Wiehle Avenue Train Wreck
The Wiehle Avenue Train Wreck
Tax District Equity
It appears that there will be disparity in benefit if there is one tax district for the entire corridor. Can the tax district have differential rates, for example, an A rate for properties within the quarter mile walking distance, A prime for those within a ten-minute shuttle bus ride, etc.
The tax district add-on to the rents within the Town Center would put these properties at a marketing disadvantage to those at Tysons.
The Whole Enchilada
Once the system arrives at Wiehle, the additional cost to get to the airport should be moderate. The real cost will be structures necessary to get through Tysons. From Tysons west, the main cost is just the rail itself. This will be particularly so if the investors would be willing to build stations at Reston Parkway and the airport and beyond as part of their transit-oriented development.
Is Wiehle Needed?
The justification for the Wiehle station was always based on the fact that there was already a park and ride there. However, the location of this park and ride was not based on sound planning but rather expediency. Conventional wisdom has assumed metro stops should have park and ride facilities adjacent to them, while in fact that just brings more cars to the crunch points. Remote sites connected with a shuttle system would be a better way to manage traffic and interface with rail.
The beneficiaries of a mass transit system will be those living or working within the walking distance to the stations. Some planners estimate the amount of development appropriate around a station should be as much as a million square feet of interrelated development. Within Reston, two stations are projected, Reston Parkway and Wiehle Avenue. Is the market strong enough to support a million square feet at both stations? This market competition must also consider the market share that Tysons, Monroe, and outbound will capture. Reston Parkway already has close to the necessary critical mass. How much more can we support?
Are We Prepared for Wiehle?
The development intensity currently around Wiehle is low. Considerable effort has been given to planning for a possible station at Reston Parkway. An equivalent amount of thinking will be needed to begin to develop and reinvest within the impact area of a possible station. Who will do this and when?
Avoiding the “Mixing Bowl” Syndrome
The Wiehle/Toll Road intersection currently has many very important functions for the region. These include: entry and exit to and from the Toll Road, cross Reston traffic from north to south, cross Reston traffic from east to west, cross Toll Road traffic from Leesburg to Alexandria, access to the fire station, McDonalds and Taco Bell. All of these functions occur at the same point unless alternatives are found. Adding access to the end of the line for the Metro will exasperate and compound these problems. The solution to these complex problems will make the Mixing Bowl pale.
Non-corridor Beneficiaries of Rail
Although the planning for rail has focused on the increased development activity that can occur in the corridor itself, attention should also be given to how the rail investment can benefit the other parts of the community, for example, if satellite parking facilities were constructed at existing Village Centers, would this create additional market potential for the Village Centers? Instead of building a single multi-level parking deck at Wiehle and the Toll Road, could not smaller parking structures be built at Toll Oaks, Lake Anne, South Lakes, and North Point Village Centers?
Observing the commuters arriving at the stations in Long Island who first go to the local stores, then to their cars, and then home demonstrates how this model would offer convenience to the consumer. This would certainly be a traffic generator to the Village Center merchants.
©Patrick F. Kane
August 22, 2003
Tax District Equity
It appears that there will be disparity in benefit if there is one tax district for the entire corridor. Can the tax district have differential rates, for example, an A rate for properties within the quarter mile walking distance, A prime for those within a ten-minute shuttle bus ride, etc.
The tax district add-on to the rents within the Town Center would put these properties at a marketing disadvantage to those at Tysons.
The Whole Enchilada
Once the system arrives at Wiehle, the additional cost to get to the airport should be moderate. The real cost will be structures necessary to get through Tysons. From Tysons west, the main cost is just the rail itself. This will be particularly so if the investors would be willing to build stations at Reston Parkway and the airport and beyond as part of their transit-oriented development.
Is Wiehle Needed?
The justification for the Wiehle station was always based on the fact that there was already a park and ride there. However, the location of this park and ride was not based on sound planning but rather expediency. Conventional wisdom has assumed metro stops should have park and ride facilities adjacent to them, while in fact that just brings more cars to the crunch points. Remote sites connected with a shuttle system would be a better way to manage traffic and interface with rail.
The beneficiaries of a mass transit system will be those living or working within the walking distance to the stations. Some planners estimate the amount of development appropriate around a station should be as much as a million square feet of interrelated development. Within Reston, two stations are projected, Reston Parkway and Wiehle Avenue. Is the market strong enough to support a million square feet at both stations? This market competition must also consider the market share that Tysons, Monroe, and outbound will capture. Reston Parkway already has close to the necessary critical mass. How much more can we support?
Are We Prepared for Wiehle?
The development intensity currently around Wiehle is low. Considerable effort has been given to planning for a possible station at Reston Parkway. An equivalent amount of thinking will be needed to begin to develop and reinvest within the impact area of a possible station. Who will do this and when?
Avoiding the “Mixing Bowl” Syndrome
The Wiehle/Toll Road intersection currently has many very important functions for the region. These include: entry and exit to and from the Toll Road, cross Reston traffic from north to south, cross Reston traffic from east to west, cross Toll Road traffic from Leesburg to Alexandria, access to the fire station, McDonalds and Taco Bell. All of these functions occur at the same point unless alternatives are found. Adding access to the end of the line for the Metro will exasperate and compound these problems. The solution to these complex problems will make the Mixing Bowl pale.
Non-corridor Beneficiaries of Rail
Although the planning for rail has focused on the increased development activity that can occur in the corridor itself, attention should also be given to how the rail investment can benefit the other parts of the community, for example, if satellite parking facilities were constructed at existing Village Centers, would this create additional market potential for the Village Centers? Instead of building a single multi-level parking deck at Wiehle and the Toll Road, could not smaller parking structures be built at Toll Oaks, Lake Anne, South Lakes, and North Point Village Centers?
Observing the commuters arriving at the stations in Long Island who first go to the local stores, then to their cars, and then home demonstrates how this model would offer convenience to the consumer. This would certainly be a traffic generator to the Village Center merchants.
©Patrick F. Kane
August 22, 2003
posted by Unknown at 2:23 PM
1 Comments:
Hello Patric, congratulations on your being named Lord Fairfax.
I'm trying to do something positive regarding obstructions on the walkway. There are many places on Reston's 50 miles of trails that you have to duck or dodge plants that have grown out over the paved walkway. Neither RA, Deepwood or V Dot seem to want to tackle the problem, Average citizens are disinclined to "interfere with a plant." Yet good landscaping arranges plant material to make it pleasant and convenient. I have a photo I posted on my blog (sorry for spamming) that shows a branch of poison ivy that reaches out onto the sidewalk and is actually worn down by pedestrians rubbing against it. Maybe it's Frank Loyd Wright's fault for making that beam bend around a tree. Though I don't think we would see him allowing plants on walkways. I still like your plan for the canals.-Rod Koozmin
Post a Comment
<< Home