Frustrated, moving to NoVa (Winchester: housing, suburbs, areas)

[ICS67]

[quote=SteelCityRising;36358752].



Reston has Metrorail now. Great. Guess what? Most Restonians are still going to drive TO the stations because the community is still too sprawled out. Nobody ever used the RIBS buses I saw driving by.

Maybe you should do a little research before posting. There are at present count at least 26 bus lines that run to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro -- RIBS, Loudoun County Transit, and, far and away the most routes there, the Fairfax Connector.

Verify it for yourself at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connect...restoneast.pdf

[JD984]

Originally Posted by ICS67

Maybe you should do a little research before posting. There are at present count at least 26 bus lines that run to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro -- RIBS, Loudoun County Transit, and, far and away the most routes there, the Fairfax Connector.

Verify it for yourself at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connect...restoneast.pdf

Yes. And why would it be a bad thing if some people drove and parked at Wiehle, thereby reducing some of the traffic on the Toll Road and Route 7 heading towards Tysons?

As you note, there are many bus lines, and some of them may catch on more over time. A lot of the commentary on recent threads is so crotchety and reminds me of people kvetching that no one would ever use Dulles Airport.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Yes. And why would it be a bad thing if some people drove and parked at Wiehle, thereby reducing some of the traffic on the Toll Road and Route 7 heading towards Tysons?

This point reminds me of the larger problem with the new Tysons stations--no parking. (Not sure about Wiehle.) Evidently the planners somehow thought everyone in suburban McLean would walk along the busy highways to Tysons to take the Metro. They're just not going to do that--which means they'll continue to drive to work. How pedestrian-friendly or transit-oriented is that?

Hopefully the planners and WMATA will come to their senses and build some parking garages at all the new stations.

[Middlin]

Doing that would totally defeat the purpose of making Tyson's a more dense, less car centric area, and isn't that the point? Metro at Tyson's wasn't for the sole purpose of getting McLean residences to the metro.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

This point reminds me of the larger problem with the new Tysons stations--no parking. (Not sure about Wiehle.) Evidently the planners somehow thought everyone in suburban McLean would walk along the busy highways to Tysons to take the Metro. They're just not going to do that--which means they'll continue to drive to work. How pedestrian-friendly or transit-oriented is that?

Hopefully the planners and WMATA will come to their senses and build some parking garages at all the new stations.

There is a Metro lot at Wiehle/Reston and a private surface parking lot with over 700 spaces adjacent to the McLean station. At some point, there will be a development on the latter site, but private developers will likely offer parking in new buildings as they are built, for those who actually want to drive into Tysons and take Metro. People know that Tysons remains congested, so that tempers the desire to drive there during rush hour if there are alternatives.

I don't think the planners had McLean or Vienna residents primarily in mind when building the new station, as opposed to (1) people commuting to Tysons from areas already served by Metro and (2) future Tysons residents. However, there were community meetings with McLean and Vienna residents to discuss the new Fairfax Connector routes that people who live near some of the major roads in McLean and Vienna can take to the new Silver Line stations. Those routes are now up and running, although they work best for people who work typical 9-5 hours (service is less frequent in non-rush hours).

Overall, it's not a bad deal - we remain relatively close to places like DC and Tysons and can drive, or we can find a way to use the Silver Line stations if we want to minimize time spent driving. It's not like living a block or two from an Orange Line station, but people who've typically opted for bigger houses on larger lots than you'd find along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor wouldn't necessarily expect that.

[JfromReston]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

This point reminds me of the larger problem with the new Tysons stations--no parking. (Not sure about Wiehle.)

Wiehle currently has 3,300 parking spaces. Metro operates 2,300 of them and 1,000 are privately operated.

Wiehle-Reston East | silverlinemetro.com

[FCNova]

The Tysons area is already super congested. Having parking at the metro stations would've crippled the area every morning and evening rush hour. I think it was a wise decision. There are plenty of other Metro stations you can park at. Mclean residents who wanted to drive to a metro and take it into the city have had West Falls Church station not too far away for a long time. Or there are metro buses although I'm sure a Mclean resident would rather drink gasoline than be seen on a bus(kidding!)

[Carlingtonian]

OK, evidently Wiehle has a ton of parking.

I still think it was a mistake not to put more parking at the Tysons station. I get it that they want to make Tysons more walkable, and that's a good thing. But that can coexist with putting in a parking garage and thus getting more people onto the Metro who will otherwise not use it.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by JEB77

From what I've seen, Winchester has a very nice downtown and many beautiful older homes. On the other hand, it also appears to be surrounded by newer suburban construction that is not nearly as nice, in my own opinion, as what you'd typically find in Reston or Brambleton and other parts of Ashburn.

1. I wouldn't say that Winchester is "surrounded" by newer suburban construction. That would be a misnomer. The largest pocket is south towards/and in Stephens City between Winchester and Front Royal. And some areas east off Route 7 between us and Berryville. However, there aren't many suburban developments north (Inwood, Clearbrook, etc.) nor west.

2. Architecturally, what's so nice about Reston, Brambleton, and parts of Ashburn? They all look the similar to me. Similar look/style, similar materials, similar layout, etc. In fact, the Photo#2 looks like a development in Manassas.

How different can these places really be (architecturally)? Especially when the developments built near Winchester are being built by the same or similar builders in NOVA and other areas!!! They're all doing the same thing, following the same template, using the same sub-contractors, using the same materials, etc.

Originally Posted by JEB77

I have no doubt that its older areas appeal to someone whose frame of reference consists of small towns or cities in the Mid-Atlantic,

Not really. I have run into people who grew up in the suburbs of NoVA so they would not necessarily fit in the category of "appeal" of "small towns and cities".

Winchester Proper's core group consists of two types of people:

(1) single, young professionals, and
(2) empty nesters (i.e., 50+)

Originally Posted by JEB77

. . .but other NoVa suburbs might also appeal to those with different needs and sensibilities.

Yes, particularly families with small children.

Isn't this how the thread got started?

[JD984]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

1. I wouldn't say that Winchester is "surrounded" by newer suburban construction. That would be a misnomer. The largest pocket is south towards/and in Stephens City between Winchester and Front Royal. And some areas east off Route 7 between us and Berryville. However, there aren't many suburban developments north (Inwood, Clearbrook, etc.) nor west.

2. Architecturally, what's so nice about Reston, Brambleton, and parts of Ashburn? They all look the similar to me. Similar look/style, similar materials, similar layout, etc. In fact, the Photo#2 looks like a development in Manassas.

How different can these places really be (architecturally)? Especially when the developments built near Winchester are being built by the same or similar builders in NOVA and other areas!!! They're all doing the same thing, following the same template, using the same sub-contractors, using the same materials, etc.



Not really. I have run into people who grew up in the suburbs of NoVA so they would not necessarily fit in the category of "appeal" of "small towns and cities".

Winchester Proper's core group consists of two types of people:

(1) single, young professionals, and
(2) empty nesters (i.e., 50+)



Yes, particularly families with small children.

Isn't this how the thread got started?

Some good points here, and some with which I disagree, but none of which do I think debating further here will advance this particular thread. Perhaps there will be other threads in the future that justify deeper dives into how Winchester, in particular, compares to areas closer to DC. I don't think OP should consider Winchester if he's (1) working in Rosslyn and (2) wants to maintain his sanity.