Weekend Discussion: Are You Really Done With Reston Town Center?

Reston Town Center is going to a paid parking system on Aug. 1. While RTC owners Boston Properties has softened on employee parking — retail and restaurant workers will get passes — it is going to cost $2 an hour for the rest of us (though many places say they will offer some validation).

Parking will be free on and weekends. But a weeknight dinner, a Wednesday business meeting or a free concert with Mr. Knick Knack on a Monday morning are all going to cost you.

Boston Properties says the paid system, managed by an app, is necessary to cut down on commuter parking now that the Metro is in Reston. But Boston Properties executives have also said on earnings calls that they can make tens of millions of dollars by charging for parking.

Here is what many consumers say: that they are done with Reston Town Center. More than 5,000 have signed petitions urging Boston Properties to reconsider. Hundreds have commented on Reston Now’s Facebook page that they will never visit on a weekday again if it means paying for parking.

Others say it is just as easy to go to restaurants at One Loudoun or Tysons, where parking remains free. But won’t more gas to get there actually cost you more than paying a couple of bucks to park at RTC?

What say you? Are you really going to avoid Reston Town Center come August?