Area Residents Receive Update on Herndon Metro Area Station Plan

The Herndon Council Chambers was packed with area residents who got to hear more about where the Town of Herndon is in the process of planning for the future Metro station on Monday night.

The evening included an update on the study area that is being looked at as well as information on a traffic study conducted by the consultants, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. and its partners. The evening started with consultants from VHB introducing the newest study area.

In January the Town Council and Planning Commission after landowners near the future Metro station said the closest area will be developed first, and it should be the focus of the study. After that, the portion of the study closest to Spring Street was referred to as the “long-term study area.”

The new area being studied includes floor area ratios closest to the Metro that start at 4.5 and scale down to 0.7 closer to the current residential neighborhoods. The properties closest to the area’s current residential neighborhoods are currently at a 0.7 FAR. ()

Floor area ratio, or FAR refers to the square footage of the building in relation to the lot, and is a measure of how dense a piece of land may be. For example an FAR of 1.0 would mean the square footage of the building would be the same amount as the square footage of the lot of land it sits on.

Consultant Warren Hughes of VHB presented the traffic study that was conducted recently, and how it would affect the new area plan. ()

In January the Town Council and Planning Commission discussed relocating Herndon Parkway slightly farther north to divert traffic away from the area where people will access the station to keep traffic moving. Hughes said they found it won’t be necessary to move Herndon Parkway because of traffic at the station, but the town may consider moving it for other reasons.

Hughes said one improvement that will be necessary by 2025 is an additional right turn lane going from northbound Van Buren Street onto eastbound Herndon Parkway. He said many would argue that is an improvement that is needed immediately.

At the intersection of Spring Street and Herndon Parkway there will also be some necessary changes by 2025. Those include:

• two lanes of widening on northbound Herndon Parkway, including an additional thru lane and an additional right turn  lane
• a barricade to separate those making left-hand turns from those going straight on westbound Spring Street
• an additional lane in each direction on Spring Street between Herndon Parkway and Fairfax County Parkway
• and reconfigurations from Spring Street onto Fairfax County Parkway and from Fairfax County Parkway onto Spring Street.

By 2035 an additional improvement would be needed that would connect current Worldgate Drive to Herndon Parkway with two lanes in each direction. This would also require westbound Herndon Parkway to be widened to make room for the Worldgate Drive extension.

Additionally, by 2035 Spring Street would require additional widening. Consultants suggested adding another eastbound lane from Victory Drive to Herndon Parkway.

Consultants said a financial feasibility study should be finished toward the end of the summer and then the plan will be further refined.

During the question and answer session many local residents in the full audience had questions. Many were curious about parking, whether there would be a garage on the Herndon side, how neighborhoods would be protected from people trying to park there and what is happening with the kiss-and-ride.

Town of Herndon Senior Planner Kay Robertson said the town does not have plans to build any parking on the north side, but that does not mean that landowners won’t create parking that could be available to area residents. She said the town will consider different options for protecting parking in area residential neighborhoods, such as permits.

Additionally, the town has created an item in its capital improvement program that will begin planning the funding for a kiss-and-ride at the Herndon side of the station.

One area resident asked why the breakdown of uses for the land didn’t include suggestions such as higher education. Currently the plan calls for three percent retail, 50 percent office, 41 percent residential, and 6 percent hotel. Robertson said they are using very broad categories and all types of uses will be considered once the plans become more detailed.

Another attendee commented that 3 percent retail use did not seem like enough to support the area, but Robertson said when you’re talking in figures of millions of square feet, three percent becomes a lot.

Some residents questioned the construction process, construction cleanup, who will pay for improvements to Fairfax County Parkway and other questions relating to the county. Town officials said those are questions that will need to be directed at Fairfax County, since the county and other organizations are handling those issues.

Consultants assured attendees that the plan is being looked at on a broad level, but once the details begin to be decided upon there will be more information about walkability, trails and bicycle use, and other issues relating to non-vehicular transportation to and from the Herndon Metro.

Former Herndon Councilman Richard Downer presented a map and the idea of a circular trolley or bus on Herndon Parkway that would help bring people from their own neighborhoods to the station. He said a significant portion of the town would be able to get to the station without getting in their cars. He said he has been working on the plan with Vice Mayor Lisa Merkel.

The next time the Herndon Metrorail Station Area Plan will be discussed will be at the June 13 Planning Commission meeting. The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. in the Mary Ingram Council Chambers, 765 Lynn St.