
"I think the board is very much interested in pursuing some sort of partnership with VRE. I think the time has come," he said. "Everybody's emotionally attached to their positions. We've just got to see how best to serve our constituents."
To reach EDIE GROSS: 540/374-5428 egross@freelancestar.com
