Prince William County leaders on Friday cut the ribbon on the Northern Virginia suburb’s first-ever commuter garage, a facility they’re hoping becomes a transportation hub and eases highway congestion.
The design plans for the Neabsco-Potomac Commuter Garage started in March of 2022, and construction on the project finished in October.
Rick Canizales, the county’s director of transportation, called the project more than just a parking garage.
“Number one, it’s the first one we built,” Canizales said. “So it shows that the county is growing, that we’re growing as a community and the way we do transportation facilities. We no longer have the land available, and as we continue to develop in this county, I think that an option of growing up, instead of growing across, is much better.”
The $54.6 million project was paid for using federal and state funding and money from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
It includes 1,400 parking spaces with red and green lights to tell drivers whether a space is available or taken. A digital sign in front of the garage indicates the number of spaces available on each level.
The garage also has 70 electric vehicle charging stations, and in December, local and commuter OmniRide routes are scheduled to begin using the garage as a designated stop.
“We’re trying to get these commuters out here in an efficient fashion,” Canizales said. “We’re bringing them into a commuter garage. They’re either going to get on transit, be able to (carpool) or they’re going to be able to use those Express Lanes that now are easily accessible from this area.”
Parking in the commuter garage is free, and drivers can start using the garage as soon as this weekend, Canizales said.
Supervisor Margaret Franklin said local leaders are envisioning the area becoming a transportation hub. They’re hoping the garage helps ease congestion on highways by making it easy for commuters to carpool or consider riding the bus instead.
The garage will also provide an alternative for shoppers and residents.
“When we have events at Stonebridge, which we have a lot, this can serve as overflow parking,” Franklin said. “We have the hospital here. We have a residential community here, and so this is really going to be a regional hub that we want our residents to feel like they themselves own.”
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