For Immediate Release: View this Press Release as a PDF file

FAIRFAX COUNTY VOTERS SET TO ELECT PRO-TUNNEL CHAIRMAN
Civic Group & Business Leaders Implore Candidates to Explain Their Plans for Delivering
a Tysons Tunnel & Competitive Bidding as Part of Dulles Rail Project

TYSONS CORNER, Va., January 27—The message from local civic, community and activist groups is loud, clear and unified.

Tens of thousands of area residents are prepared to go to polls Feb. 3 to vote for the candidate for chairmanship of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors who has a bona fide plan to deliver a tunnel for Tysons Corner and competitive bidding for phase one of the multi-billion-dollar Dulles Rail Project.

At a press conference yesterday at Habatat Gallery in Tysons Corner local leaders — representing 96 local homeowners associations and nearly 1,000 businesses—implored the candidates to publicly support and to proactively work to secure a Tysons tunnel.

Here are remarks from several press conference participants:

Irv Auberbach of the Lewinsville Coalition: “We are looking forward to Metro to Dulles. We don’t look forward to Metro being built on stilts. We should not be using horse-and-buggy technology in the 21st century.”

Melissa Dabneyt of the Greater Tysons Green Civic Association: “We don’t want to look out the windows in our neighborhood just off Route 7 to see Metrorail. It will be noisy and unsightly. We are excited about Metro, but we don’t want it to have a destructive effect on our neighborhood.”

Roger Diedrich of the Sierra Club: “We are looking for a better Dulles Rail Project. There is a lot of misinformation from our public officials that the train has left the station. What we are hearing isn’t true. The federal funding wouldn’t be jeopardized. The project wouldn’t be delayed. This isn’t a done deal.”

McLean Citizens Association President Rob Jackson: “The citizens of McLean do not want an elevated line. The no-bid contract is unacceptable. We don’t want to hear it is too late. We want to know where the candidates stand on this issue.”

Jack Mitchell of the West Briar Citizens Association: “The aerial will be a dirty, noisy eyesore. It will obstruct pedestrian and bike traffic and will cause a major disruption along Route 7. Metro did it right in Ballston and Rosslyn; why wouldn’t [our elected officials] want to do it right in Tysons.”

TysonsTunnel President Scott Monett: “We are going to look at the chairman race closely. We are looking to the candidates to tell us what they are going to do in terms of delivering a tunnel for Tysons. We are ready to have tens of thousands of our constituents ready to vote for the candidate who will work for a tunnel. We need to elect leaders interested in action; we don’t need lip service.”

Vienna-Tysons Corner Regional Chamber of Commerce President Diane Poldy: “The new [presidential] administration is focused on transportation and infrastructure and with a new chairman we have a chance to take another look at the tunnel and elevated options side by side. Everyone agrees that [Metrorail through Tysons] would be better with a tunnel. Tysons Corner is an edge city. The world is watching us right now; we are the model. We have the opportunity for the world to say, ‘Wow!’”

TysonsTunnel.org represents an unprecedented coalition of community associations, small businesses, environmental groups, landowners, civic groups, homeowner associations, major corporations and private citizens calling for construction of a tunnel under Tysons Corner.

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