You might remember about 4 months ago a public meeting between Fairfax County, FCDOT, and residents around Tysons Corner/Vienna turned into a heated debate and public disillusion with previous agreements made by county officials. The once promised conservation zone of Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park faced demolition in order to install… a new Dulles Toll Ramp.
The hypocrisy was not lost on attendees of the event who had been told for the good part of a decade that the new Tysons will begin de-prioritizing vehicles and begin designing a city at a human scale. The Comprehensive Plan road network clearly shows which corridors would be conceded to commuters such as Route 7, Route 123, and International Drive while others would retain a multi-modal priority. Of course many can understand that some roads such as Tysons Boulevard which exist and are heavily used driver routes will be difficult to transition. No one thought that a brand new road, with all the opportunity to be designed from scratch, would be created in the same mediocre method which created the traffic chaos currently facing Tysons.
Boone Boulevard currently exists to the southeast of Route 123 and is obstructed from continuing by numerous low density commercial strip malls. The concept is to master plan for the extension through the private properties which will be redeveloped to create the envisioned grid of streets which would be for internal city trips, not to assist commuters exit the city. The goal of this concept was not to reduce traffic on Route 7 by funneling commuters onto residential regions with multi-modal uses.
No one wants to create ANOTHER Route 7… well except for FCDOT designers whose only job is to address traffic, not the quality of life and land use policies for residents. This is a classic case of designers needing to put their pens down and say, this traffic situation is outside of the ability for road improvements. By creating this additional toll ramp access you defeat the entire point for the overall concept of Tysons Corner. No one wants to live next to a major thoroughfare, and land values/marketability will demonstrate that if this plan goes through.
Beyond the detriment to the street grid, the new ramp proposes significant impacts to a cherished buffer region between Tysons Corner and Vienna, and more importantly between low density residential and the future high density city. The forest has been long established and includes numerous wildlife species and an effective RPA which helps protect downstream waterways.
Enter the Greater Tysons Green Civic Association.
The organization is made up of local community leaders and residents who frequent Old Courthouse Spring Branch Stream Valley Park. The most notable thing about this group is they don’t mix the benefits of urbanism with the detriment of bad planning and design. They have been careful not to say that Tysons Corner comprehensive plan and the planned city is to blame for this poor option. This concept is backed by the fact that many developers along this corridor, including the developer of Tysons West directly adjacent to Boone Boulevard, is completely against sending more DTR users through local roads.
Why? Because mixed-use developer’s biggest enemies are commuter drivers. It means less people as residential clients and less people walking to and shopping at retail stores and restaurants. They are also against it because many recognize that having an amenity like open space and trees helps draw more people to their center.
The good news is the subject and concept have been put on the backburner. At the last planning commission meeting Commissioner De La Fey even mocked the project for its negatives. That doesn’t mean that some sort of master plan concept isn’t needed. It means that the concept shouldn’t prioritize outside 9-5 Tysons users over the future life blood of residents.
We’ve never been the type to sit back and wait for a concept to be given to us. There is no reason why the road extension can’t be done organically, allowing for a phased approach which could avoid bucking out around currently existing mid-rise offices. By keeping Boone Boulevard straight none of the forest needs to be bulldozed, and the reduced buildable area can be compromised with developers by allowing the same densities vertically instead.
Boone Boulevard can be extended on this straight alignment all the way until Spring Hill Road with almost no impact to existing residents or the forest. This road will serve as a multi-modal haven for those avoiding Route 7 on bike or foot and with the proposed rezonings in the works will create a true urban feel.
What it will not do is reduce traffic on Route 7… it shouldn’t be designed with that as a priority. Route 7 should be designed to reduce congestion, but pushing traffic off of that road will just reduce the urban viability of other neighborhoods.
If in the future development conditions become favorable for a rezoning of the existing mid rise office/retail that currently obstructs the continuation of Boone beyond Spring Hill, then the expansion of the road grid can occur. Perhaps in 20 to 30 years when those conditions occur traffic in Tysons will have stabilized through multi-modal usage (as it has in Arlington) and this additional ramp will be deemed a waste of resources anyways.
If not, then that discussion can be had. What will be preserved is the forest, which without the need to buck around the existing mid-rise buildings, can now remain as a straight shot to the DTR.
This phased approach could be a compromise to create the road grid that many support, encourage the development which will bring great amenities to residents, and to help move people within Tysons. It preserves precious natural screening regions in what has become a concrete jungle and encourages outside commuters and city residents to consider using other modes of transportation.
That is the vision that the Tysons Comprehensive Plan had in mind.
