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I don't live in Parc Reston. A friend of mine does. I live in Archstone Charter Oak (the complex that had a police chopper hovering overhead this past Monday evening and stuck timely "alert" fliers in our door jambs about rising crime in the neighborhood).
I also just wanted to add that these last 3-4 pages of this thread are by far some of the BEST I've ever read here on the NoVA sub-forum! Some of us (including myself) have tread upon some touchy subject areas, and yet (for the most part) people are actually finally DEBATING instead of just saying "if you don't like it, then gitttttt out!" Why can't we DEBATE like this more often, folks?! My tail is wagging right now like a happy puppy dog approaching a fire hydrant!
I think people are FINALLY realizing that I'm not just some raving lunatic. Hundreds of thousands of more people ARE projected to move into the Washington DC metro in the coming decades, and I'd hazard a guess to say that the VAST MAJORITY of us don't want to see them tear down every tree and inhabit every square inch of rural Loudoun County. If this means that we might have to do a LITTLE bit of "Arlingtonizing" to parts of Reston (namely continuing to expand the Town Center upwards and outwards to designate Reston and Tyson's Corners as the two distinctive "cores" of Fairfax County), then so be it if it means that future generations will have that much more of Loudoun County's famed wine trail, equestrian estates, and rolling verdant meadows to enjoy.
The whole point of us convening NOW in Reston to draft up a new master plan is so that if (and likely WHEN) we experience a mini-boom in population immediately subequent to the Silver Line Metrorail's expansion here that we'll actually be prepared for it. Reston's largest asset, to me, is its very dense tree canopy. It's biggest threat, though are those who'd rather see more trees hacked down to accommodate the transplant influx in single-family tract-housing instead of minimizing the amount of green space ruined by building UP instead of OUT.
Sure, not all of us want to live in dense mixed-use walkable neighborhoods. However, I have a feeling that if and when supply rises signficantly of such areas that prices will moderate a bit so that middle-class people who currently live in places like Loudoun Valley Estates, much to their chagrin, can finally AFFORD to move into "town," abandoning their McMansions for people who DO want the suburban lifestyle. God-willing I'll be a senior auditor raking in roughly a $70,000 salary in several years, and at that point in time I want to move to a high-rise at the Reston Town Center, which I hope the master plan will account for with a gradual expansion.
I don't want to compromise Bob Simon's founding principles for Reston, but, at the same time, I don't foresee how giving people MORE housing options will negate the quality-of-life here, especially if transitioning Reston into a more model walkable community (yes, like Arlington), will eventually DECREASE traffic congestion (hence improving air quality and pedestrian/cyclist safety). Some of you don't quite understand the definition of "walkable." To be "walkable" doesn't mean to have 60 miles of paths that wind through the woods aimlessly from parking lot to parking lot so people can stroll and look at the pretty plants for exercise. Being "walkable" means that if I'm at Point A and want to get to Point B, a half-mile away, I can easily get there on foot without walking in the street, playing "chicken" with speeding traffic while trying to cross parkways, or having to follow meandering roads and cul-de-sacs to try to access my destination. I'm in a FAIRLY "walkable" neighborhood right now that would be enhanced if there was a pedestrian bridge over the Reston Parkway (or just drivers who were well-educated enough to either hang up their cell phones or to know to NOT make a right-hand-turn-on-red into the path of pedestrians in crosswalks) and if sidewalks were finally installed where they are missing along various parts of North Shore Drive, a medium-density neighborhood that is also home to an elementary school (young children), a low-income senior high-rise (likely many hearing-/vision-impaired individuals), and various churches (probably many older people here as well). It took an elderly man being hit by a car and hurt to finally get a simple STOP SIGN at the intersection of Village Road & North Shore Drive. Will it take me getting hit while running in the lane of travel of North Shore to finally get sidewalks and/or "Yield to Pedestrians" signs installed? I actually had a close call the other day when I had to veer out around people who had dangerously parked along the southeasterly side of North Shore Drive near to the pool (roughly across from Lake Anne ES).
I mean, with all the money we're spending on affordable housing, why not just give that money to the teachers, policemen, and firefighters directly in the form of increased salaries? .
