I think this article raised some really good questions - is it feasible? is it desirable? how much is it going to cost the taxpayer? what are the benefits? how will we measure the benefits? what if the benefits are not realized? will Metro help or hurt? can the streets be gridded to make it truly walkable? can there be a successful intra-tysons transit system? is the county going off again half-cocked?

Trying to turn Route 7 into a walkable boulevard with shops and cafes makes about as much sense as adding brick sidewalks to the Beltway and lining them with interesting boutiques!

Get real.

Major arterial roads are just that. They are by definition pedestrian unfriendly. Without removing the traffic, they will never be quiet, safe or friendly.

Where will the traffic go and what would happen if it did? Isn't Route 7 traffic the necessary evil to get shoppers to the Tyson's Malls?

Don't tell me via Metro, because the suburban shoppers using the Malls won't have reasonable access to parking anywhere near a station.

And don't tell me they will take a bus to a Metro Station. The main arguement against BRT is that train riders don't like to ride in buses.

As far as walkability with elevated rail, check out Alexandria's new walkable community developing near the elevated Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station.

Most of any future pedestrian friendly redevelopment of
Tysons Corner will have to take place away from the noise and grit of Route 7.

Look at Reston Town Center. They built a park in front of the Hyatt hotel to buffer the Town Center from the traffic of the 6 lane Reston Parkway.

Reston Town Center's main street is also substantially removed from the Dulles Toll Road and the future planned Metro station in the median. It is farther from the urban core of the region than Tysons. Could it be that Tysons simply represents the failure of government planning and zoning? Reston was given virtually complete zoning freedom within its own boundaries.

If Reston can develop a mixed-use pedestrian friendly environment without rail, why can't Tysons? It could if the government with their antiquated rules got out of the way.

One of the overlooked aspects of Arlington's success with TOD development is the additional freeway capacity that was added with the completion of I-66 through Arlington.

Without I-66 it is doubtful that there would be as much new residential or office development in the Rosslyn/Ballston corridor.

Just look at all the reverse commute on I-66 in rush hour and the new push for a third lane.

Arlington fought I-66 for years, but in the end it helped to revitalize its aging retail strips and turn them into dynamic mixed use centers.

Metro is only one element. Where are the new roads to Tysons that will help to accommodate this transformation to a "downtown"?

Everyone is forgetting one thing:

This is a safe way to increase taxes.