Limiting parking appeals to planners because it does not cost the developer or the County anything. In fact, it saves the developer money. What impact it will have on transportation resources or on the quality of life is really unknown. One could, for example, point to the vehicles parked along Soapstone Drive as an example of what happens when parking is inadequate. To get people out of their cars will require both incentives and disincentives. Perhaps limiting parking will at some point be one of the disincentives that makes sense but at this point it seems premature.
The construction planned for Reston and for the Toll Road corridor is breath-taking, perhaps excessive by any standard. Nevertheless, higher densities are likely in areas like Reston and Tysons, if only because residents have yet to find a way to stop them. To be fair, planners can make a reasonable case for some, if not all these developments.
The obvious response from the Reston community should be to ask where the transit in this so-called transit-oriented development is. The County is proposing transit-oriented development without the transit. No one who knows anything about public transportation would accept the proposition that locating higher densities along a new subway line will make a significant dent in auto use. In fact, the studies supporting the Dulles rail line state that the new rail line will not decrease traffic in the Dulles corridor. Nevertheless, the County would have you believe putting apartments near a Metro line will cut congestion.
(In fact, the available research indicates that at best people who live in areas with higher densities use their cars 20 percent less than people who live in low density areas. And there is every reason to believe that more affluent, older people will not decrease their auto use just because they live in denser areas.)
If new construction can not be stopped, the response from the community should be a push for a real transportation plan (that includes measures that will get people out of their cars) and then implementation of those measures. A good place to start would be implementation of the measures already identified as needed to integrate the Whiele Ave Metro station into the community. These include changes in traffic patterns and establishment of a feeder bus service. Now be warned. The proposed changes means substantial capital investments and operating more buses means additional operating costs every year, not just capital costs. But, if the choice is gridlock or a combination of a reasonable quality of life and higher taxes, what would you choose?
