Simpson Column: Tackling business and Smoketown Rd.

Got a couple of issues to discuss today — small business office space and a solution to traffic on Smoketown Road.

OFFICE SPACE

Small businesses, we are frequently told, comprise the backbone of America. The entrepreneurial spirit keeps our nation alive and growing. Unfortunately, there is a serious disconnect that I believe we
should address when it comes to the availability of office space.

Many businesses start out in the garage or basement, or even a spare bedroom (especially once the kids have graduated college and are out on their own). People take a hobby or interest to the next
level and start exchanging their goods or services for cash. Government already makes it quite difficult to establish a legitimate business due to how complicated it makes the tax code and other
regulatory compliance issues. But on top of this is the fact that many businesses have a difficult time making the leap from a home office environment to putting forth a more professional presence by
securing a legitimate business address.

I have recently come to that point and become quite disappointed with what is available in the way of office space. There are numerous commercial spaces available, but most start with 1,000 square feet
or more, at a price that is too great a burden for most small businesses to risk.

There are “executive suites,” but these are not adequate as they tend to have exorbitantly high prices.

What are sorely needed are “incubator” offices. These are office complexes designed to provide enough space for a growing company to place a desk, chair, bookcase and maybe a potted plant. With a
few step-up offices that have room for two or three desks. They would share a lobby receptionist; and provide a couple small conference rooms that can be booked for client meetings. No bells or whistles
necessary; simple and professional.

After posting my frustration with not finding anything locally on Facebook, I was pointed to just such a facility in McLean, adjacent to Tysons Corner. While I am glad that I was able to find such a place, it is
disappointing that I must now waste time, spend gas and add one more vehicle to the congestion, rather than find a place off of Old Bridge Road that would allow me to bike to work.

SMOKETOWN ROAD

I use Smoketown Road on a daily basis, so my suggestion here is actually detrimental to my own needs. That being said, every time I cut through from Old Bridge to Minnieville I think about how it must suck to live on a road with never-ending traffic … especially with people frequently speeding as often as they do these days.

Every few years there is an attempt to do something about the traffic, which ultimately meets a brick wall due to such things as the cost of potential solutions or the effect they would have on emergency
response vehicles — ambulances have sensitive equipment onboard that require the driver to significantly slow down when going over speed bumps, which puts people’s lives in jeopardy.

So I was thinking … what would be a low cost solution, that wouldn’t negatively impact the residents while still allowing emergency vehicles unfettered access? Stop signs. Not just placed at major
intersections as they are now, but placed at intervals throughout Smoketown Road and its conduits.

This would only be a slight inconvenience for residents as their travels are usually one way (to and from their homes) and dealing with the minor inconvenience of a few stop signs that would cut traffic
through their neighborhood seems like a small price to pay. Ambulances could just ignore the signs as risk from cross traffic wouldn’t be a factor.

This would cut traffic down as people found the inconvenience of stopping every few hundred feet more trouble than just going all the way down to the parkway or to Minnieville Road. Another argument
would be that a lot of stop signs would detract from the ambiance of the neighborhood, but if simulated wooden posts were used, and a little forethought was employed to strategically place signs around
curves — so that too many were not seen at any one time — it could go a great way toward making them relatively unobtrusive.

James Simpson lives in Lake Ridge. He can be reached through his Web site www. OpinionColumnist.com.