If you have driven near Tyson's Corner or Reston Virginia in the last year or two you've probably noticed an enormous amount of construction. Some of this construction is Phase 1 of the Dulles Metro Rail project. For the past month or so I've been hearing a lot about local residents opposing the Silver Line. The Silver Line of the Dulles Metrorail is expected to extend The Washington, D.C. area's public rail transport system or "the Metro" from Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and into the city of Ashburn at Ryan Road. You can see a map of the proposed stations here.
Phase 1 of this project is well underway and scheduled for completion in 2013 according to the Dulles Metrorail Project's Website. Phase 2 extends the rail from Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Ryan Road in Ashburn with stops at Reston Parkway, in Herndon/Monroe Street, Route 28, Dulles Airport and Route 606 ending at Ryan Road in Ashburn. according to their website, the proposed completion date for Phase II is 2016.
According to some comments I've seen in various articles and blogs, the opposition is not to the rail itself, but to the taxpayers bearing the financial burden of building the rail system. There are concerns that the cost of use on the Dulles Toll Road & The Greenway (Virginia Highway 267) will increase exponentially. Further, the use of PLA's (Project Labor Agreements) is expected to vastly increase construction costs, decrease the likelihood of Virginia workers getting these jobs, and reduce in-state competition due to the low number of Virginia Unions. For more information on this opposition, see the article here. The Reston Chamber of Commerce has also expressed opposition to these PLA's. You can read more about that here.
From a strictly Real Estate point of view, the Silver line means better access to two major airports as well as commuter options for residents who work in or near the District of Colombia. It means a likely increase in property value for residents in Herndon, Reston and Ashburn once it is completed. However, it is always interesting to see how these types of changes affect the community in which they occur during the building process.
For photos and updates on Dulles Metro Rail construction, click this link.
One of the great failures of the Metro debate in Fairfax & Loudoun is that no one has looked at the systemic effects of Metro on traffic, high tolls, etc. All they have looked at is how much money Metro-linked development will generate for county and property owner coffers. Shouldn't the new EAS look at these broader impacts? I don't know the answer to that question.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of the Loudoun effort that bothers me is that the BOS hasn't established a vision for eastern Loudoun's future, with or without Metro. What does the BOS envision the area should look like in 40-50-60 years? Nor, of course, have they looked at planning around the station areas and who will pay for the infrastructure needed there if Metro arrives--and, until the last week or so, financing arrangements for that infrastructure. My point would be: If you don't know where you want to go, why would you begin by making this large investment and entanglement? My sense is that they are only looking at $$$ (using the faulty and incomplete analysis by RCL & Fuller) and they haven't a clue about how the station areas would/should develop. That is really bad--no, it's "non-existent"--planning.