BY AMANDA STEWART
astewart@insidenova.com
About two weeks remain until a reduction of commuter parking at Potomac Mills mall will leave hundreds of area commuters looking for a place to park.
Mall officials announced last month that, effective Feb. 14, commuter parking in the mall’s lot will be reduced from 1,000 spaces to 275.
Since that announcement, county and state transportation officials have been looking for short- and long-term solutions for commuters.
Next week, county supervisors Michael C. May, R-Occoquan, and Frank J. Principi, D-Woodbridge, are holding a town hall meeting to discuss those options.
The meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at the Ferlazzo Building, will include representatives from the Virginia Department of Transportation, the county transportation department and sluglines.com, a website that helps commuters find rides and passengers.
Principi said that one of the goals of the meeting is to make sure that commuters know where currently underused lots are located.
Right now there are 13 commuter lots in the eastern end of the county
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with some space available, Principi said. Maps and directions to those lots, which include lots at Va. 123 and Interstate 95, at the K-Mart on Dale Boulevard and at Bethel United Methodist Church, will be available at the meeting, he said.
“We also want to share an update with folks on what we’re trying to do temporarily and permanently for commuters,” Principi said.
The other goal of the meeting is to talk about what else can be done for commuters who used the Potomac Mills lot.
Principi and May said the county is in talks with some area churches and businesses that may be able to lease the county parking space for commuters.
“We have some leads, but no deals are in place yet,” May said.
County officials hope to have deals in place by next week’s meeting, May and Principi said. A more permanent solution for the displaced commuters is the Horner Road commuter lot expansion, which is being expanded to add 500 to 600 parking spaces within the next year, May and Principi said. An update on that project also will be given at the meeting.
Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-530-3908.