(Updated at 12:10 p.m. on 3/9/2023) A plan to reconfigure the West Falls Church Metro station’s parking and bus facilities in anticipation of redevelopment will soon be finalized.

The finance and capital committee of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Board of Directors is set to vote tomorrow (Thursday) on whether to accept a staff report recommending the proposed changes, which would significantly reduce the number of parking spaces and bus bays at the station in Idylwood.

Based on feedback from an online survey and a public hearing in October, staff concluded that no revisions to Metro’s original plan are needed, according to the report, which was posted on WMATA’s website in February.

“Staff recommends approval of the proposed changes to the West Falls Church Metro Station needed to facilitate joint development adjacent to the Curtis Memorial Parkway (I-66),” the report says. “Staff finds that there should be no revisions to the proposed transit facility changes as a result of the Compact Public Hearing and staff report analysis.”

The developer group FGCP-Metro LLC intends to replace the station parking lots at 7040 Haycock Road with over 1 million square feet of residential, office and retail space, a project that supporters hope will bolster ridership and revitalize the community with new amenities.

To accommodate the development, Metro has proposed:

• Eliminating the south parking lot, which will drop the park-and-ride capacity from 2,009 to 1,350 spots
• Replacing the kiss-and-ride lot, reducing its capacity from 64 to about 20 spaces
• Reducing bus capacity from eight bays to four bays
• Eliminating 68 paid on-street metered parking spaces

The station’s 1,200-space parking garage will stay. A future phase of development will replace the north parking lot with office and residential buildings, but that construction isn’t expected for another decade.

According to the staff report, WMATA received a total of 170 public comments on the proposal, all but two of them through its online survey or comment portal. Those two comments came at the Oct. 19 public hearing.

Echoing testimony shared at a Fairfax County Planning Commission public hearing on Feb. 8, about half of the comments (51%) were in favor of the redevelopment, saying it will benefit the neighborhood more than the existing, “underutilized” parking lots.

An environmental evaluation commissioned by Metro found that the West Falls Church station has seen a 35% drop in utilization of its park-and-ride facilities since the Silver Line’s first phase opened in 2014.

Other commenters expressed concern about the parking and bus bay reductions. Some opposed eliminating any parking spaces, while others advocated for keeping more kiss-and-ride spots or suggested building a garage so parking can be retained without taking up as much land. Read More

The nearly 24-acre, mixed-use development planned for the West Falls Church Metro station will come with at least a few upgrades to the surrounding transportation network in Idylwood, if it’s approved.

Developers EYA, Rushmark Properties, and Hoffman & Associates — known collectively as FGCP-Metro LLC — have agreed to construct a shared-use trail along the north side of Haycock Road over I-66, according to a draft proffer agreement in Fairfax County’s Jan. 24 staff report on the development plans.

The proposed trail would replace the road’s existing asphalt sidewalk and one of its westbound lanes. It would be at least 10 feet wide — exceeding the 8 feet recommended by a county study of the area’s pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.

A concept plan shows the trail being separated from the road by a 3-foot-wide jersey barrier on the I-66 bridge and a guardrail and buffer strip to the east of the bridge. With the trail, the developers would also add a crosswalk across Turner Avenue, where the trail would begin.

Under the proffers, which are conditions tied to the development, the Haycock Metrorail Connector Trail must open before the county issues a 40th residential-use permit for the townhouses planned on the Metro station site, though the deadline can be deferred if needed to get required approvals and easements.

Other improvements that the developers say they’ll provide include:

• Falls Church Drive: pedestrian crosswalks, installation of pedestrian-actuated signalization, and modifications to the existing median, including an eastbound left turn lane
• Haycock and Great Falls Street intersection: an exclusive left-turn lane and a single shared through/right-turn lane in each direction along Haycock
• A right-turn lane along Grove Avenue at its intersection with Haycock Road
• An extension of West Falls Station Blvd through the Metro property, with $2 million offered to help pay for the new road’s construction in Falls Church City’s nearby West Falls development
• On-road bicycle lanes on both sides of West Falls Station Blvd
• Up to four bus shelters
• A concrete pad for a future Capital Bikeshare station

The developers have also agreed to conduct a traffic signal timing analysis and contribute $20,000 that the county can use to install traffic signal preemption devices on traffic lights within a 5-mile radius of the development site.

