‘Walkable’ Steps Into Spotlight, New York Times, December 1, 2011

This article from the New York Times highlights the importance of walkability to aging in place--a key initiative of Supervisor Hudgins for Reston--as well as pedestrian and bicyclist safety. 

By MARCELLE S. FISCHLER

WALKABILITY is an asset of an increasing number of (Long) Island communities as the fabric of suburbia changes, and it was a must for Judy Rosenthal, a health care writer from Great Neck, when she recently sought a new home for her mother not far from her own.

The mother, who doesn’t drive, will soon be relocating from Brooklyn, where transportation and shopping are both easily accessible. “Everything is walkable in Brooklyn,” Ms. Rosenthal said, “and that was the criterion for making a move. It is possible for her to move out of the boroughs, into the suburbs, because of the walkability Great Neck has. . .

. . . The goal of more walkable communities, with village centers close to mass transit, is being pursued statewide by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who in August signed  “Complete Streets” legislation to make roads safer and more accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchair users. . . .

Kathy Kmonicek for The New York Times

Pedestrians stroll through a new median strip on Great Neck Road, which was narrowed to one lane from two, each way.

So why not in Reston--and Tysons where the just drafted urban design guidelines appear not to meet this need--and the rest of Fairfax County?