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Additional commuter parking coming to Brooke VRE station lot Date published: 1/8/2008
By KELLY HANNON Train commuters will have more room to park at the Virginia Railway Express station at Brooke. Over the next year, a consulting firm will study two possible locations for a parking deck or expanding the lot in eastern Stafford County. Additional parking spaces at Brooke mean more people will ride VRE instead of driving to work in the D.C. area. And that will take more cars off the road, said Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde, a member of the VRE Operations Board. "I think that's something everyone in Stafford can appreciate," Milde said. The lot's 431 spaces are full on VRE's heaviest-traveled days, Tuesdays through Thursdays. Stafford County and VRE want to add around 250 spaces, although the upcoming studies will reveal a precise number, said Mark Roeber, VRE spokesman. DMJM Harris, a transportation planning firm headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, will do the environmental assessment and design work. VRE will spend $1.5 million from federal Congestion and Mitigation Air Quality funds on the Brooke parking project. This is money that the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization can give to projects that reduce vehicle emissions and traffic congestion. If the cost of the parking project exceeds $1.5 million, VRE will contribute the rest of the money. The Brooke station is located at the intersection of Andrew Chapel and Brooke roads, a short distance from the eastern end of the recently expanded Courthouse Road. But Brooke is not the only VRE station without enough parking in Stafford. "Leeland needs attention, too," Milde said. The Leeland Road Station has 652 spaces and is 95 percent full, Roeber said. Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
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