Tysons Corner plan
Tysons Corner, one of America’s best-known, automobile-dependent edge cities, would become much more of a real city if a plan approved by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors is carried out. In late September the supervisors endorsed a plan from the Tysons Corner Land Use Task Force that envisions “city-style high-rises with urban-scale streets, sidewalks, restaurants and shops,” The Washington Post reported.
“It depends on the expected construction of four Metrorail stations in Tysons and is expected to take several decades before it is fully implemented,” The Post noted. Tall buildings and higher densities would be permitted near the rail stations, tapering to lower densities as they approach surrounding neighborhoods. There would be eight distinct neighborhoods. Parking would be reduced, with much of it placed underground. Two major roads through Tysons would be converted into tree-lined boulevards.
The Task Force recommendations include statements that sound very new urbanist, such as this: “Reduce the suburban focus on isolated buildings, surface parking and moving vehicles through Tysons to somewhere else and connect new buildings, urban parks, structured parking, and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations to form engaging streetscapes and connected neighborhoods.” The outcome will depend in part on details such as the sizes of the blocks and on what sort of implementation tool is used.
The vision does not resolve the question of whether extra money should be spent to run Metrorail through a tunnel. A group called TysonsTunnel.org continues to advocate a tunnel, and the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Sierra Club argue that a tunnel remains better than an elevated rail line.
