New Hospital Rt 50 annouced

Having lived next door to FairfaxCounty hospital (off Gallows Rd), I will say that noise is a major concern. And yes, helicopters coming in and out are much louder (primarily during takeoff and landing) than airplanes.

I know Fairfax is a much bigger hospital and probably gets more than the lion's share of emergency patients,or at least more than this proposed hospital will, but they did have at least 2 to 3 flights in and out every night while I lived there.

 

That's not really about the size of the hospital so much as the service they offer. Inova Fairfax is a Level 1 trauma center for both adults and children, the highest level a hospital can offer. They are also the only one in Northern Virginia. So it is not surprising that they get so much helicopter traffic in that case. From their website:
"For the most seriously ill or injured patients -- including children, infants and newborns -- Inova AirCare, the flying intensive care unit, provides helicopter transport within a 200-mile radius of the hospital."

Soooo..... Does anyone know what level HCA plans to offer at the Broadlands hospital?

 

No Lee, because I would never purchase a home across the street from millions of square feet of commercial development. But if I had, I would definitely prefer the hospital over the proposed office complex that the site was being marketed for. I have the plans.
You also display your ignorance of the difference between a fire/rescue station and a hospital. I explained it on the other thread you dug up.
Lastly, I am not saying there will never be any noise. Any large scale commercial development wil develop some noise. Although I am pleased at the lack of complaints about Clyde's or the School Admin Building.
Traffic volume and noise will definitely increase when Broadlands Blvd gets completed at both ends....with or without a hospital.

 

Lee-
The problem with your "test" is that the premise is flawed. You make assumptions of facts not in evidence...specifically that the sirens will be running day and night.
But I would agree to a true test. if they have the ambulances going to the site without lights or sirens 90% of the time, what would your response be? That the test is flawed? Or could it be they don't run the sirens 90% of the time as they approach the hospital?
As I have suggested before Lee, put on some clothes (relax folks, he's just usually in a bathrobe!), step away from the keyboard, and do a little research. Maybe just walk across the street and visit the Fire/Rescue Station and ask them about how they operate around hospitals.
Maybe pose this question: for every 20 times you go to a hospital, how many times do you have the sirens/lights on within 1/2 mile from the hospital?

 

When my daughter was little, she spent too many nights at Fairfax Hospital. Her room overlooked the helipad, hardly ever noticed it. The only time we knew it was coming in was when the "Code Whateverthecolor" was announced on the PA.

I live about 300 yards from the intersection of BRR/Ryan, there are plenty of firetrucks and ambulances that come through, we kindasorta hear them. The Medivac helicopter has landed at Legacy Elementary too many times this year, but very few people have heard it.

Can't imagine that it would be any more disturbing than hearing normal traffic peppered by the obnoxnious person playing crappy music with the bass too loud.

Why do I get the feeling people are expecting NYC level noise?

 

Come on Cliff you are not supposed to let out that I wear a bathrobe a lot during the day when I am not meeting clients and just working at home. ha ha ha ha ha ha

I can't stop laughing at that one Cliff ha ha

Remember paybacks are hell my good friend Just because I am not ready to totally support the hospital as yet jeez you have to start to play hardball already

Lee j

 

Okay, Lee, let me pose this to you.
Let's say BRMC is again put before the county, along with the tens of millions of dollars in road proffers, millions of dollars in tax revenue, and providing more healthcare to a county that is woefully underserved, as well as all those high paying jobs.
How many people does it take for the county to turn it down?
Just one person saying "I live there and don"t like it." 10? 20? 100?
What if 20 don't like it, but 20 that live nearby say they do?
And what is your definition of "Closest?" 1/2 mile? mile? 100 yards?

I know there are many supporters who live near the site. In fact the resident in the house right on the corner by the entrance was a HUGE supporter...and his wife worked for Loudoun Hospital. Since he was the closest, does his vote trump all?

Should the flex buildings across from you not have been built because one guy across the street living in a house on land that was rezoned from commercial to residential doesn't like them?

 

Nope the real mistake and it has already been admitted by the developer and county in the paper just recently is allowing those commercial buildings being built which are surrounded on three sides by residential, so don't spin it otherwise. And now that you bring that up should we let history repeat itself over in your neck of the woods and do another special exemption when in the past the residents have got bitten by doing that???? What we need before we build another thing in this county is to analyze the entire county and look at what are potential firestorms in the types of development that all loudoun property is zoned for and sit down with outside third party land professionals and completely go over the entire county land planning as presently zoned and design and plan for the eventual hot spots and stop it before it happens. We have pretty much done that with any new residential puds that need a rezoning or a special exemption with this new board. So why should any kind of commercial be exempt from the same kind of no zoning changes or special exemptions if we have laid the hammer down on residential????

Lee j

 

The "3 sides residential" were all originally COMMERCIAL property that never should have been rezoned. No spin, just the facts.
What happened is that applications came in to rezone from commercial to residential before anything was built. Why? Because residential sells easily. Then the homes get built and the PLANNED commercial finally gets started. Then the residents say "That doesn't belong here." No, THEY are the ones that don't belong there.
You see, Lee, the very analysis you thing should be done, WAS done. The problem is that as the years go by, rezonings chip away at it. If it had been left as it was originally intended, your neighborhood would be a crop of flex buildings, as originally intended.
The BRMC site is zoned PDOP commerical, which specifically allows hospitals, and dozens of other kinds of uses. The type of rezoning that allowed your neighborhood was changing it from commercial to residential. This is much more of an extreme change to the county's plan than simply allowing a type of use specifically mentioned via Special Exception approval.
No offense, but for someone who claims to know so much about development, you're woefully naiive about the realities of zoning, planning, and development around this area. We all know you have "Lee's Loudoun County Utopia" but it is unfortunately based in fantasy, not the reality of what has happened around here over the past 20 years.

