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Tag: loudoun county board of supervisors

  • Loudoun Co. weighs historical marker to recognize first documented lynching – WTOP News

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    The state highway historical marker would be placed in the northernmost portion of Loudoun County at Point of Rocks to tell the story of 25-year-old Page Wallace.

    Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors has voted to authorize a feasibility study to install a historical marker recognizing the third of three documented lynchings of Black men in the Virginia county.

    The state highway historical marker would be placed in the northernmost portion of the county, across the Potomac River from Point of Rocks, Maryland, near the Potomac River, to tell the story of 25-year-old Page Wallace, a Black man, who was killed in February 1880.

    This past July, a marker memorializing the 1902 lynching death of 25-year old Charles Craven was installed in Leesburg. In 2019 the county dedicated a memorial, also in Leesburg, to 14-year-old Orion Anderson, who was killed in 1889.

    “Page Wallace — we know there was probably more than three — who were lynched within the boundaries of Loudoun County,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, during a Sept. 16 meeting, before the vote to approve the study. “For the other two people, there’s already a marker up, so this is the last of three markers we will put up for that purpose.”

    Staff from the board will work with the Heritage Commission, Loudoun Freedom Center and the Loudoun branch of the NAACP to determine the feasibility of a marker commemorating Wallace’s lynching.

    What happened to Page Wallace?

    According to the staff proposal, “In February 1880, a Black man named Page Wallace was lynched in northern Loudoun County, Virginia, without due process in a court of law — without trial to deliver a verdict or the ability to defend himself.”

    Research of archived news coverage, compiled by James Madison University, shows Wallace broke out of the Leesburg jail in January 1880, where he was serving time for raping a Black woman the previous fall.

    Two days later, he allegedly raped a married, white woman. Approximately a week later he was seen in a Maryland saloon, where he allegedly confessed to the crime, before being taken to jail by bystanders.

    Virginia’s governor requested Wallace be returned to the Commonwealth to stand trial.

    According to the Daily Dispatch, when Wallace was transported across the Potomac River, a crowd of more than 100 masked men wrestled Wallace way from the Loudon County sheriff.

    In the JMU summary of archived news coverage, “The mob took Wallace and dragged him for three hundred yards to the spot where he allegedly assaulted (the victim) and then hanged him to a sycamore tree.”

    The woman, who had identified Wallace as her attacker when he was seized by the mob, “was accorded the privilege of firing the first shot at his swinging and almost lifeless body,” before 15 to 20 other shots riddled his body.

    To “address the history of racial violence, the Board has supported significant efforts to educate the public about this history of injustice,” according to the staff report. An approximate location and draft language for the historical marker will be provided to the Board as part of the recommendations and findings of the feasibility study.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Loudoun Co. set to create new intersection near deadly crash but neighbors say it may not help – WTOP News

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    Loudoun County, Virginia’s Board of Supervisors is set to approve the use of eminent domain to acquire land to build a new four-way signalized intersection, near the site of the 2017 crash that killed Erin Kaplan.

    Loudoun County, Virginia’s Board of Supervisors is set to approve the use of eminent domain to acquire land to build a new four-way signalized intersection, near the site of the 2017 crash that killed Erin Kaplan, and severely injured several members of her family.

    Kaplan was killed while driving along winding Evergreen Mills Road outside Leesburg, when an out-of-control, dilapidated food truck ran the stop sign on Watson Road and plowed into her station wagon. The truck was driven by Tony Dane, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and other charges related to failing to care for the bus, which prosecutors called “a ticking time bomb.”

    Last year the county began acquiring land to build a new intersection, which would involve rerouting Watson Road several hundred feet up the hill from where it currently meets Evergreen Mills. After realignment, Watson Road and nearby Reservoir Road will intersect with Evergreen Mills.

    Lauren Norkin is one of the homeowners who lives near the proposed new intersection, and would lose a portion of her property.

    She and her neighbors say the county has ignored their concerns that the new configuration doesn’t address sight stopping distances on the winding, hilly, two-lane Evergreen Mills Road.

    In a WTOP interview, Norkin said residents who live on Reservoir Road believe it would remain dangerous even with the new configuration, despite the introduction of a traffic signal at the intersection.

    For drivers on Reservoir Road who are sitting at a stop sign, they can’t see cars traveling north, downhill on Evergreen Mills Road who are often going faster than the 35 miles-per-hour speed limit sign, according to Norkin.

    “By the time you see that car coming over the crest, we’ve said all along there’s not enough sight stopping distance at Reservoir Road. That’s absolutely the worst possible place that you could manage to put an intersection,” she said.

    Traffic signs and signals may not prevent accidents

    While the plans call for the intersection to be signalized, Norkin said she doesn’t believe that will prevent crashes.

    “Stop lights and stop signs don’t physically reach out and stop people. You have to rely on somebody to stop and obey them,” she said, pointing out that Kaplan was killed when Dane ran the stop sign.

    Asked if she was opposed to the new configuration because she would have to lose some of her property, Norkin said her house wouldn’t be affected, but a small portion of her property would be.

    “We’ll lose, maybe three quarters of an acre along Evergreen Mills Road — I don’t have any issues with that,” Norkin said. “I think this should be a four-lane road — we knew about that before we bought the property, so how can we complain?”

    However, there’s little indication the county plans to widen the road now.

