Article Text
Northern Virginia transit planners are seeking another round of public input on proposed upgrades along the Route 7 corridor, including plans that could eventually create a 14-mile bus rapid transit system between Tysons and Alexandria’s Mark Center.
The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission has opened an online feedback form focused on the corridor between Seven Corners and the Mark Center/Southern Towers area. The survey asks how riders currently use bus service and what improvements they want in the future.
The form is available in English, Spanish, Amharic and Vietnamese. It follows an outreach campaign last fall that gathered comments from residents, business owners and visitors.
Route 7 carries Northern Virginia’s busiest bus route, Metrobus F20, formerly known as the 28A. The route currently operates every 12 minutes during the day between the Tysons and King Street Metro stations.
A community forum held in Culmore last October explored the long-term BRT proposal. In the meantime, planners are pursuing shorter-term improvements intended to lay the groundwork for the full system. Ten capital projects tied directly to better bus service along the proposed corridor have been funded so far.
Planning has advanced west to east through Fairfax County, Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria. Responsibility for roads along the route is divided among the Virginia Department of Transportation and the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria.
Fairfax County’s Tysons-area plan would extend service north along International Drive, connecting the Tysons and Spring Hill Metro stations. The county wants to add dedicated bus lanes without reducing the number of existing travel lanes, a design that would require widening the road.
The proposed service would also leave Route 7 briefly to connect with the East Falls Church Metro station before returning to the corridor.
A drop-in open house covering the Seven Corners-to-Mark Center segment is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library, 4701 Seminary Road in Alexandria. There will be no formal presentation, but visitors can review design options and provide feedback.
Pop-up events and informal “bus stop chats” are also planned throughout the corridor through June.