Walkable Vienna vs. Walkable Falls Church City

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, what could have been. If only the Old Timers running Falls Church in the 70's had insisted (like Arlington wisely did) that the future Metro stops need to be underground and entrances located on Broad Street (Rt 7). Now THAT would have meant a truly walkable city. Would have made sense for Vienna as well.

It would have meant a completely different location for the Metro stop in Vienna (off 123 rather than off 66 near Oakton HS). The Vienna station is for commuters parking in a big garage, not anyone trying to visit the Town of Vienna.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

For mot people being close to the trail means a long bike ride.

[Anonymous]

We just moved away from Falls Church - it's walkable, but the roads have become increasingly busy. It used to be a pleasant walk down Park to get to the community center or the stores on Broad St., but now even Park has become a bit of a zoo. I feel like all of the "mixed use" buildings are only going to make things busier and less pedestrian-friendly. But something has to pay for our infrastructure and the schools (which are stellar), so people live with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, what could have been. If only the Old Timers running Falls Church in the 70's had insisted (like Arlington wisely did) that the future Metro stops need to be underground and entrances located on Broad Street (Rt 7). Now THAT would have meant a truly walkable city. Would have made sense for Vienna as well.

You'll notice that both the East and West Falls Church metro stations are not in FCC (East is in Arlington, West is in Fairfax County). The leaders of whom you speak didn't want the metro stop in their "little city" and I feel confident that the current leaders wouldn't have agreed to it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in both, having recently moved from FCC near the new Founders Row to Vienna, a short stroll from Maple Street. All the construction in Falls Church is adding traffic and chaos, while not really adding much to the character. Vienna feels much more relaxed. There are definitely places within Falls Church City I miss (Cherry Hill Park, Godfrey's, Four Provibces). But, Vienna has a a lot of wonderful places too, especially for foodies.

I'm the other PP who recently moved from Falls Church to Vienna. Agree with this 100 percent. We lived about a block off Haycock and the construction bs just never stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The walkability of both these places is vastly overhyped by people who have apparently never lived in a truly walkable town or city. In each case, there is a lot of retail concentrated along a single street (Route 123 in Vienna and Route 7 in Falls Church City). Vienna residents also overhype Church Street, which is parallel to Route 223 and has a very small amount of additional retail.

FCC is more expensive because it’s closer to DC, but not because it’s much more walkable. Notably, neither area has a Metro station in the core retail area. The Vienna Metro is off Route 66 outside the Town of Vienna and the two Falls Church Metro stations are in Arlington and Fairfax Counties, not Falls Church City.

Technically correct.

My FCC house, however, was an 8 min walk from WFC metro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

Yes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just moved away from Falls Church - it's walkable, but the roads have become increasingly busy. It used to be a pleasant walk down Park to get to the community center or the stores on Broad St., but now even Park has become a bit of a zoo. I feel like all of the "mixed use" buildings are only going to make things busier and less pedestrian-friendly. But something has to pay for our infrastructure and the schools (which are stellar), so people live with it.

Multiple neighbors moved away due to the traffic on our residential street in FCC. Granted, it's a metro cut-through, so there's more traffic than on the average street. But I'd put it akin to Park. The population density just keeps going up, and the traffic keeps increasing, and the character of the area is very changed from what it was when we moved in in 2009. The quiet is gone. On our street anyway.

[Anonymous]

Everyone wants easy access to Metro, but no sane homeowner wants a Metro station next door (unless it’s a commercial property). That’s why there isn’t a station in Georgetown and why Vienna FFC located the stations where they did. I love being able to take the Viennna Metro into DC without have to deal with all the headaches of having the station on Rt 123.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

Yes, I guess that is one way to look at it! But if you aren't using the Vienna area of the W&OD trail you may not understand how it actually is:

There is not one time when I was on the trail that I have not run into someone I know from Vienna. The W&OD trail cuts through the heart of town in Vienna (alongside the Vienna Community Center and right through the Town Green) and is extremely social. It is awesome to walk down the trail to the Caboose Tavern on a gorgeous night, which is literally feet off the W&OD, and meet friends for drinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone wants easy access to Metro, but no sane homeowner wants a Metro station next door (unless it’s a commercial property). That’s why there isn’t a station in Georgetown and why Vienna FFC located the stations where they did. I love being able to take the Viennna Metro into DC without have to deal with all the headaches of having the station on Rt 123.

Plenty of sane homeowners who live near the Clarendon and Virginia Square stations in Arlington would beg to disagree.

The Vienna station is fine as long as you realize the station is more in the nature of a commuter rail station than a station primarily intended for the use of nearby residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

Yes, I guess that is one way to look at it! But if you aren't using the Vienna area of the W&OD trail you may not understand how it actually is:

There is not one time when I was on the trail that I have not run into someone I know from Vienna. The W&OD trail cuts through the heart of town in Vienna (alongside the Vienna Community Center and right through the Town Green) and is extremely social. It is awesome to walk down the trail to the Caboose Tavern on a gorgeous night, which is literally feet off the W&OD, and meet friends for drinks.

I used to live very close to the W&OD trail in Vienna and this type of puffery still makes me barf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone wants easy access to Metro, but no sane homeowner wants a Metro station next door (unless it’s a commercial property). That’s why there isn’t a station in Georgetown and why Vienna FFC located the stations where they did. I love being able to take the Viennna Metro into DC without have to deal with all the headaches of having the station on Rt 123.

Plenty of sane homeowners who live near the Clarendon and Virginia Square stations in Arlington would beg to disagree.

The Vienna station is fine as long as you realize the station is more in the nature of a commuter rail station than a station primarily intended for the use of nearby residents.

Totally different area. I lived in an apt building 2 mins from the Clarendon metro for a couple of years and loved the convenience. But that was apartment living, and as a young professional my life was all about convenience and being able to get to work easily.

I have now lived in both FCC and Vienna, and it's totally different situation when you own an actual house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in the Town of Vienna, less than half a mile from Maple Ave, and I can and do easily walk to the following locations:

W&OD Trail

So you can walk to a place to walk?

Yes, I guess that is one way to look at it! But if you aren't using the Vienna area of the W&OD trail you may not understand how it actually is:

There is not one time when I was on the trail that I have not run into someone I know from Vienna. The W&OD trail cuts through the heart of town in Vienna (alongside the Vienna Community Center and right through the Town Green) and is extremely social. It is awesome to walk down the trail to the Caboose Tavern on a gorgeous night, which is literally feet off the W&OD, and meet friends for drinks.

I used to live very close to the W&OD trail in Vienna and this type of puffery still makes me barf.

I don't know what to say then. It is our reality.
(and who over the age of 13 still uses the word barf?? - grow up)