County Opens First Commuter Garage, Enhancing Transit and Parking Options

Prince William County celebrated the grand opening of its first commuter garage with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, introducing a state-of-the-art facility featuring 1,400 parking spaces, Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, OmniRide bus stops and a newly constructed pedestrian facility along River Rock Way, creating a more accessible and eco-friendly commuting environment. 

The garage, strategically located adjacent to Potomac Town Center and the new Opitz Boulevard ramp on the I-95 Express Lanes and across from Sentara Hospital, significantly improves multi-modal commuting options and expands parking accessibility for residents and local businesses. The facility is now open with OmniRide service beginning on Monday, Dec. 9. 

Funding for the project came from federal, state, regional and local sources, with $45.9 million provided by federal funds, $3 million from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, or NVTA, $3.9 million from the state of Virginia, and $1.8 million from Prince William County through proffers, the Transportation and Roadway Improvement Program, and developer contributions. 

Vice Chair and Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye emphasized the project's alignment with the county's forward-thinking infrastructure goals. "We know this is a nexus of activity where it's employment, housing services, dining and entertainment. No matter what you see in this area, we know we need more infrastructure here to support that. And this is exactly what this garage does," said Boddye. 

Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin underscored the garage's role in addressing traffic congestion and improving transportation options. "This...commuter garage [is] designed to improve connectivity and ease travel within the county by providing additional commuter parking options for transit and carpooling on the I-95 corridor," said Franklin. 

PRTC Chairman and Neabsco District Supervisor Victor Angry hailed the commuter garage as a transformative milestone, demonstrating how the county is repurposing underutilized spaces to serve the community better. "By prioritizing infrastructure like this, we're creating a foundation that keeps pace with growth, enhances the quality of life and shows what happens when we build smarter. This is another big win for Prince William County, and I can't wait to see these 1,400 spaces filled with cars, commuters and happy residents making use of this fantastic new garage," said Angry. 

Monica Backmon, representing NVTA, celebrated the project's broader impact. "This parking garage is more than a parking garage. This represents opportunity. This represents multimodalism. This represents economic development. This represents reduced congestion. It represents all of those things that you may not associate with having a parking garage," said Backmon. 

Christina Winn, Director of Economic Development and Tourism, highlighted the connection between transportation infrastructure and workforce mobility. "Economic development is about workforce. And so being able to get the workforce to where they need to go is huge," said Winn. 

Robert Schneider, Executive Director of OmniRide, emphasized that the facility, combined with OmniRide’s expansion of seven-day transit services, represents a significant community asset with benefits beyond commuter parking. "We are genuinely helping regional transportation issues get solved. But it comes out of this county. We are leaders in terms of how we think about things, but also how we do things," said Schneider. 

Rick Canizales, Director of Transportation, praised the collaborative effort to complete the project and detailed the garage's advanced features. "This is a state-of-the-art facility. We have the amazing transit system going through here. We have a secure facility. So, we got a safe multi-modal facility that's going to serve not just commuters, but Prince William County," said Canizales. 

Watch the video of the ribbon-cutting ceremony here.