VRE could add morning express train in 2010

December 7, 2009 12:36 am

COULD THERE be a morning express train for commuters in the Fredericksburg area by next summer?

In an online chat with riders this week at vre .org, Virginia Railway Express CEO Dale Zehner said he's included funding for a morning express train on the Fredericksburg Line in VRE's fiscal 2011 budget. If approved, the train would start in July.

That doesn't mean the train is a sure thing. At its last meeting, the commuter train system's operations board learned that state money for operations could be cut by $500,000.

But there is strong public support for such a train, which would likely collect passengers at stops at the southern end of the line for an express run to work destinations farther north. For as long as I've had this beat, people have been asking about it.

Zehner tackles rider questions each month at vre.org. This month he dealt with questions about parking in lots reserved for residents of member jurisdictions, such as some of the lots near the Fredericksburg train station (Spotsylvanians will be eligible to park in those lots starting Monday, Feb. 15) and about the Leeland Road parking lot, among other things.

Check out the full archive of chats at vre.org.

Dear Kelly:

I was wondering if the road from Heritage Park Apartments [off Fall Hill Avenue] in Fredericksburg to the new subdivision off Cowan Boulevard is a legal road. I live in the apartments and have noticed people using the road. It's a cut-off road. Just trying to find out if it's a legitimate road that the public can use.

--Justin Lewis, Fredericksburg

The road, where Preserve Lane and the apartment complex's entrance road meet, is not for public use. It can be used by emergency vehicles only, said Dave King, assistant director of the Fredericksburg Public Works Department. "It's purely an emergency access for emergency vehicles," King said.

The city's Buildings and Development Services office has put up a chain to keep cut-through traffic from traveling between Preserve Lane and the apartments, and the chain is checked weekly. The department will be installing an automatic gate so emergency vehicles can access the road remotely, or a gate that opens at the sound of sirens, said Steve Smallwood, Fredericksburg's chief building official.

Dear Kelly: I live off Mine Road in North Stafford. When you approach the intersection from I-95 on Garrisonville Road, the only sign that indicates Mine Road is a very small street sign on the far left side of the road on the other side of the intersection. Who can I contact to see about getting at least a bigger overhead sign or a large sign prior to the intersection announcing the road? I see way too many people swerving through traffic trying to make the left-hand turn onto Mine Road, and with the volume of traffic on Garrisonville right there it is not easy!

--Laura Slye, Stafford

An upgraded traffic signal will be added at Mine and Garrisonville roads, and part of the signal will include a much larger Mine Road sign on the signal's mast arm, hanging above traffic. Money for the new traffic signal is in the state's six-year transportation budget, but there is no date for installation.

I would contact Stafford County's transportation office at 540/658-4900 to inquire about temporary solutions.

Kelly Hannon is The Free Lance-Star's transportation reporter. If you have questions, send them to Getting There, c/o The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; or you may fill out the Getting There form on the Web at fredericksburg.com.