After three years of preparation, the Tysons Corner Task Force will submit its final report to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors next month, but it won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on. Why? Because the redevelopment plan depends on revival of the all-but-moribund Dulles Rail project, and because the task force failed to resolve a key issue: What about the gridlock that will paralyze residential communities around Tysons Corner if projected traffic densities are approved, with or without Dulles Rail?
The task force projects a substantial increase in daily weekday traffic in an area already so heavily congested that commuters use low-volume residential streets to bypass miles of routine backups on the Beltway between Tysons Corner and the American Legion Bridge. Even without a comprehensive and detailed professional analysis of projected traffic volumes, it’s estimated that increasing density in Tysons will add a minimum of 10,000 more cars per day to Route 7 and Gallows Road. This is ludicrous when both thoroughfares can’t handle even 100 more cars during rush hour.
