Great Falls Residents to Discuss Golf Tournament Impact

Great Falls Citizens Association to hold Town Hall meeting on the issue on March 20.

Monday, March 20, 2017

The PGA will be hosting the 2017 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Course in Potomac Falls, Va. from May 23-28, 2017. GFCA has met with representatives of the PGA, and has arranged a public Town Hall meeting to give Great Falls residents an opportunity to learn about the event’s impact on Great Falls, ask questions, and provide input to the organizers of the event and to Fairfax County officials. This meeting will be held on March 20, 7:30 p.m., at the Great Falls Library. GFCA members, residents near Trump National, and the general Great Falls public are welcome.

Many citizens are concerned about the potential impact of this event on residents of western Great Falls, especially those along Seneca Road. Here are some details:

  • The tournament will be held from May 23 - 28 (Memorial Day weekend).

  • 50,000+ spectators are expected, with perhaps 12-14,000 on the busiest day.

  • Official hotels for the event are in Reston, and most parking for the event will be at Dulles Airport and One Loudoun (Route 7 in Loudoun County). Access to the golf course by private vehicles and cab will be via Algonquian Parkway and Lowes Island Blvd.

  • There is a proposal for spectator buses to be routed from the off-site parking areas to the Club in a loop. Inbound buses to the course would be routed north on Seneca Road in Great Falls, and then outbound from the Golf Club on Lowes Island Blvd. This would put buses running (at peak times) perhaps every 15 minutes northbound on Seneca Road; at non-peak times they would run 1-2 per hour; buses would operate from 5 a.m. through early evening. For security and traffic control, Seneca Regional Park may be closed during the event. Non-resident traffic northbound on Seneca would probably be stopped at an appropriate point (e.g. Beach Mill Road) to avoid the congestion of turnarounds at the end of Seneca near the Golf Club. GFCA was assured that this routing would only be for spectator buses, and not for shuttles or any other “official” event traffic.

Residents of Seneca are concerned about the impact on traffic and access to/from their homes. Other citizens have expressed concerns about possible restrictions at Seneca Regional Park over Memorial Day weekend.

GFCA encourages all concerned and interested citizens to attend this Town Hall meeting on Mar 20 to hear from and speak with the PGA organizers. Check gfca.org for more information and updates.