Group is Laying Out Future of Reston Transportation

Reston is becoming a transit-oriented community, so the streets surrounding transit centers should be laid out urban style.

Without connecting streets the provide better pedestrian, car and bike access, Reston traffic jams could be a much worse problem in the future.

That’s what will be discussed tonight at a meting of the Reston Network Analysis Group. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at Lake Anne Elementary School, 11510 North Shore Dr.

The Reston Master Plan calls for an urban-style layout of streets near Silver Line stations at Wiehle-Reston East and Reston Town Center (which will open in 2020). County officials have organized the Reston Network Analysis Advisory Group to get feedback from citizens about about the plans for the street grid.

The new street layout is one of a number of transportation improvements planned for Reston. Among the others: a Soapstone extension to carry cars across the Dulles Toll Road and alleviate traffic on main roads such as Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive; and a Capital Bikeshare network slated to open in about a year.

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins has appointed an advisory group made up of citizens and development reps to study the new street grid layout.

The group has been looking at existing conditions, and is especially concerned with mitigating congestions on Reston Parkway; Sunrise Valley at the Fairfax County Parkway; Spring Street at Fairfax County Parkway; and Rock Hill Bridge (Herndon).

The analysis group has been studying what traffic will be like in Reston in 2050 if congestion is unmitigated. The group is using a figure of 100,000,000 square feet of development, more than three times what it is today.

The group determined that 42 key intersections in Reston will be at an “F” grade for traffic movement.

Take a look at the existing conditions report here: