FCDOT to recommend some changes to Richmond Highway BRT station names

At the upcoming Jan. 17 meeting of the Richmond Highway BRT Executive Committee, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) plans to propose name changes for several future BRT stations — including a few that were not among the original three potential renamings discussed with community members at an open house last October.

According to a briefing deck from FCDOT, the BRT project team will recommend changing the name of the “Penn Daw” station, to be located at the intersection of North and South Kings Highway, to “Kings Crossing” based on results from the station name survey fielded to the general public after the open house last fall. While survey respondents who lived close to the station preferred “Spring Bank” over “Kings Crossing,” the latter name was the top choice of all survey respondents as a whole.

Two other BRT stations originally considered for renaming will not be recommended for name changes, according to FCDOT. Based on survey results, the Hybla Valley station to be located at Boswell Avenue and Fordson Road, and the Gum Springs station at Sherwood Hall Lane will retain their original names.

FCDOT plans to make a few other recommendations to the Executive Committee, however. The BRT project team wants to remove the street suffix from two BRT station names, resulting in the new names of “Beacon Hill” and “Lockheed.” Previously they were to be known as Beacon Hill Road and Lockheed Boulevard.

Finally, the team will propose updating the name of the South County Center station to reflect the facility’s current name, “Hyland Center.”

BRT Executive Committee members will be asked to adopt a resolution approving the new names, at which point project team staff will revise plans, architectural drawings, maps and public documents to reflect the changes.

Other topics to be discussed at the Jan. 17 meeting include the BRT project status, Federal Transit Administration coordination, community charm initiative and the project’s 12-month outlook.