Sometimes I've been so frustrated that I'll backtrack to a station deeper in the city to find a less crowded Orange Line train to Vienna.
What will happen if zoning is approved for a dozen high-rise condominiums next to Interstate 66 and the Vienna station?
And what about the development proposals for Tysons Corner, Reston and Springfield? With only one tunnel under the Potomac, there's no way the Metro system can handle all of people the condos will bring. Traffic will reach a crisis point, too.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors needs to do the math. Before approving all of this new development, massive improvements must be made to the roads and Metro's infrastructure.
Ann Tobin
Fairfax
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is on the verge of precipitating a transportation catastrophe for its constituents. The Orange Line is crowded as you describe it, yet the board considers adding thousands of residential units at the Vienna and Dunn Loring Metro stations. This would not have a major impact on area roads, the board says, because most of the residents would take Metro.
That's not good news for Metro riders trying to sandwich themselves aboard the line now. Imagine the dilemma in Arlington.
Metro is several years away from expanding to eight-car trains, and even then for only a third of the fleet. Which line gets them? Although Orange Line riders are complaining, I also get equally exasperated letters from Green Line and Red Line riders.
I recently appeared before a meeting of the Providence District Council in Fairfax County. A large margin of the approximately 60 souls in attendance did not want this added development. They feel ignored by the Board of Supervisors.
I suggest they start recruiting candidates to oppose the supervisors and get behind their campaigns.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Supporters say that dense development at Vienna Metro is "smart growth" and an example of "transit-oriented development" (TOD). But the more one looks at the details of the Fairlee-MetroWest plan, the more the veneer of "smart growth" is stripped away.
Concern about county misuse of these terms was among the reasons for the formation of Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth (www.FairGrowth.org) last year.