 

Uh, I didn't know it was hardball under there!
Just trying to slip in a little humor. I don't care if you don't support the hospital. I just like people to have facts before they render an unchanging opinion. If they get facts, do a little research, and don't change their opinion, that's fine. Some people said that if they only hear one siren a week, it's too much and they are against it. That's fine. I would just say i don't find that to be a reasonable reason to turn it down.

By the way, you didn't respond to my questions in Post #48 about how many people should be allowed to scuttle a proposed project.

 

Cliff,
Doesn't matter, they could put the Helo pad anywhere and people living within 1 mile of it will be affected. They are noisy end of story. I saw the proposed plot plan and they are not doing much for noise other than putting the pad on the other side of the building. It's the last 200 feet of altitude that the noise really get bad.

 

Cliff I also was just joking around Well it goes to show you, nobody wants a rescue station close to them.

I am pretty sure the newly approved arcola has a potential hospital site in it and if I recall correctly it was way away from any residential.

I have to agree helicopters are loud anyway you put it. And they are loud from a long long ways away. I hear them on occasion around here and even far away you can here them coming and going. I don't think a five hour period at an hospital even begins to tell the sound story. Perhaps over an month or two period would be an better test. As far as what buildings look like in renderings and on plans. Well first that is what I do for a living and today virtual videos are now made to be able to see every single aspect of an project. Still renderings are drawn to give the best perspective to an development and many times from where the perspective is drawn is potentially misleading because they pick an perspective that will not necessarily show what it looks like from the varies points and from how it could have an potecial negative impact on an neighborhood. I suggest have them do virtual video and have it so the hospital can been seen from the neighboring homes and surrounding area. That way you will get a true idea of the impact of this project . You can also add sound and you can actually tell by adding sound how much that sound will impact an area and even inside a home what the noise from these vehicle's and helicopters will really be like, but an live demonstration is always the best way. Like I say an rendering really does not tell the real story and I have seen so many flawed or misleading intentionally studies it would make your head spin. Real life tests are always the best. You can put up balloons at all the corners of these buildings so the neighbors can get an idea of what they will really see. Loudoun with all it's high tech business's is run from the county level especially in planning is in the dark horse ages. Their is not one professional planning commissioner appointed mostly active house wives and yet they are going to have say what we see driving down our roads and are in charge of billions of dollars in developments and not one is an expert in planning in the true sense of the word. You also need planning experts that have the knowledge and experience in what is happening all over the world and able to bring that knowledge here so we can have things built that actually work for all the neighbors.

All I keep hearing around here is everything is a mistake and you should of been aware etc etc that is how amateurs always look and respond to development instead of solving the problem for all to be happy. THe planning in this county has been run by amateurs and professionals laking vision and it is starting to show in the way we are looking and growing it is certainly not beautiful growth it is amateurish and reactionary growth and it is staring to look like amateurs have been in charge except in the large planned developments. Then the amateurs and special interest want to come in and screw that up too with special exemptions and poor rezoning. Yes this county needs to be rezoned professionally and every neighbor and existing development should be taken into account in the new zoning how the new developments will effect them. Not this crap that the old stuff should of not of been there in the first place, what a cop out so the new stuff can be built like a trash development without no respect to their neighbors. That is why I like the one loudoun's the moorefields etc and kincora's because they are planned by real professionals and it shows. ANd the whole county should be planned that way.

Lee j

 

As far as this hospital not expanding?? Come on now that is a fairy tale. That statement scares me the most, because one I have never never ever not seen a hospital not expand. Second the the buffer area would be ideal for future expansion. If this hospital has no room for expansion then it certainly needs to be built somewhere else where it can expand.

That no expansion statement just pushed me to the don't build it side slightly. Because that makes me feel there is a rat here. What other lies are in all those studies and how bad are they slanted.

Lee j

 

I didn't say that. I stated that they presented their plans at full expansion....to the maximum allowable on that sized parcel of land allowed by the county. It can't go any higher. They presented the plans just so people like you couldn't call them liars and claim some nefarious expansion scheme.
Why do you assume everything is a lie unless it agrees with you, even though you've done absolutely no research on this issue?

 

Lee - 58+ acers is plenty of land...with the majority of the campus hugging the Greenway HCA can expand while keeping the promised noise buffers. Pushing this to the land near AOL/Verizon will just add MORE traffic to waxpool.

As Tech mentioned - IMBY...yes the concerns are valid, however show me a hospital that is not dropped in the middle of a residential utopia.

 

I tell you right now they will want to expand once they get their claws in the door. Don't be so naive to think they will not. Hospitals are always expanding show me one that has not.

Lee j

 

Actually my plan will get another way out of here with shellhorn built to the sterling interchange which right now there is not a thing that can be done quickly to get that connection, but a new hospital there could get it built now. The broadlands hospital will definitely increase traffic on waxpool because that is the easiest way there from the east and no one is going to pay the high tolls on the greenway to get there. I am going to start to promote this outside the broadlands forum and see what kind of non biased reaction there is to my plan if the two choices were the broadlands or by aol and and in by putting it bt aol we help waxpool not hurt it even more.

Lee j

 

The way I understand Cliff is that HCA presented their plans at full expansion, but are not going to build the entire plan up-front. This fits with the way most hospitals are built - build the core, then (as you "accuse" they will) expand services. It would seem HCA is being at least somewhat responsible by planning ahead for that expansion.

Or I could be completely misreading what Cliff is saying.

 

Nope, you hit it on the head. HCA wanted everyone to know the size of the hospital campus at full build out.