John Petro
Planning for Transit-Oriented Development in Tysons Corner
Now that the FTA has finally approved an extension of the Washington Metrorail that will link Dulles Airport with Tysons Corner, in Northern Virginia, and downtown Washington, there is a call to speed up the planning process in Tysons to transform the area from its current suburban, car-oriented form to a more urban, walkable environment.
Take the example of Charlotte, NC, where station-area plans around the new Blue Line light rail weren’t completed until one year after the rail line was completed (station-area plans for the southernmost stations have still not been completed). Some development was able to get underway because Charlotte had adopted interim districts that allowed denser, mixed use development along the rail line.
As for the situation in Tysons, a local developer said:
It could take as long as three years to gain approval for construction once the county completes the new rules and another two to build. That pushes completion at least a year, and possibly two, behind the opening of the rail line.
Tysons faces special challenges because of its street pattern, responsible for the lunch hour rush in which 115,000 workers drive less than a mile for a sandwich. Tysons lacks through streets and sidewalks and traffic is funneled onto a few wide boulevards, where waiting for a left turn signal would test Job’s patience. Tysons is also plagued with cloverleaf highway access ramps. So it’s important that planners begin to address the problems associated with the street network immediately so that the appropriate type of network is in place before new developments are built.
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Posted at 11:31 AM, Dec 10, 2008 in
Urban Affairs
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