Safe Pedestrian Routes To Tysons Don't Exist, Residents Say

may make it easier for those in the greater Washington area to access Tysons Corner without cars, but residents just outside the area's urban boundaries said at a meeting last night that there aren't clear plans for how they would access the area safely on foot and bike themselves.

The meeting, at , was part of the Tysons Metrorail Station Access Management Study, created by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in 2009 to develop a multi-modal access plan to the new stations, none of which will include parking. The Tysons urban boundary stretches from the Dulles Toll Road to the intersection of Gallows Road and Leesburg Pike.

County staff held meetings in McLean and at George C. Marshall High School earlier this week before coming to make a presentation  in front of an audience of more than 50 residents on Thursday.

Several residents along Old Courthouse Road told officials that safe pedestrian or cycling paths between their neighborhoods and retail centers along Leesburg Pike  were virtually non existent in current conditions, let alone with increased development.  Currently, trying to access these areas without cars is hazardous, or, requires trespassing through private property, they said.

County planners brought maps to the presentation to show planned trails, missing sidewalk segments and future bike and bus routes, including express bus routes from areas as far as Lorton and Burke. They said they've also identified more than 50 missing crosswalk segments they want residents to prioritize,  but only about five to ten of these proposed crosswalks have enough funding available to be implemented.

A preliminary plan unveiled by Fairfax County staff in December had the public and private sectors

Pamela Konde, president of the Greater Tysons Green Civic Association,  said the portion that developers pay for infrastructure, including sidewalk connections, crosswalks, new schools, new libraries, new police stations, and fire stations, among others, should be greater.

“With all of these discussions of development, they say there’s no money," Konde said. “The Board of Supervisors [ needs to make] the decision that the developers pay a higher proportion so that there is more money available," she said.

GTGCA represents the largest number of single-family homeowners in residential neighborhoods in and around Tysons Corner, but there are no representatives from any of the adjacent neighborhoods on the board of the Tysons Partnership, the group executing all decisions for the transformation of Tysons Corner.

"There needs to be representatives from adjacent neighborhoods on the Tysons Partnership so that we are part of the discussion from at its core," Konde said after the meeting.

Dan Mulville, from Northeast Vienna Citizens Association, said he was concerned Vienna would become a "satellite parking lot." He said it would be easy for commuters to park in the Giant parking lot and catch a bus to Tysons Corner. 

He also said having well-lit pedestrian access along Chain Bridge Road all the way up to Tysons "would make a world of difference." Currently, that's not on the county's plan. 

"You're only looking inside the ring so to speak, but I think you need to look outside the urban boundary as well," Mulville said to FCDOT officials during the question and answer session.

Residents of Tysons Green and other surrounding neighborhoods said they also feared commuters trying to take advantage of transit in the immediate Tysons area would turn their streets into parking lots.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins told citizens they could apply for   permitted parking on their streets

There will be another 20 stakeholder meetings with employers, developers, and residents of the greater Tysons Corner area before a plan is presented to the advisory group in June, said Kris Morley Nifar, a transportation planner for Fairfax County Department Of Transportation. They'll have a final public meeting in July.

Residents can also take the county's online survey.