“I have previously joined with Rep. Jim Moran, Sen. Mark Warner and Sen. Jim Webb to call for the Department of Defense to postpone their move to the new BRAC-133 facility, and legislation was enacted to allow this postponement. That’s why today I’m disappointed to learn that the DOD has decided to move forward with occupying the BRAC-133 facility immediately at Seminary Road and I-395 prior to the completion of traffic mitigation and emergency preparedness efforts. The safety of our community must remain our top concern. This facility goes beyond mere political wrangling, but will deeply impact the lives and safety of citizens across our region.
Choosing to remain neutral in such vast decisions that will negatively impact the lives of citizens – as the Alexandria City Council did here in 2008 – constitutes a complete abdication of elected responsibility. What happens here affects everyone in the region – residents, commuters, federal, state and local employees. This facility should serve as a stark reminder for why we must, as a region and as a Commonwealth, make smart decisions about planning in Northern Virginia. Such smart planning can be accomplished in ways that will not slow economic growth but promote and expand our infrastructure to accommodate future growth as well. Vision and the political backbone to tackle such big challenges is now a necessity. Continuing to build and develop without responsible planning and execution prior to opening such large facilities will only lead to future nightmares and continue to grind our economy and transportation system to a halt. It is our duty as elected officials to ensure we move forward properly, responsibly and effectively.
Finally, I want to commend groups such as the BRAC-133 Citizens Advisory Board, the Beauregard Corridor Work Group, and the multitude of neighborhood civic associations among others who have worked to mitigate this disaster. I encourage them to continue to speak out and demand that progress be made to institute real solutions to traffic mitigation and public safety efforts as soon as possible. I also want to thank our Congressional delegation for their dedication to helping those of us directly impacted by BRAC-133. Their availability and expertise on this matter has been extremely helpful.”
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Contact: Max Glass
Campaign Manager
Libby Garvey for Senate
cm@libbyforsenate.com
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