You can't just pay people more because you want to;you need to pay each position what its worth. My DH's business can't pay him 4 times the amt his job is actually worth, even tho' that would allow us to live within walking distance to his job. And what if you are a McDonalds employee-that subsidy won't help much at all. Its market economics, we don't live in a Socialist state (Thanks be to God!). I like the idea of a mix of housing coupons/tax breaks and zoning recs to ease the housing issue here (plus some other ideas I'm sure I'm missing)
"One town I will NOT be featuring will be Sterling. I've been to the DMV the past two days straight (I keep on being denied the opportunity to transfer over to a VA license due to some minor "technicality" that I'd rather not get into), and perhaps I just caught the town at a bad time but I did NOT like the atmosphere of the Sterling Boulevard corridor, especially next to the DMV, very much at all. I hate to sound like a racist, but if I see a group of minority males walking down the sidewalk with bandanas on and staring at passing vehicles I immediately worry about the possibility of them being a "gang." Couple that with the unkempt median grass, the distressed-looking townhomes/apartments, and the single-family homes that seemed just a bit spooky and I really could stand to avoid photographing that neighborhood (is all of Sterling like that?) "
No, all of Sterling is not like that. You were in the oldest section of Sterling, known as Sterling Park and you were in the commercial part of town where mowing is not done on a frequent basis by VDOT. For the last 10-15 years Sterling Park has been the "stepchild" of Loudoun County, with most of the money going to the newer "sprawling developments". Sterling Park also has no HOA which contributes to conditions varying from neighborhood to neighborhood. There are many lovely neighborhoods in that area with "non spooky" homes. Also, there is Briar Patch Park, which is the large playground area right on Sterling Blvd, and Claude Moore Park between Church and Cascades Parkway. As far as gang activity, yes, there is some. There is also gang activity in Herndon and Reston. I could show you some areas in both towns where you would be uneasy walking down the street. However, I am often in Sterling Park doing market valuations for lenders and I have always been treated respectfully by anyone I meet on the street, even in the area you were in. Of course, I am over 60, 5' 3", and no threat to anyone.
You seem to have an open mind in most of your discussions, please don't form a negative opinion of Sterling from such a brief exposure.
You can't just pay people more because you want to;you need to pay each position what its worth. My DH's business can't pay him 4 times the amt his job is actually worth, even tho' that would allow us to live within walking distance to his job. And what if you are a McDonalds employee-that subsidy won't help much at all. Its market economics, we don't live in a Socialist state (Thanks be to God!). I like the idea of a mix of housing coupons/tax breaks and zoning recs to ease the housing issue here (plus some other ideas I'm sure I'm missing)
Yes, this is the type of Mixed-income planning I'm in favor of. I think normie and another poster mentioned rent-subsidies and the like, which I support. It may have been unclear in my previous posts but I am in no way fond of the traditional means of providing affordable housing (where blocks of development are deemed 'affordable' or 'affordable housing' is clumped together relegated to a particular part of town..It just doesn't work very well (e.g. the failure of the public housing project complexes). I prefer a more 'scattered' approach where you may not even know that the neighbor beside you makes half as much yearly income as you...And by 'affordable income' I don't mean low-income but affordable income for everyone.
Also, I do agree with you that simply increasing salaries would not work. If you broadly increase salaries, what you'll find is that the cost of living will just go up with it (don't get me wrong, I am in favor of teachers and other public servants making more money; in my humble opinion they are underpaid).
I would, however, say that you kind of get on rocky ground by mentioning "Its market economics, we don't live in a Socialist state." The problem with market economics is that, by the economic theory, it stands to reason that the housing prices in the area would continue to rise. The demand for housing is extremely high in NOVA (from what I understand, I may be wrong). If we rely on the economy to set an equilibrium price for housing, most low wage earners (and by that I mean teachers, police officers, fireman, etc...not including those in lower paying service jobs) would unfortunately be priced out of the desirable areas.
The very next statement you make further complicates things: I like the idea of a mix of housing coupons/tax breaks and zoning recs to ease the housing issue here (plus some other ideas I'm sure I'm missing). Not only does that conflict with we don't live in a Socialist state, but when you get into housing coupons and tax breaks you kind of muddy the waters when it comes to the market. By giving people who may not otherwise be able to afford this housing you artificially inflate the demand for housing which, in an area like NOVA where housing is already at a premium, would have undesirable effects on the pricing.
Of course we all want affordable housing (in theory at least) but its just such a complicated issue. Its a very tricky situations; I would be lying if I said I had the answers.
There are already traffic light controls at the top of the hill for the elderly residents to cross North Shore Drive to get between the plaza and the county seniors-only high-rise building. The stop sign for on Village Road has always been there. The stop signs for the opposing North Shore Drive have always been needed because of the blind curve (thanks to the Association bldg) and the excessive speed of the cars and the buses coming down the hill.
He was probably crossing North Shore Dr to go from Lake Anne to Baron Cameron Park. I don't see how putting in office towers and removing the stop signs to let the traffic from Route 606 to flow right into Lake Anne Plaza would've helped him. If there's a lot more people living and working at Lake Anne Plaza (and I'm not one that's necessarily opposed to a reconstruction), I would expect there to be more accidents because more people will be trying to cross 606.
There is nothing to prevent another accident like the one at Village Rd & North Shore Dr if the elderly man's intent was to cross over to Baron Cameron Park from Lake Anne Plaza.
