American Dream

Commuter Behavior Key to MetroWest

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 27, 2005; Page B01

Quotes:

Fairfax County leaders say they will ensure that a massive development of towers and townhouses planned next to the Vienna Metro station does not choke the area's verdant neighborhoods with cars.

County supervisors, who will vote on the project in the fall, say they could force Pulte Homes to scale back its vision of 2,250 homes, offices and stores if the developer cannot convince them it would coax enough people from their cars and toward trains, buses, car pools or sidewalks.

It would be at least 10 years before MetroWest, with its narrow streets and coffee shops at the train's doorstep, is fully built. Only then will anyone know whether shoehorning up to 6,000 people onto 56 acres turns one of the most developed corners of Fairfax into a rush-hour parking lot or an enviable mini-city of walkers and transit riders.

A key piece of the puzzle will emerge this week, when transportation planners release their assessment of whether, as a report from consultant UrbanTrans says, Pulte can reduce enough of the forecasted car trips at MetroWest. The report lays out a menu of carrots and sticks, from expensive parking spaces to subsidies to ride Metro.

The county's goal is to shave by 47 percent the 1,356 rush-hour trips the project would generate if it were a traditional subdivision. For offices, the goal is 25 percent.

That will mean more aggressive enticements to pry people from their cars, even rewards to those who show they are riding Metro a lot. But critics worry that incentives might not do the trick. And they wonder: Can Pulte really be held accountable for controlling how much people drive?

The county could require Pulte to put money in escrow for possible fines against the developer, an idea under negotiation. Once the project is finished, a homeowners association would take over the job of reducing car trips.