Metro wants to know what’s wrong at the Vienna/Fairfax Station. The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority has initiated a study into what sort of improvements might be needed, said John Dittmeier, assistant project manager with the authority.
“Do we need to add capacity in terms of escalators and stairs?” he asked a group of about 30 people, citing one example.
The answer was a resounding ‘yes,’ more escalators, more stairs, more trains, more parking, more of almost everything. The July 12 meeting at Oakton High School is one part in the study process and was intended to gauge the opinions of the people who ride the trains.
Pedestrian access, Dittmeier said, is Metro’s top access goal. The pending MetroWest development, just south of the station, is planned to offer easy pedestrian access through the development to Metro, including a raised crosswalk across Saintsbury Drive.
The MetroWest development, however, will also cost the use of a 650 space parking lot since it will become part of the development. The lot is planned as temporary and is privately owned. It could be closed at the owner’s discretion, notwithstanding the development.
The loss of this parking, however, has some people nervous. “You are going to be driving parking out into the private neighborhoods,” said Peter Sommerville, who lives near the station.
Dittmeier acknowledged that this is a problem. “The demand for parking is greater than we can supply,” he said. While he said potential exists to build a new structured parking lot on what is now surface parking, Metro is hesitant to do that. More parking has the effect of drawing more people to the station, he said and the Orange Line already has capacity issues.
“The likely answer is to have more feeder bus service,” Dittmeier said. He said plans are underway to expand the number of feeder buses and park-and-ride lots. To help bus access, Dittmeier said, a plan is under discussion that calls for off-ramps for buses directly from I-66 to the station.
Other speakers addressed problems in the station, such as a lack of farecard machines that can be used to add money to a SmarTrip card, a need for more stairwells and escalators from the platform to the mezzanine and a lack of adequate bike racks.
These questions and comments will be incorporated into the study Dittmeier explained. Analysis and planning is expected to take place over the summer. A draft report and second public forum is planned for the fall with a final report in September. Implementation of any suggested improvements would be dependent on the availability of funding.