Transit Oriented Development for our Area
Kenneth R. "Ken" Plum
 
        "There's something deeply wrong with Tysons Corner," according to a June 11, 2009, article in Time magazine.  "For starters, Virginia's bustling commercial district - the 12th biggest employment center in the nation - has more parking spaces than jobs or residents."  In fact, about 120,000 people work in Tysons Corner while only 17,000 live there.  The result is that about 110,000 cars come and leave daily as there are few mass transit options.  Add to that number the shoppers at TysonsCornerCenter, the ninth-largest indoor mall in the nation, and it is surprising that traffic moves as well as it does.  As fashionable as the office park concept that Tysons Corner represents may have been in the 1960's, it simply does not work today.  It will make even less sense with the arrival of Metrorail in several years.  Recommendations of the Tysons Corner Task Force if implemented would update the area using transit oriented development concepts to a modern, workable city.
 
        In contrast to the office park design of present-day Tysons Corner, the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor of ArlingtonCounty has redeveloped itself into a national model of transit oriented development.  ArlingtonCounty has actually increased its job base and grown its population while reducing the number of automobiles on its streets.  Metro has been the secret of success of the community along with leadership of vision that made the best possible use of mass transit.  At the same time, most of ArlingtonCounty has maintained its community of neighborhoods of single-family homes.
 
        Also in contrast to TysonsCornerCenter is RestonTownCenter that is being copied by others throughout the country.  Combining mixed-use development with walkable streets and easy access, TownCenter is attracting those who prefer a more urban style of living.  Adding an additional dimension to TownCenter will be the arrival of Metrorail in about a half-dozen years.  The challenge of distance from TownCenter to the Metro station that will be in the center of the access road will require some innovative thinking that might include air-rights development over the access/toll roads.  The same challenge is being faced by FairfaxCounty and the developers looking at proposals for the Wiehle Avenue station development.
 
        Tysons Corner has had to play catch-up to become a more livable area.  RestonTownCenter and Wiehle Avenue can build on the experiences of the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor to be a model also for transit oriented development.