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Hamilton residents and Prince William officials press NVTA for sidewalks and Van Buren Drive extension funding
Summary
At NVTA’s May 14 public hearing, a large group of Hamilton residents and local officials urged funding for a Hamilton beautification and pedestrian-safety project and for Prince William County’s Van Buren Drive North extension, citing speeding, missing sidewalks, school safety, and congestion-relief scores used in evaluation.
Hundreds of residents and local officials urged the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority on May 14 to fund pedestrian and traffic-safety work in the town of Hamilton and to continue backing Prince William County’s Van Buren Drive North extension.
The public-comment period, called at the NVTA’s meeting, featured multiple Hamilton speakers who described daily safety risks along Colonial Highway (historic Route 7). Rebecca Jones, vice mayor of Hamilton, pressed the authority for funding for the "beautification project," saying the town of roughly 635 residents faces heavy traffic: "Data collected only last week indicates that on the West end of town, 76% of vehicles were traveling faster than 30 miles an hour in a 25 mile an hour zone." She described gaps in sidewalks, limited crosswalks and a lack of curb and gutter on the town’s east end.
Residents said those conditions make it unsafe for children to walk to school and for people to reach a nearby park-and-ride and bus connections. Craig Green, a long-serving Hamilton town council member, said the project grew from a local design charrette and broad community consensus. "It's not coming out of nowhere," he said, urging NVTA to support the town’s application.
Prince William County officials also urged NVTA to support projects in their county. Andrea Bailey, Potomac District supervisor, asked the authority to continue to fund the Van Buren Drive North extension, noting staff evaluation results ranked the project highly for congestion reduction relative to cost and describing multimodal components including sidewalks and shared paths: "The Van Buren extension includes ... a connection to an extensive pedestrian and bicycle network," she said, adding the extension would reduce crashes and improve emergency access in congested corridors.
Other commenters emphasized both safety and economic reasons to fund small-town pedestrian infrastructure. Kenneth Wine, mayor of Hamilton, urged the authority to consider the project's practical benefits to residents and visitors; David Fisher, a Hamilton resident, highlighted the unusual turnout of community members at the hearing as evidence of broad local support.
NVTA staff reminded the public that the comment period remains open through May 17 and that staff will summarize comments and forward recommendations to statutory committees and then to the planning and programming committee before the authority considers adoption of the six-year program in July. No formal vote on the submitted six-year program occurred at the May 14 meeting.
The next procedural step for the projects discussed at the hearing is staff and committee review; NVTA members said they will review public comments and evaluation materials ahead of the July meeting when the authority is scheduled to act.
