Maybe Beauty is Only Skin Deep!

I hope everyone who lives in Dale City or is just driving through has seen the curb and gutter work that VDOT has been doing. All the overgrown grass has been cut back from the edges of the medians and along the curbs.

You, Dale City Patch and I are going to take a little credit for this. It’s been my ability to write here, my editor’s willingness to publish and you readers’ response and willingness to share that has sparked my confidence that improving the appearance of our community is a real possibility.

I have long believed first looks determine so much, and have often remarked, “Crime moves in when it looks like nobody cares.” I’ve written about the broken windows theory, I talk about property values, and I literally preach about community pride. I’ve taken video, posted photos and worked numerous cleanup efforts like Neighborhood Pride Week  to try to improve appearances in our community.

I have numerous people to thank for this work that VDOT is doing: first, thanks to my friends who support me, work with me, and listen to me rant and whine.
Thanks to Delegates Rich Anderson, Luke Torian, and Scott Lingamfelter for their willingness to understand and offer assistance. Thanks to our supervisor, John Jenkins, for facilitating a meeting to discuss the issue. Big thanks to Maria Sinner from VDOT. Maria is the VDOT Transportation & Land Use Director for Prince William County. Maria not only understands our concerns, she has offered other avenues we may use to further beautify our community.

Huge thanks go to Dave Brown, VDOT Residency Administrator for Prince William County. Dave oversees all the roadside maintenance and mowing for us. Dave serves with me on the board of Keep Prince William Beautiful (We are transitioning from the PW Clean Community Council. Dave understands exactly what we talk about when we discuss community appearance. Perhaps the biggest thanks of all go to the contractors performing this work. My friends and I can tell you that cutting through three or four inches of sod that has washed over the edges of concrete over a period of years is hard work.

Now that VDOT has made this massive effort, we need to keep it up. It is to everyone’s benefit that Dale City shows we are 65,000 people who care.

What’s the next step?

I had attended several meetings hosted by Pat Reilly, PWC Department of Public Works, Neighborhood Services Division, to discuss a concept called, “Signature Intersections.” This idea is to enhance areas that delineate an entry point to a distinct area. For example; when you get off I95 at the Dale City exit, you know you have arrived in Dale City. I love this concept and was so excited to see what we were going to do next, but it turns out there is no funding available for such activity.

You know that won’t deter me! I think we can build partnerships to improve our community. To begin this task, a good friend of mine, Bill Golden, CEO of Intelligence Careers.com has a video project that he has graciously extended to me to use to promote such endeavors. Bill created this first video as an introduction to welcome viewers to what we hope will be a regular venue for many citizens to share. Bill has donated studio time to begin this series that will encompass many of the topics important to our quality of life in PWC. You can watch the video above. We know it’s a little long and most of you already know me, so just skip to the part about Minnieville Road.

Let us know what you think!