Rail service will usher in new bus routes, Fairfax Times, February 13, 2013

Final bus plan expected to be approved by the Board of Supervisors in July

by Kali Schumitz Staff writer

With the anticipated start of Metro Silver Line service now less than a year away, Fairfax County transportation staff are proposing the biggest change to Fairfax Connector bus service in decades.

Fairfax Connector staff are proposing to add 12 new routes, modify 21 routes and eliminate six routes in an effort to reorient existing bus service to the new rail stations. . .

At the final public comment session on the proposed changes in Reston Monday, some bus riders around the North Point area of Reston said the proposed changes will actually make it harder for them to take transit, not easier.

Reston resident Therese Martin said that service cutbacks due to budget cuts in recent years have already made it harder for her and her husband to get downtown without hopping in a car.

Others expressed concerns about the safety of bus riders as service is increased, as some bus stop locations in Reston are accessible by streets with no sidewalks or poor lighting.

“When you get off in the snow and the rain it is difficult when there are no sidewalks,” said Reston resident Kendall Jamison.

A committee of the Reston Citizens Association has also raised concerns that bus riders won’t wait until their bus gets to the Metro bus bays, due to the anticipated traffic congestion around the Wiehle station, and will instead hop off at a bus stop on Sunrise Valley Drive and access the station on foot. . . .

Click here for the rest of this article. 

UPDATE:  The article quoted above contains two significant factual errors:

• It says that the Reston Citizens Association raised the issue of safety on Sunrise Valley Drive if bus riders get off buses short of the station and try to cross the street.  This was not mentioned in the RCA paper nor by RCA people at the bus meetings.  Two Reston Association (RA)Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) members should get credit for raising this issue.
•  It says the North Reston Park&Ride lot "near the station" will close.  The lot that will close is the Town Center lot about a mile from the station.  The VDOT lot along Sunset Hills near the station will remain open to the best of our knowledge.  

The Reston Citizens Association (RCA) Board of Directors is hosting a special presentation by Fairfax Connector about the upcoming changes in Reston bus service at its February 25 Board of Directors meeting.  All Restonians are invited and encouraged to participate.  For more information, click here.

In a broader context, the RCA Board approved a white paper entitled "Wiehle Metro Station Access:  Congestion Ahead," which provides eleven recommendations to deal with the serious shortcomings in planning for the arrival of the Silver Line at Wiehle Avenue, including needed road, bus, bicycle, and pedestrian improvements.