A brand-new parking garage between Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center and Wegmans in Woodbridge was sold as a win for transit riders and drivers. Two years later, it remains largely empty and nearly impossible to reach safely on foot or by bike.
Community advocate Kevin Parker joined Uriah Kiser on the Potomac Local News Podcast to detail what he found. Parker, who wrote about the garage for Greater Greater Washington, described watching groups of people carrying plastic bags walk in the roadway across the busy Opitz Boulevard bridge over I-95. The same stretch now serves the new homeless navigation center and the relocated OmniRide local bus hub.
The garage was originally planned alongside a Potomac Nationals baseball stadium that never materialized. County supervisors warned years ago it would be underutilized. The bus transfer point was later moved there anyway, forcing riders and pedestrians through a dangerous interchange with incomplete sidewalks, long signal waits, and no continuous path on the side closest to the services people need.
During his site visit, someone rode off on Parker’s e-bike while he photographed the area. He recovered it after confronting the rider in traffic.
The episode examines planning silos, the project’s cost, and whether VDOT or Prince William County will address the missing pedestrian access.
