Springfield Plaza Lot Closure

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   First, thanks to all who contacted county officials to fix this problem.  

	I'm not surprised the commuter lot by KMart was closed.  I have seen numerous people park beyond the signs.  One rider stated that he walks into KMart every morning pretending to buy something so no one will tow his car! I've seen commuters park in the spaces across the access road by Giant/CVS/restaurant.  I've told them they were parking illegally and run the risk of upsetting the mgmt company who allows us to park at the plaza.  And I have been ignored.  Obviously, a quick walk to Cir. City in the morning and to their car in the evening is more important than obeying the commuter parking signs.  

	Whoever is in charge of the spaces across the service road where the Giant/CVS/other businesses are located will get upset at the violators and we'll get kicked out of Springfield Plaza. 

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Jody Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jody Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 2:37pm
	First, thanks to all who contacted county officials to fix this problem. I'm not surprised the commuter lot by KMart was closed. I have seen numerous people park beyond the signs. One rider stated that he walks into KMart every morning pretending to buy something so no one will tow his car! I've seen commuters park in the spaces across the access road by Giant/CVS/restaurant. I've told them they were parking illegally and run the risk of upsetting the mgmt company who allows us to park at the plaza. And I have been ignored. Obviously, a quick walk to Cir. City in the morning and to their car in the evening is more important than obeying the commuter parking signs. Whoever is in charge of the spaces across the service road where the Giant/CVS/other businesses are located will get upset at the violators and we'll get kicked out of Springfield Plaza.

BurkeBound Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: va Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote BurkeBound Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 2:29pm
	Yes, this is true. The Fairfax County WebSite shows both lots as closed. quote: Originally posted by thekazem Thanks for the link! This is still a little confusing. The County Park and Ride website still shows that the entire lot is closed. So someone needs to update the site or update the sluggers. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/parkride.htm My head hurts...[xx(]

thekazem Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote thekazem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 2:11pm
	Thanks for the link! This is still a little confusing. The County Park and Ride website still shows that the entire lot is closed. So someone needs to update the site or update the sluggers. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/parkride.htm My head hurts...[xx(]

jsrutstein Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jsrutstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 1:11pm
	I have confirmation both that the bulk of "Bob's" will survive and that Fairfax County's Department of Transportation did a lousy job of notifying us about the partial closure. Here's the link to FCDOT's news release - http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/news/2009/09_029.htm Please note that the news release only addresses "75 spaces," and, presumably, only cars in those 75 spaces were flyered on Monday, but those flyers said nothing about only those spaces being affected, and the news release lists other options, without mentioning the hundreds of spaces that will still be available for commuters at Springfield Plaza.

Kfolkpsucan Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kfolkpsucan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 12:47pm
	I would like to second that - thanks for everyone's hard work. I hate to be honest - as I stated before - why hasn't this research been looked into a month ago by the District offices when it didn't look like the lease was going to be renewed. After my discussion this morning with a couple folks from the Lee District office (very nice folks) I was wondering if there is any leadership (committee) on the "slug line" side. The Districts responsibility is to provide commuter spaces. The concern on the other end is where is the best "new spot" to pick up "slugs" (Backlick or Gambrill and Hechinger)and where are the pickup spots in D.C. (1 line 3 drop off spots?) My other concern is how do we communicate any new changes (if that would be the case) to the hundreds of folks that are NOT on this website. I drive AND slug so wondering how we can collectively agree and communicate any new change(pending the research). Btw - I did get a flyer on my windshield on Monday- I was parked over in the K-Mart lot. Crossing my fingers :-) thanks. Kfolkpsu

jsrutstein Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jsrutstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 12:11pm
	thekazem, I really appreciate your diligence in working with Ms. Clark and keeping us informed here. I'll hold off sending another e-mail message to her, but if you do speak with her again, please let her know that if, in fact, we're only losing some of the spaces, the same people who put flyers on some of the cars on Monday should put flyers on all the cars tomorrow and/or Friday clarifying the situation.

thekazem Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote thekazem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 11:50am
	Hold tight everyone. I just spoke with Joan Clark at the Lee District office. They are trying to determine which company owns which spaces. She asked that we hold tight while they do the research and the District Office will be in touch with us. It's possible we may only lose the spaces in the back by Kmart. Keep your fingers crossed. (Although...I can't believe the owners complained about people illegally parking back there. No one shops at those small stores. I thought they were complaining about people parking by Giant and CVS). [:(!]

thekazem Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote thekazem Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 11:24am
	I was on the Main side, or the side with the bank, but closer to Kmart. I'm confused. The Plaza is divided by a road that runs into Old Keene. It sounds like Rappaport owns the Giant/CVS side and Dwokin owns the side by the bank and going back to KMart. We need to see a map outlining exactly who owns what. Or maybe it's just me.

jsrutstein Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jsrutstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 11:21am
	Stop the presses! I parked near the bank on Monday and there was no flyer on my car when I returned that evening. I first heard about this from a fellow commuter on Tuesday morning whose car had been flyered on Monday. I don't know where he parked. Yesterday's snow probably precluded flyering altogether, and I'm icebound and home today. We really should try to find out what the real story is here. It's bad to lose any spaces, but, if we're only losing a minority of spaces, maybe Bob's will survive.

jsrutstein Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 27 Jan 2009 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote jsrutstein Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Jan 2009 at 11:18am
	Kudos to all of you who are staying on top of this, especially those who are posting about responses from our elected officials. Based on the posted reply from McKay's office, I've e-mailed them, pointing out that we still don't have a good explanation on why the owners are being so recalcitrant. Surely, if they realize they can tow cars after they close the lot, they realize they can tow commuters who park in non-commuter spaces. The owners are the ones alleging that such improper parking is occurring; so, they must be able to distinguish between commuters and shoppers/employees. I swear I've seen improperly parked cars slapped with big orange stickers on the driver's side window, and I've never parked improperly myself for fear of being towed. I would hope whatever pressure the Board can bring to bear on the owners will cause them to reconsider their decision. Even if the owners won't budge, I hope the Board is self-protective enough to publicize that it's the owners' fault and not theirs. Finally, I hope when the owners come to the Board looking for help in realizing their dream of a Springfield Town Center, the Board remembers whom they were elected to represent and not their campaign contributors, especially those contributors who needlessly inflicted burden on commuters/constituents.