Potomac Yard Metrorail Community Meeting for Potomac Greens 10/17/2018
Representatives from the City of Alexandria met with 25-30 residents of Potomac Greens at the Charles Houston Rec Center to discuss the most current plans regarding construction of the new Metro Station. Also present were the WMATA project manager for the Station and a representative from Potomac Constructors, the firm that will build the Station. A number of topics were discussed and a synopsis follows:
Design. The present design for the Metro Station calls for us to be able to access the mezzanine at the North end of the platform from our side. There will be 2 elevators to move individuals to the mezzanine. From there, they will either take an escalator down to the Metro platform or bypass the ticket gates and exit over the bridge to Potomac Yards. There was a lively discussion by residents on the need to add a set of stairs so the 2 elevators don’t become a chokepoint for accessing the mezzanine. The WMATA rep seemed amenable but said there may not be space for a set of stairs. He also stated they would have to retain 2 elevators in the plan to ensure that walking-impaired folks would be able to access the station when 1 of the elevators was out of service for maintenance.
Circle. As was reported during the last HOA Board Meeting, it appears that WMATA would still like to remove the circle. The Board’s position is still that we want to retain the circle. Residents told the WMATA and construction reps that they were not only concerned about losing the aesthetics of the Circle, but also losing its safety functions as a traffic calming structure and physical barrier for the PG homes facing south towards Slater’s Lane. The final decision on the circle is an open question since no agreement has been reached.
Construction Impacts. The WMATA and construction company reps stated that standard building practice is to establish a limit of disturbance (LOD) 250 feet from the edge of the construction area. The edge of the construction area will be a fence running west-to-east along the sidewalk at the north end of Carpenter Rd. The majority of the pile driving will take place in the area of the future mezzanine, approximately 1000 feet north of the fence. Homeowners within the 250-foot LOD can ask to have their homes inspected before construction begins to establish a home’s baseline condition so that damages caused by construction, if any, would be repaired when construction is complete. The construction rep stated the inspections protect homeowners against unrecompensed damage and protects the construction company against false claims. WMATA will also be building a generator station building between the Metrorail and CSX tracks. That construction will also have a 250-foot LOD that may include many homes along the Metro tracks. The City is preparing a map that will show the LODs that will be posted online when complete. The construction access for the generator building will be the access road by the Old Town Greens tennis courts. Lastly, WMATA and the City will also be installing construction trailers in the same area. Those trailers will also be installed using the access road by the OTG tennis courts.
Parking. Apparently, earlier discussions about removing parking along Potomac Greens Dr. and Carpenter Rd. were driven by the City. The WMATA and construction company reps don’t believe that it would be routinely necessary. However, there may be periodic short-term parking restrictions if large construction equipment needs to access the site.
Environmental. Environmental issues during construction will be monitored by the construction company, EPA, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Army Corps of Engineers. They will be testing for air quality and testing soil removed from the site for hazardous substances. If any soil is found to be contaminated, it will be placed in appropriate containers and removed to approved dump sites. The WMATA and construction reps noted that they will have to remove approximately 1 foot of topsoil from the immediate area of the future mezzanine and platform to eliminate organic materials (tree roots & grass). They will immediately overlay that area with 2 feet of clean fill. Trucks hauling away soil will have covers and will have their wheels washed before leaving the construction site to preclude tracking contaminated soil onto our streets.
Special Tax District. Years ago the City established 2 Special Tax Districts to help pay for the Metro Station; Tier I which applied to commercial areas and Tier II which applied to residential areas. Citizens for Common Cents, a resident interest group led by Mark Anderson, succeeded in having PG removed from the Tier II Special Tax District in May 2011. The Resolution establishing that we would not part of the Tier II Special Tax District can be found at Item 16 here. The Tier II District still exists; however, it only applies to the residential areas of Potomac Yards and will generate $15M towards the Metro funding. The City had hoped to use funds from the Dominion Power 230kv line fees to replace the Tier II funds from Potomac Yards. Unfortunately, negotiations with Dominion Power fell apart so the Tier II tax District will not ‘sunset’ and Potomac Yards will still have to pay $15M in taxes.
Security on the Construction Site. The construction site will be fenced as previously stated. There will be a manned gate to allow access during working hours and the gate will be locked after working hours. Additionally, all workers will be required to park off-site in a dedicated area of Potomac Yard. They will be shuttled to the work site. Workers will not be allowed to enter the site on foot or by private vehicle or be dropped off. The subject of food trucks was raised by a resident. City reps said food trucks are not allowed to park on our streets. They would be allowed to park on the construction site if the construction company approved.
Communications. The City, WMATA and construction reps all agreed that effective communications are needed to ensure our residents are kept informed. The City is working on a website where we will be able to obtain scheduling information about upcoming construction events and impacts. That site is not up yet, but will be before construction starts. The website will list points-of-contact for us to use should problems arise and will be updated continually by City employees. Lastly, there will be additional community meetings held as needed throughout the construction process.
Schedule. The WMATA and construction reps are hopeful that they will be able to install the construction trailers before the end of 2018. The City Council is expected to vote on an amended Development Special Use Permit (DSUP) in December reflecting the updated design of the Metro Station. If approved, the reps said they would try to begin initial site work in the March 2019 timeframe. This could include installation of the fence around the site, removal of trees from the area of the station, and the beginning of construction of the generator station. The City expects to have a transportation plan in place by March 2019 that will address such things as traffic flow from Slater’s Lane to Potomac Greens Drive, street parking in the area of Rustico, perhaps moving the Capital BikeShare, etc. The WMATA and construction reps stated that they hope to conduct new track work and possibly pile driving during the planned Summer 2019 Metrorail closure in Alexandria.
Upcoming Events. The next PYMIG will be held October 22 at 7pm in the Charles Houston Recreation Center at 901 Wythe St. There is a proposal to hold additional PYMIG Meetings on Oct 29, Nov 5, 12, 19 and 26. All meetings would also be at the Charles Houston Rec Center at 7pm. Those dates are proposed, not final. I expect the meeting on Nov 12th will be changed since that is a Federal Holiday. I urge you to attend.