Occoquan residents plan for the future

Most residents of the Occoquan District think it is a great place to live, a great place to raise children and a great place to retire. They want to keep it that way.

That was the consensus of a residential survey and a “Community Visioning” meeting held in November.

A second visioning meeting to gather further information from residents was held Saturday at Lake Ridge Middle and hosted by Prince William Supervisor Mike May, R-Occoquan.

“The reason we are doing this is to get the community more engaged in the long-range planning process,” May said. This year, the county will be updating its Comprehensive Plan, its vision of the county’s future by 2030.

“We want to make sure we preserve and protect what is special to us,” May said. “The best way to do this is through long-range planning.”

Occoquan residents said they are pleased with their community’s schools and low crime rate. They feel it is conveniently located to many necessary things such as hospitals, churches and medical services, as well as retail centers. Many of the neighborhoods have mature trees. There are large amounts of open space as well as recreational facilities.

They also had some concerns and pointed to areas of improvement.

“Accessing the amenities that residents cited as being positive attributes of living in the Occoquan District, however, require the use of a car since there are few alternative modes of transportation available. Traffic and congestion were often cited as a weakness by participants,” according to an executive summary of the first meeting and the survey.

Transportation, population grow and open space ranked as the highest priority issues among those participating in the visioning process, according to Joanne Throwe, associate director of the Environmental Finance Center based at the University of Maryland. She facilitated the process and is writing a report on her findings.

“This set of ideas and suggestions will help me to do my job better,” May said.

Trails, open space, tree planting and forest preservation were also highly valued by participants, Throwe said.

Residents and planners also acknowledged that there will be growth in the district. By 2030, the Occoquan District is expected to grow by 2,500 households, along with 6,500 jobs.

“There will be changes, but we want to ensure they are positive changes,” May said.

“We want to plan for the growth and be proactive,” Throwe said.

One way to do this is to encourage redevelopment instead of new development. The Tackett’s Mill area and the area near Old Bridge Road and Va. 123 have a lot of potential for redevelopment, Throwe said.

“If you are going to grow, do it in a way that incorporates some of the things that make sense to living well,” she said.

Staff writer Aileen Streng can be reached at 703-878-8010.