With so many projects necessary to make Tysons Corner a residential hub instead of an office park on steroids, its difficult to know what is important in the early process and what could be delayed. Many people were outraged by FCDOTs first project, Boone Boulevard ramp, as it was out of scope with the intent of Tysons Corner redevelopment by inducing more commuter traffic, and would damage one of the most stable residential neighborhoods of the new city. So as a community what do we want? Yes we want it to be more walkable and yes we want better connections between point A and point B. Tell us what you think is needed first.
- Boone Boulevard Extension (without ramp and preserving Raglan Park). This project could help provide a safe alternative to biking or walking down Route 7. As long as the road section is not mega-sized due to Dulles Toll Road offloading, the new bike lanes and pedestrian walk paths could help residents get to metro, retail and office space along Boone and Route 7.
- Scott’s Run Crossing… crossing. If you have ever seen the ridiculous queue occurring at the left turn from Westpark Drive onto Tysons Boulevard to get to 495 (or sometimes the spill over to the Westpark Bridge) you would know that a lot of this could be avoided if there was a connection behind the Capital One site. It also allows those trying to avoid the 495 havoc to find an alternate path down Route 123. Additionally this connection could potentially provide a walk and bike access to the Capital One office/future residential neighborhood as well as the Cityline Scotts Run Crossing project.
- Springhill/International Drive to Dulles Toll Road improvement. While the County and VDOT want to keep on building new and shiny things, this on ramp which is a daily nightmare along the major vehicular corridor of International Drive which serves thousands of commuters has been largely ignored. The disastrous stop light intersection which stifles traffic flow causes back ups that some days can reach as far back as Greensboro Drive. We could avoid the need for more ramps near Route 7 if this existing right of way and ramp system were improved to provide greater capacity without detriment to residents (as this corridor is already designated as an arterial vehicular priority path).
- Solutions Drive connection between Greensboro and Route 7. Many have pointed out that most commuters might be willing to use the Silver Line if they could be assured of a safe walk path from the Route 7 station to the office locations, many of which are located on Greensboro Drive. This connection does just that and avoids forcing commuters to walk along the dangerous Route 7 corridor.
- Chain Bridge Road connection through Commons of McLean. A lot of residents live within walking distance of the McLean silver line station. Unfortunately it requires an out of the way walk through the Mitre property, or a dangerous and unprotected walk along Route 123 in order to access the station. This connection would provide a bicycle and pedestrian safe path for thousands of residents and connects future projects such as Scotts Run Crossing to the existing retail and grocery store (Safeway) located behind Commons of McLean.
- Another project. There is so much construction going on in the area and there are plenty of other needs. Tell us if you see a problem that needs a solution.