Nicole Raz
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Seven Corners in Fairfax County is what many call one of the most confusing places to drive; it’s the area where Arlington Boulevard, Leesburg Pike, Wilson Boulevard, Sleepy Hollow Road and Hillwood Avenue all converge.
A redevelopment proposal would get rid of that traffic spot all together by making it a “metro-dependent development,” says John Thillmann, who helped to create the proposal as co-chairman of the land use and transportation task force.
“If you walk from Seven Corners to the nearest metro station, which is East Falls Church, you can be there in 17 minutes. I’ve done it,” Thillmann said.
But 17 minutes is a long walk, and too long of a walk to be considered “metro centric,” says Catriona McCormack, with the Ravenwood Citizens’ Association.
“This development is more than a mile from the metro. It is, when you’re returning from the metro, an uphill walk, ” McCormack told WMAL. “It is not something that seniors, or families with strollers, or anybody with a disability could easily walk.”
McCormack said the redevelopment plan doesn’t include enough local roads and would be preparing the area for a level of density it can’t support.
“We are concerned that redevelopment — that will add huge numbers of families and doors — will move forward before the transportation infrastructure, the school infrastructure and other needed resources are provided to support it,” she said.
Thillmann said it is important to remember that the planning phase is still in its beginnings, and that urban planners know what they’re doing.
“People want to identity a place to put future schools — that typically doesn’t happen,” he told WMAL. “The planning horizon is 40 years out. What happens is as redevelopment occurs, and as students are generated, school sites are delineated and then budgets are put forward, money is allocated and schools are built.”
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Fairfax County Office of Community Revitalization)
