Residents from Fairfax and Prince William counties banded together, Saturday morning in Manassas, to oppose two road projects that could seriously jeopardize parkland in both counties.
They railed against the Battlefield Bypass and the Tri-County Connector, and Robert Lee Hodge, a Manassas National Battlefield Park preservationist, inspired the 50-some people gathered with a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead:
"Never doubt that a thoughtful group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, that's the only thing that ever has."
The rally was held atop Stuart's Hill in the Battlefield Park, and attendees included a contingent from Centreville's Gate Post Estates community and Del. Tim Hugo (R-40th) of Clifton.
The Tri-County Connector, or Parkway, is intended to link Prince William, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and impetus for the Battlefield Bypass project is a 1988 Congressional mandate to close Routes 29 and 234 transecting the park and divert the traffic elsewhere.
Studies are underway by VDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, and tentative alternative routes proposed for both projects have residents, historians and environmental groups upset.
"The Metropolitan D.C. region is in the severe non-attainment category [for] federal clean-air standards, and congestion on our roads is already unmanageable," said Elise Annunziata of the Sierra Club. "The last thing we need are these highways adding to our air and water pollution."
Rally participants questioned the need and purpose of the new highways, stressing that nearly all the routes being considered for construction either bisect or border undeveloped portions of the Battlefield Park or Bull Run Regional Park.
Hodge called roads a "weak, short-term, coping mechanism" and said they "don't solve anything." But, he warned, "Preservation cannot be an administrative process — it has to be a popular movement."
CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN Todd Berkoff said the Battlefield Park is "an oasis of green" amid the urban sprawl. "After visiting, people walk away with a greater understanding of sacrifice and history," he said. "Stuart's Hill was Robert E. Lee's headquarters during the Second Battle of Manassas. Two thousand men were killed or wounded, in two hours, right across the street."
Yet, he added, "When I give my tours of Chinn Ridge, I have a hard time crossing Routes 29 and 234 without getting hit by a car. We have too much traffic already, and we don't need anymore."
Discussing the Tri-County Parkway was Gate Post Estates resident Lorelei Pagano. She asked, "Isn't it ironic that, as our public officials are searching for ways to repair the Battlefield by removing the roads that bisect it, they're proposing a brand new road through the heart of Bull Run Regional Park, just a few miles away?"
"County governments and politicians tout their policies of saving green space, but think nothing of plowing under virgin parkland to make room for a new parkway," she continued. "Maybe they think that if 'park' is in the name, no one will notice."
Pagano noted that one of Tri-County's proposed routes, segment E, runs right through Bull Run park, "effectively destroying the integrity and beauty of the park." She said it paves over land beside Flat Branch and Cub Run, decimating undeveloped lands and potentially historical sites.
"Virginians consistently express their willingness to pay for the preservation of parklands, yet our public officials seem not to hear," she said. "The soccer fields, campgrounds, event center, swimming pool, equestrian and hiking trails and peaceful respites are treasured features of Bull Run Regional Park that can't be regained, once lost."
PAGANO STRESSED the vital role the park plays in the Occoquan basin water quality and the Chesapeake Bay's watershed. And added noise and air pollution, she said, will also impact surrounding neighborhoods — "decreasing the quality of life that attracted us to the area, in the first place."
Agreeing, Centreville's Debbie Foster said alignment E is in "the most pristine area" of the park, which currently "provides a riparian buffer zone to protect our drinking-water quality." And, she added, "The horseback and hiking trails are known for their acres and acres of bluebells."
"This is our last frontier of Fairfax County, and we're going to ruin it," added neighbor Pat Ferguson. "We have an opportunity to set an example of what good planning can be." Hugo, too, said protecting Bull Run park is critical.
As for the Battlefield Bypass, he said, "If we can't protect the Manassas National Battlefield Park, I think we lose a little of the soul of America. With all the men and women who've sacrificed their lives out here, I think it's unconscionable not to protect this park."