Potomac Yard Metro Project Faces Scrutiny, Meeting To Come

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Alexandria City Manager released a memo Friday night about the upcoming Potomac Yard Metro upgrades. The memo points out the south platform portion has been canceled to control costs, and some are saying the project is being done without community input. A community meeting is being held Wednesday to discuss residents' concerns.

According to the memo, the project's goals are to bolster future mixed-use development, give access from the east and west of the CSX rail corridor, ensuring high quality materials and design and being sensitive to the project's visual impact as observed from the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

The Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group is set up to provide a channel for public input as well as ensuring stakeholders' interests are being met. They're holding a public meeting Wednesday to allow people to make their concerns known.

One concerned citizen, Elena Caudle Hutchison, said in an email to Patch that the project has been going on largely without community input. Hutchison said the south mezzanine portion has been eliminated entirely and that the Potomac Yard neighborhood will be over a half mile from the closest metro entrance.

Hutchison also said the project is going to have too big an impact on walking distances, putting local development in jeopardy. Officials recently announced that the project's budget has gone up by $52 million to $320 million.

-- See the full memo from the City of Alexandria --

Here's what Alexandria officials say the primary goals of the project are, according to the city's memo:

Continued support of future mixed-use development.

Access from both the east and west of the CSX rail corridor to ensure the station and its elements will make the transit experience accessible from Potomac Yard and Potomac Greens/Old Town Greens.

Retaining the intent of the approved design by ensuring the (1) station design and materials will be high quality, enduring, cohesive, responsive to stakeholder requirements, and reflect the function of the station and (2) the materials are planned to be consistent with the approved design and appropriate to the use and scale of the station.

Being sensitive to the visual impacts as observed from the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP). The station and infrastructure will be designed to minimize visual impacts, and enhance its immediate environment of wetland, woodland, and open space. The station facilities design will make use of materials and strategies that are environmentally sensitive.

Anybody who wants to comment or ask questions can do so at a Wednesday, May 9 meeting with the Potomac Yard Metrorail Implementation Work Group from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., at City Hall, Sister Cities Conference Room 1101 (1st Floor).

Related:

• New $320M Potomac Yard Metro Budget Approved By Council
• Cost Increases For Potomac Yard Metro Project

Article image via City of Alexandria document screen grab