HOA President to Smyth: Consider Hunterbrooke
Rose Piccagallo asks supervisor to weigh adverse effects of Hunter Mill Road roundabout
By Nicole Trifone
http://oakton.patch.com/articles/hoa-president-to-smyth-consider-hunterbrooke

The following letter from Rose Piccagallo, president of the Hunterbrooke Home Owners Association, was submitted to Supervisor Linda Smyth's office in response to the plan for a roundabout at Mystic Meadows Way and Hunter Mill Road. Mystic Meadows Way serves as the entrance to Hunterbrooke. Oakton Patch did not edit the copy, but Piccagallo corrected the date of the neighborhood's development to 1994.

"I speak and submit this statement on behalf of the fifteen (15) families who comprise the Hunterbooke Home Owners Association, and who, more than any other Fairfax County citizens, will be affected by the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Huntermill Road and Mystic Meadow Way. This one time pleasant and serene development, planned and built by John Sekas, dates to 1994. Some of the original purchasers of these properties still reside here.

We are very concerned that the proposed roundabout will have a serious adverse impact on our day to day existence. We are worried that it will create difficult and aggravated traffic situations, some potentially dangerous to pedestrians, dog walkers, and many of our residents who have small children and frequently use walking lanes. Presently that corner is a stop for the FCPS bus pick up and drop off. We assume that will be moved. We are all very much concerned that the proposed roundabout, as presently designed, will detract from the aesthetic nature of our “living street” and, ultimately, result in further reduction of our home resale values. This is currently a quiet and serene street.

In an ideal world, we would ask that the proposed roundabout not be built at all. But as plans are already well advanced, we would ask, at the very least that consideration be given to building as small a roundabout as possible, so that some of the beauty of our now attractive entrance and brick wall be retained. It would be disastrous, we strongly believe, to build a roundabout that would leave just a minimal space between its outermost reaches and our entrance wall and street. We also believe such a roundabout would be potentially dangerous to pedestrians. Moreover, we ask that consideration be given to the fact that the proposed park and increased traffic -- presumably the reason for the roundabout -- will only be used during certain months of the year. We will be forced to live with the roundabout year round.

Please be advised that we in Hunterbrooke and surrounding neighborhoods have seen our formerly quaint community radically changed in recent past years: immediately down the street, 56 single family homes and a Library replaced the former sixteen (16) acres of beautiful wooded area; a church was built, which later added a school; a senior citizens retirement home was built and the landmark Oakton School House was relocated across the street from Mystic Meadow Way; then we were informed of plans for a park with athletic fields, and parking spaces. All this has measurably increased daily traffic , particularly for Hunterbrooke residents. We can only imagine how this will be exaggerated when soccer games or other athletic events begin or empty out, particularly during Oakton’s ever lengthening rush hours. Now comes the roundabout.

We realize that some define such development as “progress”. Nevertheless, we strongly ask you to consider the adverse impact this has and will have on our daily lives, home values, and sense of family-friendly community. We in the Hunterbrooke community will be the most affected by this development. As noted, we have already accepted and are living with substantial changes to our once quaint neighborhood. We ask that you please give serious thought to our situation. Thank you.

Respectfully submitted,

Rose Piccigallo

Hunterbrooke HOA President"

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A Primer: Oakton Community Park Roundabout
Current plans for traffic calming measures based on results of a 2006 study on Hunter Mill Road.
By Nicole Trifone
http://oakton.patch.com/articles/hoa-president-to-smyth-consider-hunterbrooke

This design is a general rendering of the roundabout suggested for the intersection at the Oakton Community Park. Final design plans are in the works.
Attachments:

A Primer: Oakton Community Park Roundabout
Current plans for traffic calming measures based on results of a 2006 study on Hunter Mill Road.
By Nicole Trifone
http://oakton.patch.com/articles/a-primer-oakton-community-park-roundabout


With more cars traveling Hunter Mill Road as Northern Virginia continues to develop, Fairfax County is trying to balance traffic calming solutions with a desire to preserve the historic Hunter Mill Corridor.

To avoid turning Hunter Mill Road into a four-lane thruway, a county study has recommended seven roundabouts and several other road treatments — such as splitters or raised medians — along Hunter Mill Road.

No plans have been finalized, but the county has been taking on the project one piece at a time, allowing the three affected magisterial districts — Providence, Hunter Mill and Sully — to find the appropriate time and money on their own.

The first roundabout — planned for the intersection of Mystic Meadow Way and Oakton Community Park in the Providence District — is scheduled to begin construction next year, for a completion date in spring 2013.

The final design plan is still in the works. A conceptual rendering can be found in the PDFs above.

