Route 432 and the Dilution of Viable Transit

Anyone who attended the Vienna meetings for the Silver Line bus connector realignment proposal earlier this year knows that the number 1 most contentious route has been the 432; a route that would connect northern Vienna with the Spring Hill Metro Station and Tysons, a critical gap currently in the transit network. As we reported in February, a vocal minority has overtaken the discussion on proposed routes with unproven fears about pedestrian and parked vehicle dangers, even though many residents support better bus solutions in Northern Vienna due to the highly congested nature of Route 7 and Route 123 into Tysons.

The opposition was so effective it was able to delay approval for Route 432, despite all other proposed Silver Line Connector routes having been approved by the Board of Supervisors in June. Now the Board of Supervisors will revisit the plan options during tomorrow’s board meeting to make a final decision on whether it will move forward.

Here is the problem; every solution other than the one which has opponents screaming “Won’t someone think of the children!” is a weaker solution, forcing more buses into congested roads, and making them less viable as an option for commuters.

Any bus that must sit on Maple Avenue traffic is doomed to failure. The great thing about the original design of the 432 was that it would have slight modifications depending on the AM and PM rush hours to avoid being stuck in traffic. In the morning it used Route 7 westbound, in the afternoon Route 7 eastbound, by changing the clockwise or counterclockwise routing.

Now, with the vocal minority decrying the removal of the bus from roads in Northern Vienna, it is now located smack dab in the middle of Route 123 for 3 of the 4 options. In other words, that bus is gonna get stuck in a lot of traffic depending on the time of the day and it will be located far away from the residents who need it most. If the bus were to run on Maple Avenue as proposed during rush hour, it would be inconsistent, unreliable, and ineffective in transporting people faster than walking or biking (an option that is unfortunately also lacking accommodation between Tysons and North Vienna).

Option 1 is as close to a viable solution that still works as is possible. It avoids the heavily congested Maple Avenue corridor during rush hours, it uses dedicated bus lanes on the toll road, and most importantly it is accessible to residents by being routed on Old Courthouse Road and Beulah. It has the additional benefit of being noted by FCDOT for needing more pedestrian improvements as well, which should dispel the concerned opposition.

Hopefully, the Board of Supervisors will recognize that kowtowing to opposition that is not using fact based arguments will hurt the end result by putting the buses where they don’t belong, and join many of the Vienna residents who want to see Option 1 for Route 432 approved.

Let your supervisor know that alternative transportation solutions can’t be watered down and remain effective, that to create real change and improvement we have to break the cycle of good enough.