The development’s traffic impacts have been a top concern for many in the community, who argue that the existing infrastructure is insufficient even without the over 1 million square feet of residential, office and retail space that FGCP-Metro hopes to build on the Metro station’s parking lots at 7040 Haycock Road.

Another 820,000 square feet of development has been proposed on Virginia Tech’s adjacent Northern Virginia Center campus.

Metro’s West Falls Church redevelopment will bring up to 810 multifamily units, 90 townhomes, and a 110,000 square feet office building with up to 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

The developers intend to build the project’s eight blocks in four phases. Individual plans have been submitted for the grid of streets, townhouses, the office building and one multifamily building, along with two proposed parks, but the blocks could be completed in any order under the proffer agreement.

Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust’s office will hold a virtual community meeting on the project at 7 p.m. today (Tuesday). The application is set to go to the Fairfax County Planning Commission for a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Metro has announced its plan for commuters during its major Blue and Yellow Line construction this fall.

For Fairfax County, the project will primarily affect residents in the south, with the Franconia and Huntington stations among those scheduled to close for a month. Free shuttle buses will be available to and from the affected stations, Metro said in a press release.

Unfolding in two phases over eight months starting Sept. 10, the construction includes connecting the future Potomac Yard station to the main rail system and rehabilitating a Yellow Line tunnel and bridge between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza stations.

Fairfax County leaders previously urged the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency to accelerate the project timeline and provide more alternatives to limit the impact of the closure.

Phase one

Seven free shuttles will be offered between Sept. 10 and Oct. 22. Virginia will have local and express shuttles as well as three limited-stop shuttles crossing the Potomac River, according to Metro.

During that time there will be no Yellow Line rail service, and no rail service at all south of Reagan National Airport station.

• Local shuttles will be available during all Metrorail operating hours.
  • Blue Line Local: Between Franconia, Van Dorn Street, King Street, Braddock Road, and Reagan National Airport stations every 10-20 minutes
  • Yellow Line Local: Between Huntington, Eisenhower Avenue, King Street, Braddock Road, and Crystal City stations every 10-15 minutes

• Express shuttles will be available from 4:30 a.m.-9 p.m. during the week and 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m on weekends.
  • Blue Line Express: Franconia-Pentagon Express service between Franconia and Pentagon stations every six minutes
  • Yellow Line Express: Huntington-Pentagon Express service between Huntington and Pentagon stations every six minutes

• Limited shuttles will be available during weekday rush hours only.
  • VA-DC Shuttle 1: Between Crystal City, Pentagon City, Smithsonian, and L’Enfant Plaza stations every 12 minutes
  • VA-DC Shuttle 2: Between Pentagon, Smithsonian, and Archives stations every 12 minutes
  • VA-DC Shuttle 3: Between Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, and Potomac Park stations every 20 minutes. Peak direction service only.

Metro will also beef up Blue Line service between Reagan National Airport and New Carrollton, with trains departing every seven to nine minutes. That will change to every 15 minutes after 9:30 p.m.

But Blue Line customers traveling between Pentagon and L’Enfant stations should plan on about 15 minutes of extra travel time, the release said.

Green Line trains will operate every eight minutes, switching to every 10 minutes after 9:30 p.m.

Phase two

Between Oct. 23 and May 2023, all stations will reopen and service will resume south of the National Airport station, as work continues on a portion of the Yellow Line north of the station.

During that time, Blue Line trains will operate every 12 minutes between Largo Town Center and Franconia and every 12 minutes between Huntington and New Carrollton, shifting to every 15 minutes after 9:30 p.m. Green Line trains will operate every eight minutes, but every 10 minutes after 9:30 p.m.

Three limited-stop shuttles crossing the Potomac River will continue during weekday rush hours only, the release said.

• VA-DC Shuttle 1: Crystal City-L’Enfant: Service between Crystal City, Pentagon City, Smithsonian, and L’Enfant Plaza stations every 12 minutes. Shuttle does not stop at Pentagon Station

• VA-DC Shuttle 2: Pentagon-Archives: Service between Pentagon, Smithsonian, and Archives stations every 12 minutes

• VA-DC Shuttle 3: Mt. Vernon-Potomac Park (11Y Route): Service between Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, and Potomac Park every 20 minutes. Peak direction service only

Photo via WMATA/Twitter