Pedestrians can now cross Westpark Drive to get to and from The Boro without having to walk over to the Greensboro Drive or Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) intersections.
A new High-Intensity Activated Crosswalk (HAWK) pedestrian beacon was installed at Boro Place, just outside Whole Foods, in June, one of a handful of accessibility improvements that The Boro’s developer promised to deliver with its expansion of the Tysons neighborhood.
Featuring a median and a button that activates a stop signal for drivers, the crosswalk breaks up a roughly 0.2-mile-long block and will eventually connect the existing development with the new buildings currently under construction.
“A safe connection for pedestrians to this expansion of The Boro neighborhood is part of our placemaking strategy of creating an inviting walkable destination even in the context of wider, busier streets like Westpark Drive,” The Meridian Group Senior Vice President Tom Boylan said in a statement.
The developer and Fairfax County “fought pretty hard” to get the Virginia Department of Transportation to allow the crossing, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik told FFXnow.
In response to accessibility concerns raised by residents, the Meridian Group agreed to provide the beacon as part of its plan to expand The Boro with 1.1 million square feet of additional residential and retail development on the north side of Westpark Drive.
Approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in November 2021, the plan also committed the developer to building the first three blocks of the Tysons Community Circuit, a 10-foot-wide recreational trail that will ultimately create a 4.75-mile-long loop through Tysons. Those blocks have now been completed, a spokesperson for The Boro confirmed.
Palchik says it’s been exciting to see the new pedestrian facilities fall into place.
“Already so many more people are using it,” she said of the circuit sections on Westpark Drive.
The first building in The Boro’s next phase — The Trillium, an apartment building for seniors developed by Silverstone Senior Living — is on track to open this summer. Located at the corner of Westpark and Broad Street, the 15-story high-rise will have 181 independent and assisted living units.
“The Trillium is currently open for tours and the community’s first residents will move in mid-August,” the Boro spokesperson said.
Silverstone has finished construction on a portion of Allsboro Park adjacent to Trillium between Broad Street and Boro Place. When completed, the publicly accessible park will extend through the center of the development up to Greensboro Drive.
Two more residential blocks and a third block that could either consist of townhouses or a health club have been approved for The Boro’s expansion, but those buildings don’t have a clear construction timeline yet.
