Friday, March 31, 2006
Va.: METROWEST PROJECT - Changes Set to Start in Spring '07
METROWEST PROJECT
Changes Set to Start in Spring '07
By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 2006; Page B05
It will be at least eight years before the massive MetroWest project at the Vienna Metro station is fully built, officials said yesterday, but commuters and neighbors will see improvements to the station and nearby roads starting next spring.
A day after the controversial complex of 2,250 homes, shops and offices won approval from Fairfax officials, county leaders, civic activists and the developer looked forward to a smoother path to construction.
[snip]
The county Board of Supervisors approved the project 8 to 1 Monday night, calling MetroWest a bold step toward dense development near public transit that could encourage residents to walk and to ride trains instead of driving. Critics, who mobilized against the project's scale, saying it will overwhelm their neighborhoods with thousands of new cars, seemed resigned to the project's approval. But they said they would hold Pulte to its promises to coax residents from their cars.
"The citizens will need to be vigilant watchdogs," said Will Elliott, a founder of FairGrowth, which formed largely to push for fewer homes in MetroWest. "We hope all the promises in the project are kept.
This may be the largest transit-related residential densification in Fairfax County, Va. ever.
Let's just say I am skeptical of the claimed transportation benefits of this project. Yes, it's within walking distance of a Metrorail line (the Orange Line at Vienna). But consider that this is Fairfax County, and this county has had more growth in employment than any other city or county in the Washington, D.C. region. Someone living and working in Fairfax County is not, as best as I can tell, very likely to use transit for the trip to work - unless a private auto is not available.
And claiming that the developer is somehow going to change the travel habits of people living in these new homes strikes me as a stretch. The developer won't be there forever - what happens once the project is built-out?
Changes Set to Start in Spring '07
By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 2006; Page B05
It will be at least eight years before the massive MetroWest project at the Vienna Metro station is fully built, officials said yesterday, but commuters and neighbors will see improvements to the station and nearby roads starting next spring.
A day after the controversial complex of 2,250 homes, shops and offices won approval from Fairfax officials, county leaders, civic activists and the developer looked forward to a smoother path to construction.
[snip]
The county Board of Supervisors approved the project 8 to 1 Monday night, calling MetroWest a bold step toward dense development near public transit that could encourage residents to walk and to ride trains instead of driving. Critics, who mobilized against the project's scale, saying it will overwhelm their neighborhoods with thousands of new cars, seemed resigned to the project's approval. But they said they would hold Pulte to its promises to coax residents from their cars.
"The citizens will need to be vigilant watchdogs," said Will Elliott, a founder of FairGrowth, which formed largely to push for fewer homes in MetroWest. "We hope all the promises in the project are kept.
This may be the largest transit-related residential densification in Fairfax County, Va. ever.
Let's just say I am skeptical of the claimed transportation benefits of this project. Yes, it's within walking distance of a Metrorail line (the Orange Line at Vienna). But consider that this is Fairfax County, and this county has had more growth in employment than any other city or county in the Washington, D.C. region. Someone living and working in Fairfax County is not, as best as I can tell, very likely to use transit for the trip to work - unless a private auto is not available.
And claiming that the developer is somehow going to change the travel habits of people living in these new homes strikes me as a stretch. The developer won't be there forever - what happens once the project is built-out?
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