    “The four-laning can’t happen until there’s a replacement bridge over Goose Creek — they have to go hand in hand.”

    Goose Creek runs a few dozen feet from the point where Watson and Evergreen Mills currently meet. Norkin said she would gladly give up additional land to have a wider, less hilly Evergreen Mills Road.

    “I’m like, ‘take more, just keep us all alive,’” she said.

    When the matter is brought up Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors staff recommends adopting the resolution approving use of eminent domain to acquire the land.

    County spokesman Glen Barbour said it’s unclear whether the Board will go along with staff recommendations, and would likely forward the item to the Oct. 7 business meeting for action.

    Here is a map of the intersection in Loudoun County, Virginia:

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Loudoun Co. to vote on starting commuter bus service from exurbs, aims to get 98,000 cars daily off roads – WTOP News

    Loudoun Co. to vote on starting commuter bus service from exurbs, aims to get 98,000 cars daily off roads – WTOP News

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    The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors plans to vote on a commuter bus pilot program to improve the county’s capability to recruit and retain employees and allow solo commuters to avoid driving to work.

    Almost 97% of people who work in Loudoun County, Virginia, drive alone in their car, resulting in 98,000 solo vehicles daily.

    This week, the board of supervisors is set to vote on two-year commuter bus pilot program to improve the county’s capability to recruit and retain employees, while giving solo commuters the chance to avoid driving to work.

    According to a feasibility study to be discussed Wednesday, of the employees with jobs in Loudoun County who were surveyed, less than 1% use Metro’s Silver Line, which opened in 2022, or the public bus, and less than 2% carpool.

    Many people who work in Loudoun County commute from homes in Jefferson County, West Virginia; western Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland, and Prince William, Stafford, Clarke, Warren and Fauquier counties in Virginia.

    Under the agenda item, supervisors’ staff recommends starting a two-year commuter bus pilot program with initial service from Dale City and Warrenton into Loudoun County.

    Under the first year of the pilot program, the suggested one-way fare would be $8.25.

    According to the solo employees surveyed, if the commuter bus service cost more than $200 monthly, they would likely continue driving alone.

    In addition to the Dale City and Warrenton routes, five other routes identified in the study were Frederick, Maryland; Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, West Virginia; and Marshall and Winchester, Virginia.

    Once in Loudoun County, the Dale City route would serve Dulles International Airport and the Loudoun County Government Center. The Warrenton route would serve the Dulles Transit Center, Loudoun Gateway Metrorail Station, the Ashburn Metrorail Station and the county government center.

    Loudoun County Transit’s commuter bus service to D.C., the Pentagon, Crystal City and Rosslyn has only recovered to 11% of pre-pandemic levels. Since then, the county has been looking for ways to utilize the bus service to lure and keep potential employees, many who face long commutes from the exurbs.

    According to the feasibility study, in the fourth year of operating two commuter routes from Dale City and Warrenton, the projected annual ridership is 102,854 passengers.

    From an environmental standpoint, solo cars would produce an estimated 432,156 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. With the operation of the two commuter routes, the emissions produced by 48,627,924 gallons of gasoline would be eliminated, according to the study, citing the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Fare-free bus service comes to Loudoun Co. in 2025; Commuter bus fares to DC to rise – WTOP News

    Fare-free bus service comes to Loudoun Co. in 2025; Commuter bus fares to DC to rise – WTOP News

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    Local bus service in Loudoun County, Virginia will be free, starting in 2025, as the county tries to harness the power of Metro’s Silver Line, and ensure low income, elderly, and disabled residents have options for navigating the fast-growing county.

    Passengers board the first Loudoun County Transit bus serving commuters from a new lot in the Stone Ridge neighborhood. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein)

    Local bus services in Loudoun County, Virginia will be free starting in 2025, as the county tries to harness the power of Metro’s Silver Line, and ensure low income, elderly and disabled residents have options for navigating the fast-growing county.

    However, fares will go up on the county’s commuter bus service to downtown D.C., the Pentagon, Rosslyn and Crystal City.

    The Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted Thursday to discontinue collecting the $1 fare on the county’s fixed routes. The supervisors also agreed to eliminate or consolidate 10 routes with the lowest ridership.

    Operated by Loudoun County Transit, local bus service provides weekday and limited Saturday service from Purcellville through Leesburg, and eastern Loudoun County, with some service connecting directly to the Silver Line stations.

    The actions were taken during the board’s transit summit as the county considered ways to boost ridership and reduce costs.

    While the county continues to encourage development and infrastructure improvements around the new Ashburn and Loudoun Gateway Silver Line stations, it’s also trying to improve service — including new bus shelters — for low-income, elderly and disabled residents.

    The fare will also be eliminated for the county’s paratransit service, which provides on-demand service for special needs residents.

    Downtown commuter bus fares to go up

    While local bus service fares will disappear, the board of supervisors voted to increase fares for the county’s commuter bus service to downtown D.C., the Pentagon, Crystal City and Rosslyn.

    According to a staff presentation, with an average daily ridership of 1,064, the commuter bus service removes 552 vehicles daily from the area’s roads.

    Research showed riders who used the Loudoun County commuter bus service to downtown, have a yearly income around $150,000.

    The county will increase the current one-way fare from $10 to $11 in 2025, and $12 in 2026. According to the briefing, the commuter bus ride would shave approximately 20 minutes from a commute on Metro’s Silver Line trains.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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