The Town of Vienna plans to widen Follin Lane from two to three lanes, level the grade of the road at the Hine Street intersection and remove the brush.

But neighborhood residents contend that these changes will be like waving a checkered flag at the start of a race, enabling motorists to drive even faster there en route to Maple Avenue.

“A lot of us aren’t happy, at all, with the project and believe it needs to be fixed before it goes out to bid.”

-- Suzanne McClorey

And some of the neighbors brought their concerns to the Sept. 8 Vienna Town Council Meeting. “We continue to work with [Town] staff on traffic safety, drainage issues, the detour impact on other streets and the potential loss of tree canopy,” said Westbriar Civic Assn.’s Patricia Melton. “We hope we’ll have an equitable solution for the residents, as well as for the Navy Federal Credit Union [on Follin, near Maple].”

Suzanne McClorey, who lives at the corner of Hine and Follin, also spoke. “A lot of us aren’t happy, at all, with the project and believe it needs to be fixed before it goes out to bid,” she said. Noting that the neighbors have met with Director of Public Works Dennis Johnson, McClorey said, “The right-turn lane in the plan is really a fully dedicated lane, and Johnson and his team should refer to it that way.”

Furthermore, she said, “Mr. Johnson told us that 70 percent of the traffic there turns left on Follin to get to Maple, so having an 800-foot right-turn lane won’t really help. It’s a dangerous corner, and the right-turn lane would put my kids and others’ kids at risk.”

McClorey said the Town wants to come onto her property’s easement and flatten the grade. “But that’ll bring the road even closer to our house,” she told the Council members. “Mr. Johnson and you all should be part of the discussion before any construction gets started. I think it’s negligent not to do that.”

She said the Hine and Folin intersection has regularly occurring traffic accidents that are “only going to get worse if the road is widened.” And she added that 40 residents have signed a document detailing their worries about this project.

Mayor Laurie DiRocco said she’s made left turns from Hine onto Follin three times recently to check it out. “Thank you for your words tonight,” she told McClorey. “We’ll keep in touch with you.”

A few minutes later, outside the meeting room, McClorey and her husband Sean continued the discussion with The Connection. “There have been 14 accidents at our intersection in seven months, and we believe that the ditch there has protected us from them,” said Suzanne McClorey. “But with this project, the ditch would go away.”

“They’re moving the road within a foot of our property line, so speeding cars could crash into our house,” said Sean McClorey.

“And if a car came into contact with a gas line on our property, our whole house could go up in flames,” added Suzanne McClorey. “So we’d like some kind of barrier or brick façade to protect us and our kids from the traffic. The 14 accidents there are only the ones that were reported; I’m sure there were more.”

Besides all that, said Sean McClorey, “There’s no safety net for pedestrians on the sidewalk they’re going to build, so it’ll be dangerous for them. If something happens, they’ll be in jeopardy.”

His wife said the Council members “talk about Vienna being family friendly.” Yet because of this project, she said, “We have four kids who won’t be able to play in their own yard.”

“I think it’ll invite a ton of cut-through traffic once they widen the lanes,” said Sean McClorey.

“It’s right in the middle of a residential area and will help commuters who don’t live here, but won’t help the residents’ quality of life,” said Suzanne McClorey. “How can they have a $2 million overhaul of a road in the heart of Vienna and safety isn’t considered?”