Traffic generated by Reston Town Center in northern

Traffic generated by Reston Town Center in northern Virginia is close to 50 percent lower than what would ordinarily be expected in a comparably sized suburban development, according to a traffic study by Wells & Associates. The study, funded by the developer and required by Fairfax County, identified trip reductions of 49.5 percent in the morning and 46 percent in the evening, compared to the Institute of Transportation Engineers industry standards. Although much of Reston has a conventional suburban layout, its town center features an 85-acre urban core designed according to new urbanist principles. This core has been the key to traffic reduction, according to Tom D’Alesandro of Terrabrook, the developer. One factor in the traffic reduction is the “synergy” between uses, the study concludes. For example, 70 percent of evening restaurant traffic is generated by pedestrians coming from the core. Likewise, 40 percent of the cinema patrons and up to 15 percent of the retail patrons were generated internally. Other factors are the concentration of uses and the public transportation system, D’Alesandro says. Reston’s urban core has more jobs within close proximity than the typical suburban office park, which enables more workers to participate in van and car pools, he explains. Frequent bus service connects the core to the entire town of Reston and the DC Metro system. Currently, 1.7 million commercial square feet have been built in the core, and 334 residential units. At buildout, the core will have 3.4 million square feet of commercial, and 1,030 residential units. Substantial additional office space is located within a quarter mile of the urban core, connected by pedestrian paths. The core was designed by Sasaki and RTKL.