To the Editor:
Part of what makes the metro so beneficial to local communities is its ability to reduce dependence on automobiles – automobiles that cause congestion, pollution, and safety concerns.
However, it’s impossible to rely solely on a metro stop to reshape a community into a walkable urban living space. There are an innumerable amount of factors that mold the shape and nature of a community – and public transit is only one factor.
However, the placing of metro stops has a significant impact on how transit shapes communities. By having closer metro stations – you give pedestrians more options without having to use a car. That is in part what makes Clarendon, Court House, Ballston, and Rosslyn so successful. It’s also the reason more isolated stops, like Dunn Loring and Vienna, are only surrounded by parking garages. Dense stations allow for greater building density without large amounts of congestion.
This is in-part why the Silver Line will make Tysons a successful walkable community. Providing multiple stops allow pedestrians to move around more quickly than if they had a car.
However, this also means that the Silver Line will have a smaller impact on Reston and Herndon in creating walkable urban communities – as their metro stops are more spaced out.
Frank Muraca
Fairfax