Your Turn: How Would You Revitalize Route 1?

monkeyrotica June 22, 2012 at 01:36 pm

I don't know if I'd call a couple of subpar sandwich chains and a Chinese takeout "improvement." Rt 1 needs more upscale eateries and some decent bars to just hang out in.

T Ailshire June 22, 2012 at 03:10 pm

I wonder how much a few thousand gallons of soap, water, and paint wouldn't go to making the place much more inviting.

SP June 22, 2012 at 05:11 pm

How about a descent book store, is that too much to ask?

Sarah Cole June 22, 2012 at 06:58 pm

I agree with previous posters...quality restaurants, we don't need more sub and asian food takeout places. A good bookstore, coffee shop, bakery, more diverse eateries.

MSandyDogg June 22, 2012 at 07:14 pm

IIRC, stand-alone bars aren't allowed in Virginia

Greg Bender June 22, 2012 at 07:23 pm

Widen to three lanes each way plus left turn and bike lanes. Extend metro to/beyond Ft Belvoir. Fill in missing sidewalk segments. Put utilities underground. Plant trees and maintain green spaces. Doing the preceding will draw businesses and improve the corridor's desirability as a place to live, work, shop and dine.

MSandyDogg June 22, 2012 at 07:33 pm

As far as commerce, Route 1 needs unique restaurants and/or locally owned shops (though, at this point, with small-scale retail largely dead and Costco coming, retail seems unlikely). Look at Del Ray: That area had been moribund for decades, but when quality local businesses came in, the whole area took off. Route 1's best hope is not Glory Days and Jimmy John's (though such places certainly can meet the needs of local residents). It's places like the Cosmopolitan Grille--locally owned and unique, that will get written up in the Post or Washingtonian and attract visitors.
I've long thought our leaders should try to lure an Amish Market here, like the one in Upper Marlboro. Since our area is, and probably always will be, bereft of Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and H-T, it wouldn't have competition. And, it certainly would draw from beyond the Mt. Vernon area. The ex-Bottom Dollar site or Sacramento Center would be an ideal location. I also think there should be better coordination with the events at Mt. Vernon. MV has many big events--e.g., fall festivals, Washington's Birthday, Christmas at Mt. Vernon draw tens of thousands of people to our area. Can't the Chamber, SFDC or the County sponsor events that would build on that? For example, tax-free shopping weekends to coincide with the Christmas events? A big flea market at the same time as the fall festival, or a "Cupcake Festival" or BBQ competition

MARY ANN VAN DOMELEN June 22, 2012 at 10:50 pm

ROUTE 1 NEEDS A PLACE WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE CAN GO TO PLAY GAMES CARDS CHECKERS CHESS AND SUCH. A SAFE HAVEN FOR OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. SET RULES AND BE STRICT ABOUT THEM.THEY NEED TO HAVE A FUN, SAFE SUMMER. BORDOM BREEDS TROUBLE.

y hudson June 23, 2012 at 12:26 pm

I agree with G Bender. We need to add more green space. The route is an eye sore. Over sized parking lots that arent being used. I try to avoid the area. I do spend my weekends in Del Ray and I live in Bel Haven. People want to be able to walk and bike with their families. think tourists, what will draw tourist and families to route 1. Upscale outdoor malls - sample the Quarry in San Antonio - includes movie theater, books stores, etc...., million dollar putt putts like they have in Orlando and Myrtle Beach, Or an information technology corridor, with upscale buildings and apts.
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Ray N. June 23, 2012 at 02:54 pm

In Del Ray, the city of Alexandria took the initiative. First, the city targeted the area for zoning and property maintenance enforcement. The slumlords and slum owners closed up and moved to Fairfax County. Next, the city spent some money and put in brick sidewalks, hid utilities underground, installed street landscaping and lighting, made it more pedestrian friendly. The investment attracted a lot of interest from desirable businesses. It was built, and they came.

annieg June 23, 2012 at 05:06 pm

I too agree with G Bender and MSandyDogg. Green spaces and underground utilities would go far. I have always thought a Amish/Farmers market would be a GREAT thing and appropriate along RT1. It could provide micro business opportunities and provide a unique shopping experience to the area. It could be easily started in a empty store like the former Bottom Dollar.

Ryan Colvert June 23, 2012 at 06:55 pm

Do you think that everyone in the military is in on this plot to ruin Route 1? Or are you just prone to making wildly emotional statements about a portion of the population without care for who they are?

Ryan Colvert June 23, 2012 at 08:20 pm

Nope, one of the military family members who apparently doesn't care care about the community but reads about Route 1 revitalization article on the Patch. In case you believe the recent BRAC is what made Route 1 bad, might help to read this: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/vr/snakehill/volume2/routeone.htm

Middledaughter June 23, 2012 at 09:15 pm

One suggestion: please don't allow anymore Car Title Loan Companies to rent or move on the "strip." It smacks of predatory lending, and probably doesn't encourage higher caliber businesses.

Scott Chilton June 23, 2012 at 09:28 pm

I don't oppose development but I hope that future development will include less parking. The parking garage attached to the new development on Beacon Hill seems to have an excess of parking that probably adds to the cost to the tenants. Also, the vast parking spaces at stores like Walmart and Target are a benefit to motorists that all customers must pay, even though they often travel by bus. Parking spaces also encourage more traffic. People seem to want less traffic and more space for pedestrians, young people, parks, better restaurants, stores, etc. Perhaps the county can give Mt. Vernon relief from zoning requirements like parking minimums.

Jody June 23, 2012 at 10:39 pm

Close the Depts. of Education and Labor and spread federal agencies out to the suburbs to get rid of some of the commuter traffic from points south. Pass Arizona/Prince William style immigration laws. Lobby Fairfax County to build lots of low-income housing in McLean and tear down some in Mt. Vernon/Lee. Build a junior high school somewhere in Mt. Vernon to replace Whitman. Turn Sandburg and West Potomac into secondary schools that each have 7th through 12th grades. What comes first: movie theaters, book stores, putt putts, and Trader Joes/Whole Foods, etc. or having a critical mass of people likely to frequent them?

S. A. Misener June 24, 2012 at 11:46 am

Route 1 seriously lacks standalone necessities of quality, such as a meat market/butcher shop, a produce market and a bakery. Getting back to basics and mixing them with eye-friendly greenspaces and affordable but unsubsidized mid-rise apartments would make the area walkable and a pleasure to inhabit.