Construction plans for the park's one-lane roundabout would:

Extend the sidewalk near Oakton Shopping Center past the park;
Build the roundabout and sidewalk in a manner that would avoid the historic willow oak tree in front of the park;
Cut into some of the private property in front of the Hunterbrooke (off Mystic Meadow Way) neighborhood's brick sign for the roundabout and sidewalk; and
Construct two crosswalks that include a safe space between lanes for pedestrians to cross.
Change the speed limit to 20 mph.
Supervisor Linda Smyth (Providence) wants the roundabout to be constructed along with improvements to Oakton Community Park — in which a soccer field and playground is planned. That would not only address the increase in traffic, but also save costs by working on both projects simultaneously. The playground should be built by the end of the year, Smyth said, but final designs for the roundabout have not been completed.

Though a designated Virginia Byway, the 7.2-mile Hunter Mill Road is not protected from development. Instead, the distinction is because of the road's aesthetic or cultural value near an area of historical, natural or recreational significance. The byway is eligible for nomination to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

The first roundabout's cost is unknown, as plans are not finalized, but $800,000 from Fairfax County commercial and industrial real property tax for transportation projects will go toward funding it.

Traffic Calming Study

In 2001, the Hunter Mill Defense League developed a mission statement after meeting with their fellow community members: "The Community's vision is to maintain Hunter Mill Road as a tranquil, residential byway with unique natural, historic, and picturesque character, thus preserving one of the last remaining scenic, rolling terrains in Fairfax County."

In 2003, Fairfax County supervisors of the magisterial districts that then contained parts of Hunter Mill Road appointed residents of the corridor to the Hunter Mill Traffic Calming Committee, who used that mission statement to explore different traffic calming measures for the byway.

The committee reached out to then-Del. Vincent Callahan Jr. (R-34th), whose district included parts of Hunter Mill Road in the north. Through his work, the committee procured about $75,000 to go toward a traffic calming study, which was conducted by Draper Aden Associates for the Northern Virginia Regional Commission and published in December 2006. For the full traffic calming study, click here.

In May 2006, those involved in the study along with local leaders met with more than 200 residents for a workshop on some of the findings and to solicit input on the possible recommendations. The report indicates a majority of attendees left happy with where the project was going, a claim corroborated by Bruce Bennett, chairman of the Hunter Mill Traffic Road Calming Committee.

The 2006 study found the following facts about the existing traffic situation on Hunter Mill Road:

Daily traffic volume study found between 16,000 and 18,000 vehicles. Weekday peak hour volumes vary between 1,500 and 1,900 vehicles. (Counted between late 2005 and early 2006.)
Hunter Mill Road's posted speed limit is 35 mph, but a majority of northbound drivers are traveling at 42 mph at most points on the road, and most southbound drivers following the speed limit.
Three of 13 intersections in the study received "F" ratings during both morning and evening peak hours, meaning they "forced flow with demand volumes greater than capacity resulting in complete congestion." The intersections: Chain Bridge Road, Hunter Station Road/W&OD trail and Crowell Road. Hunter Race Way/Clovermeadow Drive received an "F" rating during morning peak hours.
After current conditions of the road were explored, the study considered three options:

Stick with the status quo;
A traditional highway plan that would involve widening the road and straightening the curves; and
A traffic calming alternative that mixes various road treatments that require drivers to slow to steer around them.
The study recommended traffic calming measures because it best addressed safety, preservation and level of service concerns.

To see a side-by-side comparison of the three concepts' effects on level of service, click on the PDFs above.

The road treatments option also calls for various trails and sidewalks to be developed along the road to allow for safer pedestrian and bicycling paths.

The 2006 study included a recommended, but flexible priority list of projects to calm traffic on Hunter Mill Road:
Attachments:

Traffic Calming; another aspect of a county and people with too much and time and money on their hands.

How much is all of this going to cost?

The arrogance of that letter writer is unbelievable... sounds like some rick plantation owner that doesn't want to mix with the riffraff.

Seriously? Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Traffic Calming; another aspect of a county and
> people with too much and time and money on their
> hands.
>
> How much is all of this going to cost?
>
> The arrogance of that letter writer is
> unbelievable... sounds like some rick plantation
> owner that doesn't want to mix with the riffraff.

And of course this means more choking traffic. sigh

The most urgent of these is the splitter/refuge where the W&OD crosses the hunter mill road

Its only a matter of time before someone gets killed there - most likely one of the neighborhood kids or a trail user

The roundabouts at sunrise and clovermeadow should make the road much safer by reducing the need for residents of the communities along the road to attempt to cross the flow of traffic when turning left - they will be able to turn right and hook around one of the roundabout

If round-abouts work in Jersey, they'll work here. I think the county should proceed with this work.