Future of Transit: Nov. 16 virtual town hall to focus on “Springfield to Quantico” findings

Prince William County Supervisors Kenny Boddye (Occoquan) and Victor S. Angry (Neabsco ) will co-host a new installment of their “Future of Transit’’ series on Nov. 16, from 6:30 to 8 pm. 

Event sign-up is free, and available at occoq.org/drpt.th. During registration, attendees may submit questions and ideas in advance. There will also be a moderated chat available during the livestream.  DRPT is accepting public comment on the study through Nov. 17: drpt.virginia.gov/transit/springfield-to-quantico.

During this virtual town hall, the supervisors will be joined by members of the county’s planning and transportation departments and Jennifer DeBruhl, Chief of Public Transportation for Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation’s (DRPT), to discuss results of the year-long Springfield to Quantico Enhanced Public Transportation Feasibility Study.

As part of the study, DRPT evaluated transit options–extending Metrorail (Yellow Line and/or Blue Line), VRE improvements, bus rapid transit (BRT), and express bus–against five metrics: Ridership potential, Congestion mitigation, Regional accessibility/connectivity, Equity and Cost-effectiveness

Overall, the study found that Metrorail and BRT would perform best on ridership, but each mode has pros and cons when measured against the other metrics. The findings also reinforce that land use, placemaking, economic development, quality of life, and mobility are all inextricably linked, and that the time to plan for coming growth is now.