Traffic noise and air pollution adjacent to Maple Avenue, updated 7/28/2018

Anyone who has walked along Maple during rush hour knows that the traffic generates significant noise.   This page answers the question, just how noisy is it?

This is an important question for two reasons.  First, the only “public open space” that the Town appears to be getting is small paved areas directly adjacent to Maple Avenue, and the MAC zoning rules appear to enforce that.  The Town expects people to enjoy the space directly adjacent to the road.  Second, the Town promotes MAC as a way to make Vienna more “walkable“, by which I think they mean that they expect people living on Maple to walk to destinations on Maple.   For that as well, high noise levels will be a significant disincentive to walk to Maple Avenue destinations. Continue reading Traffic noise and air pollution adjacent to Maple Avenue, updated 7/28/2018

Mill Street Parking Garage, updated 7/18/2018

Updated 8/1/2018 after I found that the Mill Dominion Residents Association had already made the same points I make here, some time ago.  I have included references to their analysis.  And again on 8/2/2018 based on updated information in the Town’s last newsletter (.pdf).

The Town is going to pay $4.6M for 121 parking spaces in a new 4-story building on Mill Street, just down the street from the Pennywise Shop.  It will replace the building where, among other things, Vienna Hardwoods is located.   (Read some reporting, with a drawing of the proposed building, here.) Continue reading Mill Street Parking Garage, updated 7/18/2018