tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post3757243099753749846..comments2024-02-29T14:00:40.184-05:00Comments on Restonian: News blog from Reston, Virginia, the mauve-colored New Town (tm): Behold Reston's Future: A Nightmarish Hellscape of Parking Garages and Upscale ApartmentsRestonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15519884797760354007noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-24786139528283171042011-06-20T16:10:16.008-04:002011-06-20T16:10:16.008-04:00Anon 6:57: the parking at the Herndon Harris Teete...Anon 6:57: the parking at the Herndon Harris Teeter is a zoo. I have stopped shoping there. Can't afford the bodywork from every time I get scraped by a SUV.scubadivernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-59361733613588688552011-06-18T18:57:14.969-04:002011-06-18T18:57:14.969-04:00The Harris Teeter in Herndon has underground parki...The Harris Teeter in Herndon has underground parking, and it doesn't bother me at all. In fact, on a sunny day it's pretty nice to have your car in the shade!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-88017734205501987732011-06-18T07:33:24.547-04:002011-06-18T07:33:24.547-04:00another fad promoted by the snake oil types.
&quo...another fad promoted by the snake oil types.<br /><br />"Crowded Washington region?" Get serious. Fairfax population density 2,500 per square mile. <br /><br />Compared to Wyoming, yeah may be. <br /><br />Compared to Manhattan (250,000 per square mile daytime) not so much.<br /><br />single and dinks (double income no kids) love the freedom from grass cutting given by high rise tenements but as soon as little tykes appear the nesting instinct and desire for "their own back yard" will have Mom and Dad doing the Sunday ride with the Realtor (c).<br /><br />As long as surveys have asked the question, 80% of Americans want a single family detached home on its own patch of land. That answer goes back at least 70% years. Some historians track it back 170 years in the US and others track it back to the Romans.<br /><br />Do we need more multi-family? Yes. We didn't have enough in FFX to meet the 20% of families who want that product before the recent crash. And builders are building them because no bank is lending for singles until all of the foreclosures are worked through. That will happen over the next 4-5 years.<br /><br />There's just not enough land in Fairfax planned and zoned for single family housing to meet the needs of the workers that will be attracted to the offices that will eventually come to the TODs.<br /><br />No, it doesn't need to be a 5,000 square foot particle board mcmasion on 3 acres. Nor a 900 square foot Levittown box on an eighth of an acre postage stamp. <br /><br />But over time, 80% of all new housing will continue to be single family. The only question is how far will our exclusionary land use policies force people to travel from those jobs to get that house?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-91352622220259505532011-06-17T21:34:31.389-04:002011-06-17T21:34:31.389-04:00If your a planner hoping to way change the way peo...If your a planner hoping to way change the way people behave for the better, you can try to make the transition as smooth as possible by contemplating quality of life issues, or you can simply discard quality of life concerns, claim moral superiority, and chastise concerned citizens as lessor beings.<br /><br />Several examples:<br />- If you want more people to take the metro, you can provide enough parking to actually get to the metro station. You can build up the road infrastructure near the metro station. Or, you can build a tiny garage, raise the toll road fees to outrageous levels, and add high rises without supporting road infrastructure.<br /><br />- If you want more people to accept parking garages, you can build a well designed garage that can be easily traversed. Or, you can build a crappy garage with one entrance, tiny turning radiuses (radii?), small parking spaces, and endless turning.<br /><br />Should be interesting to see what these urban planners do for Reston. I am sure they'll have our best interests in mind.schmoenoreply@blogger.com