Regardless of the residential towers at the Vienna station, development will continue in the outlying areas.
Please read on.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I ride the Orange Line from Vienna to McPherson Square in the District and back on a daily basis. In the past couple of years, as developments have popped up like weeds along the Orange Line in Arlington and Fairfax, the quality of my commute has worsened.
Metro is in a well-publicized cash crunch, trains break down more frequently, and commuters are often crammed in like sardines.
In the evening, I often let trains go by me because they appear dangerously overcrowded. Sometimes I get so frustrated that the marathoner in me takes over, and I decide to run home via the bike trails.
Clearly, I am concerned about the proposed development for the Vienna Metro station area.
I believe that planners have to honestly and thoroughly assess the state of the transit system before deciding what density, and what type of development, are correct. I see little evidence that this type of deep inquiry has been occurring.
Our Metro system appears to be approaching crisis. If Metro gets a cash infusion and is able to accommodate all these new riders, then we must see to it that the residents and workers in developments near transit stations such as the Vienna stop are weaned off their cars through aggressive application of transportation-demand-management measures.
Otherwise, there is absolutely nothing "smart" about locating such dense development near Vienna, the terminus of the Orange Line, and near Interstate 66, an overcrowded highway.
Anne Pastorkovich
Fairfax
All one has to do to see that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is destroying the county's transportation network is examine what is happening along Route 29 between Fairfax City and Centreville.
The trees are going, going, gone, replaced by acres and acres of townhouses and more and more residents -- and vehicles.
