An increased fee for non-riders is one option reportedly being considered to ease traffic and parking constraints at the West Falls Church Metro station in Idylwood.
Traditionally one of Metro’s sleepiest stops, the West Falls Church station has become a hub of activity in recent months due to simultaneous construction on three different developments.
Issues with vehicles parking illegally and construction traffic blocking drivers looking to park at the Metro station have increasingly become a headache over the past few weeks, according to one commuter.
“More cars are illegally parked,” Peter Sinclair told FFXnow on March 25. “They are happy to hold up commuter traffic in the morning rush to ease the access of building site vehicles and that’s lead to frustrations on both sides, with some of the workers flipping off drivers who even ask questions.”
This past Tuesday (March 31), Sinclair says he encountered five different vehicles parked on a portion of the access road off Falls Church Drive that’s supposed to be off limits, as indicated by a “no parking at any time” sign and striped markings on the pavement. Two of the vehicles were still present when he returned in the afternoon.
Perhaps contributing to the illegal parking trend, community members have reported challenges with finding parking since construction started last fall on mixed-use development from Falls Church Gateway Partners, a team that includes the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and developers EYA and Rushmark Properties.
Bringing over 1 million square feet of development, including 810 apartments, 82 townhomes, and new office and retail space, the project will eventually replace all of the station’s surface parking, permanently eliminating approximately 550 to 650 spots. It’s also adding new bus shelters and reconfiguring the bus and Kiss & Ride loops.
The north parking lot and a portion of the south lot have been closed since Nov. 17 for construction activities, which are currently focused on a temporary bus lane and two new roads for the Metro station and future neighborhood called Amber Crescent Way and Intrepid Alley.
The parking garage’s first floor also remains closed for renovations, including new lighting and security cameras and the installation of license plate readers, according to WMATA.
The license plate reader technology might be for a new payment system, but a Metro spokesperson didn’t directly confirm that.
“Metro is exploring new technologies and policies for our parking garages, and we will announce details at a later time,” Metro said.
Parking was further limited earlier this year by snow and ice accumulation on the garage’s top deck, though on average, 15% of the structure’s 1,300 spaces were open during March, Metro said.
“More spaces will reopen later this summer,” Metro added, when the garage renovation is on track to finish.
Per notices posted at the station, work on Intrepid Alley to the south of the garage will also be completed by the end of July, opening up a new entrance and exit location for the garage. Construction is expected to continue on Amber Crescent Way and new bus shelters through October.
Students, construction workers using Metro garage
Complaints about insufficient parking at the West Falls Church Metro station were flagged in early March by the McLean Citizens Association (MCA), which worried that commuters are getting displaced by employees with contractors working on the Metro site and nearby HITT Contracting headquarters and West Falls developments as well as Meridian High School students.
“The MCA is concerned that extensive use of the parking garage by drivers other than those who are using the Metro threatens to undercut this expectation, to the detriment of Metro users,” the civic organization said in a March 4 letter to Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman.
The parking situation at Meridian High School has been volatile since the new campus opened in fall 2021, according to The Lasso, the school’s student newspaper.
Initially split between two lots until construction on an existing lot could finish, students led a walkout to demand more parking spaces. At first, the school granted more unused spaces to both seniors and juniors before limiting the privilege to seniors only in the 2023-2024 school year.
Juniors were permitted to use a parking lot on Virginia Tech’s adjacent Northern Virginia Center campus for a fee, but that facility was demolished in early 2025 for HITT’s new headquarters project, prompting students to instead start using the West Falls Church Metro parking.
In its letter to Bierman, MCA urged the supervisor to work with Falls Church City to find alternative parking options for students:
It would seem that the City should address this problem by providing for student parking in the City’s multiple parking garages on Haycock Road rather than allowing the consequences of inadequate parking there to fall on commuters who use the [West Falls Church] Metro garage. The primary purpose of this garage is to provide parking for Metro commuters, not to displace commuter parking by allowing a substantial number of non-metro users to park in this garage.
The Lasso reported in February that Meridian High School had already partnered with the West Falls development in December to provide 100 spots in one of its garages to students until the current school year ends in June, though MCA’s letter suggests that didn’t fully eliminate the spillover into the Metro station garage.
MCA Transportation Committee Chair Glenn Harris confirmed to FFXnow that the association has also received complaints about construction workers parking in the Metro garage.
In a statement, Bierman said his office began receiving reports of inadequate parking for the Metro station in early February, leading his staff to contact WMATA and the developers EYA and Rushmark.
Metro confirmed that it has seen an increase in non-Metro riders using the garage, including construction riders and students. The transit agency is now planning to institute a non-rider fee to discourage people from parking there if they’re not taking a train or bus, according to Bierman.
“In essence, WMATA would charge these users higher rate to dissuade their use of the garage,” he explained. “Payment would be determined by whether or not someone initiates a Metro ride. WMATA is working through the technology on this and is looking to implement soon.”
Metro didn’t comment on when the fee might take effect, stating only, as previously mentioned, that it’s exploring new policies and technology for its garages.
In addition, Falls Church Gateway Partners (FCGP) agreed to provide more parking in its construction site for construction workers, according to Bierman. That process was underway, as of March 26.
The supervisor noted that traffic at the Metro station has been affected by a closure of the access road off of Haycock Road, requiring all drivers to detour onto Falls Church Drive.
“Some delays will occur due to construction traffic but County inspectors are working to reduce impacts as much as possible,” Bierman said. “My office will continue to monitor this matter and work with the County, WMATA, and FCGP to make further adjustments if needed.”
Concerns about the new construction and development’s impacts on traffic and parking cropped up consistently while Fairfax County was reviewing both the FCGP project and its plans for the broader West Falls Church Transit Station Area.
Informed by a study of the area’s transportation network, the county ultimately secured commitments from the developers to implement several improvements, including the addition of a shared-use trail on Haycock Road over I-66, new crosswalks on Falls Church Drive, and reconfigurations of Haycock Road’s intersections with Great Falls Street and Grove Avenue.
According to WMATA, the completed development will still have more than 1,400 parking spaces for residents, workers, visitors and commuters.
