DCist: Tysons Tunnel Backers Stubbornly Refuse To Concede

clickashburn

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:38:04 -0500

All of us living out here in Loudoun understand that it's tough to see the need for rail from those closer in - i.e. arlington, dc, alexandria...and so on. Truth is that this line is a "nice to have" for the area. THe real "need to have" is a train that can run in express mode into the city - i.e. parallel tracks and better planning. The foresight that metro demonstrated from the beginning has been dismal. That being said, we still need a metro line out here. ClickAshburn http://www.clickashburn.com/phpbb

jamie

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:56:21 -0500

@NoRefill: "a horrible effect on traffic during construction" Traffic is horrible in Tyson's all the time already, isn't it? Is it possible to go any slower than zero? "I certainly understand that many people living in DC (myself included) would love to have an easier, traffic-free, route to Tysons and Dulles." I don't really get that. Why would anyone living in DC ever go to Tyson's Corner? Aren't there much closer, less offensive malls with all the same shit in Pentagon City, Wheaton, Mazza Gallerie, among other places? As far as Dulles goes, I'd typically choose to have my fingernails pulled out before flying out of there. However, I understand that it is sometimes the best option either financially or logistically. But you can actually get there pretty easily using the existing 5A express bus from three metro stations. While frankly I couldn't care less what happens in a "neighborhood" in Tyson's Corner since I can honestly say I've been there once in the last 20 years, I think building light rail to Dulles doesn't really make that much sense. The bus to Dulles, which I've taken several times, is about 1/3 full most of the time. I just don't think that the vast majority of people flying from Dulles are likely to take public transit. Even with rail, it would probably be a 80-90 minute ride from most places in DC. The benefit compared to the cost doesn't seem there, and the fact that hardly anyone takes the bus to Dulles as it is now would seem to confirm that. I agree that more people would ride rail versus the bus - but enough to justify the price tag?

mho

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:09:33 -0500

Tysons itself is an eyesore, but I've never been anywhere where ground level tracks didn't divide neighbors and set boundaries for gangs and race wars. But those were mostly in residential Chicago areas...and from what I've seen of Tysons, I don't think they have either residents, gangs, or a variety of races.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:48:51 -0500

The 12 story brick column building you can see from 495, is quite possibly the ugliest and worst designed building I have ever seen. Clearly, you are unfamiliar with the building at the corner of Old Courthouse and Chain Bridge Road that's the spitting image of a toilet seat. Or $h!tting image, as the case may be. I can think of no more appropriate place for a building of such a design than Tysons Corner.

athmsvt

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:17:51 -0500

I am going to have to go with the place is already an eyesore. The 12 story brick column building you can see from 495, is quite possibly the ugliest and worst designed building I have ever seen. As things are relative, I would have to say that the metro structures would more appealing than any 4 lane highway I have ever seen. The whole area is kind of a blight on the DC metro area, especially as far as planning goes. I have a couple of friends that work over there and they say it can take forever just to exit their garage. One lives 5-10 minutes from work in Vienna, but says it often takes him 30 minutes to get home with the traffic.

inloganO

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:00:42 -0500

Ah yes...Tysons Corner is crammed so full of local shops and restaurants. It's a wonder that national retailers haven't discovered Tysons Corner yet. I'm amazed at how light the traffic is on 123 with its 8 lanes or Route 7 with its 6 thru lanes and two 2-lane access roads. It's so walkable and those train tracks above will just ruin the character! :-P

monkeyrotica

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:52:27 -0500

The tunnel was never about environmentally-friendly transit or low-impact construction. The tunnel is about killing the Silver Line at all costs. This is about locals who don't want their roads torn up for two-years, who don't want noisy trains in their backyard, who don't want those kinds of people coming into their precious community. Most of all, it's about developers who want to keep people car-dependent and spending their money IN Tysons. Silver Line development means dollars bypassing Tysons completely and headed west. Those who genuinely want transit and prefer a tunnel but would settle for overhead rails have already left the coalition. All that's left are the shrill Chicken Littles. This is just nimbyism clad in a Green-friendly cloak. The tunnel is dead. You all need to take some ExLax and let that $h!t go.

NoRefill

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:35:38 -0500

The trains themselves aren't the problem. Unlike other above-ground metro routes, which are either between lanes on a highway (like the orange line on 66 in Arlington/Fairfax) or paralleling other pre-established train tracks (such as the red line through Silver Spring and through Shady Grove, or the Orange line through New Carolton, or pretty much every other above ground Metro route), this would be a massive, obnoxious new structure in an established community, having a horrible effect on traffic during construction, and requiring a significant change in planning and appearance in the neighborhood both during and after that construction. I certainly understand that many people living in DC (myself included) would love to have an easier, traffic-free, route to Tysons and Dulles. DC residents who live near underground Metro routes should wonder, though, what it would be like if they had to choose between an above-ground train route through their neighborhood, which would certainly destroy local shops and restaurants and be a continual eyesore, and no train at all. I daresay that most of us would rather rely on cars, buses, and bikes to get where we need to go than sacrifice so much. Maybe we should give the people of Vienna/McLean/Tysons the same respect to make a similar choice for themselves. The tunnel group doesn't speak for everyone, but they command a great deal of support in Northern Virginia.

Over the River

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:42:25 -0500

I agree IMGoph. A tunnel is nice but Metro keeps their rolling stock clean and four to six trains a hour doesn't make urban blight.

IMGoph

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:54:11 -0500

duller corridor, eh? sounds like a good rename for the whole stretch, i'd say. seriously though, i understand their disappointment, but sometimes, you just need to recognize that you've lost, lick your wounds, and get ready for the next fight...