Actually, the smartest thing they could do for security would be to move the seniors facility on to the plaza. The residents of the building would not use much of the parking space. They would not create much of a burden on the current citizens of the plaza. The elderly could do their walks on the plaza and thereabout without crossing the streets. I would put the new office building across the street where the senior citizens building currently stands. It'll be essentially empty at night and on the weekends anyways.
You can't just pay people more because you want to;you need to pay each position what its worth. My DH's business can't pay him 4 times the amt his job is actually worth, even tho' that would allow us to live within walking distance to his job. And what if you are a McDonalds employee-that subsidy won't help much at all. Its market economics, we don't live in a Socialist state (Thanks be to God!).
I'm not talking about McDonalds employees or any other private employees.
The county employs the firefighters, teachers, and policemen. They (We) are the ones paying their salaries. Right now, the county also sets aside housing for low-paid civil servants (which we also pay for).
All I'm saying is that the county take the money they (we) would be paying to run apartment complexes and instead just give it directly to the firefighters, teachers, and policemen so they can afford to live here. Then the firefighters, teachers, and policemen find their own housing at market rates. That's market economics.
The current system where the county pays civil servants too little to afford market-price housing, and then sets aside places for them to live- now THAT's socialism.
You were in the oldest section of Sterling, known as Sterling Park and you were in the commercial part of town where mowing is not done on a frequent basis by VDOT.
Good response, Margery. I'd like to add: IMO it's petty to sneer about lawn mowing right now, anyway. C'mon kids, the real world is not like some video game where you press a button and everything is perfect once again. And what happened to last year's gripe, how much you hate "manicured suburbs". Seems to me you should be happy to see some uncontrolled growth.
Just an observation, but have you noticed the people who sneer about grass always seem to be renters? Maybe renters don't realize certain realities about lawn care and the unusual amount of rain we've had lately. Rain is great, but it affects grass in several ways.
1. Grass is growing insanely fast. Two days after you cut it it's shaggy again. And weeds are popping up at record speeds.
2. Landscaping crews mow different areas every day. All this rain makes them unable to follow their schedules. You can't mow when the clay soil has been saturated with water, you end up leaving ruts.
3. Landscaping crews also need to spend time repairing rain damage and unclogging flooded areas. Rain causes substantial growth in the community drainage system (ravines, ponds and pipes). Beech trees are sprouting everywhere, especially in drainage ditches. They can be tough to remove. But believe me, removing them is a priority over mowing a median.
Also, let's remember the budget cuts. We may not see quite as much lawn mowing this year, that's one thing a community can cut back on. It's not a sign of neglect, just a sign of the times. I'd rather see some long grass than see my taxes go even higher.
I think people are FINALLY realizing that I'm not just some raving lunatic.
Nobody thinks you're a raving lunatic. Overly dramatic and prone to gross exaggeration, yes. I think you strike people as a kid with really great intentions, but you're so new you don't even realize how new you are. You don't know everything because you read a few books in school. College is just the beginning of knowledge.
It's like watching someone take up running. After one week of running around the block he thinks he knows everything and, being young and passionate, he decides he's ready to run the Boston Marathon. On the one hand, you want to encourage his interest in running but on the other hand you want to say "whoa, slow down. You need to do more stretching and you need more training before you do that." Then the novice runner assumes you hate him. It's not that you hate the novice runner, it's that you don't want to see him get hurt. And you also don't want to have to deal with possible long term consequences that may happen if he does get hurt.
All the suggestions you have sound good, but young, idealistic people often don't fully understand that all projects have price tags. Big price tags that I'll have to pay long after you've tired of the area and moved on. And many of these projects have consequences you may not foresee. Just like the beginning runner doesn't realize that if he takes on the marathon too soon he make do permanent damage.
Scran, passion is ok, but steady discipline and taking things slowly will bring a lot more success. In running, and in city planning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScranBarre
Hundreds of thousands of more people ARE projected to move into the Washington DC metro in the coming decades
You've said this several times, and I've let it pass. But c'mon--hundreds of thousands? A bit extreme, dontcha think? Even if every single resident of Scranton moved here it would only be another 72,000 people. Yes, some Californians are moving here, but not the entire population of San Diego. Could you show us the statistics showing hundreds of thousands of people will be moving to Nova?
Half of them will move to Tysons Corner. -g- They want to equalize the composition of full-time residents (20K) and workers (120K).
Half of them will move to Loudoun County which projects its population to double from 90K.
I think you can make a case for several others becoming major employment centers, such as the area from Springfield-Franconia to Ft. Belvoir because of BRAC.
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Some of us (including myself) have tread upon some touchy subject areas, and yet (for the most part) people are actually finally DEBATING instead of just saying "if you don't like it, then gitttttt out!" 
Why can't we DEBATE like this more often, folks?! My tail is wagging right now like a happy puppy dog approaching a fire hydrant! 
.
