Keep Parking Free at Reston Town Center

[Anonymous]

are they going to charge to park across the street by the Container Store too? It's right across the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are they going to charge to park across the street by the Container Store too? It's right across the street.

That parking lot is always a zoo because of that Best Buy.

[Anonymous]

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We go there for restaurants and stores. But we've also go out there for events such as the Gingerbread Man Mile race, Chalk Festival, kids music performances. If I have to pay for parking we'll just go to Fairfax Corner.

How much do you pay for those things? What percent more would it cost if the parking garage started charging fees?

Do you seriously pay for parking every time you go to the mall?

I do...

Us too, we use the valet at Tyson's almost every time.

Why do you pay for valet parking at Tyson's? There is plenty of parking in multiple garages.

gee, let me think, uhh - convenience. Yeah, that's definitely it.


Just to cut you off at the pass, I am not obese, and I am not lazy - I get plenty of exercise. I just want to be able to get in my car and drive away from the mall without trudging through the garage.

It costs $5 plus tip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They tried to work out a compromist at Rockville Town Square (which is near a metro); they charge for parking--but you can get 2 hours of free parking if you have one of the store staff scan your parking receipt.

Not as big of a pain as it sounds, but the parking charges at many places in MD do keep me away from the retail and restaurants. Reston Town Center is pretty nice, but they need to work out some sort of parking solution for people who are popping in to eat or buy something at one of the stores, not park there all day.

It's still not free parking though. You don't have to pay when you park, but somebody is paying for it -- namely, the stores and the county (i.e., the taxpayers)). For example, for library parking, you get to park for "free" because the county pays the owner of the Rockville Town Center garage an annual payment. (Meanwhile, if you take the bus to the library, you have to pay for it.)

Of course it's not "free" but it is free for me, the consumer, to attract me to come there to the shops and restaurants (or the library) for a limited period of time. Otherwise, if the parking wasn't "free" for 2 hours, I would not visit Rockville Town Square, would never go to that particular library branch, and would just go somewhere else instead. There are plenty of other restaurants and shops with free parking down Rockville Pike. The Whole Foods in North Bethesda does something similar--you can park in the garage for 2 hours but any longer and you have to pay, as I found out the hard way.

RTC should consider something like this if they decide to charge for parking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to reston before there were garages. There was just a big lot behind rio grande. (we have since left reston for another house, but can get to rtc in about 15 minutes)

Again, if they can figure out how to make it so I don't have to pay for parking when I want to take my child there for a little weekday excursion, fine. I sometimes just go there to window shop, kid plays in the fountains, maybe we grab a small meal. But being asked to pay to park there is going to send me to fairfax corner, which is about the same distance. That would be a shame.

For whom?

For RTC.
Who's writing these asinine replies? Arguing over how free parking isn't really "free". Come on, you know what pp meant.

Oh wait. Spring break has probably started in VA. That explains it.

New poster here. Why would it be a shame for RTC? It doesn't sound like you spend much money there-- you window shop, have your child play and "maybe" buy a "small meal." The way you describe your visits, you not going there will not be a loss for them or their tenants.

[Anonymous]

I'd rather not have to go to indoor malls when the weather is nice, and I don't always want to go to a playground or park. It limits options for families/friends during the week - we'd use RTC as a meetup point and decide on what to do when we got there. Usually a meal somewhere, maybe some shopping then some gelato or ice cream or something. Sometimes a stop at the Apple store to play games on the kids' section computers.

There is also a small art gallery that offers kids activities there.

RTC has built itself in part as a family friendly destination, and if they do this, it does drive away a certain type of patron. Maybe they aren't particularly high dollar patrons (although I've seen PLENTY of fancy strollers and moms decked out in designer wear), but they have made RTC what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather not have to go to indoor malls when the weather is nice, and I don't always want to go to a playground or park. It limits options for families/friends during the week - we'd use RTC as a meetup point and decide on what to do when we got there. Usually a meal somewhere, maybe some shopping then some gelato or ice cream or something. Sometimes a stop at the Apple store to play games on the kids' section computers.

There is also a small art gallery that offers kids activities there.

RTC has built itself in part as a family friendly destination, and if they do this, it does drive away a certain type of patron. Maybe they aren't particularly high dollar patrons (although I've seen PLENTY of fancy strollers and moms decked out in designer wear), but they have made RTC what it is.

It will still be friendly to families - families who come on weekends, families who bike there or take the bus, families who are willing pay to park and families who are willing to park half a mile or more away and walk (I know that is not easy with a toddler, but not all families have toddlers).

Just won't be so friendly to the families who must have free parking right there on a weekday.

I can think of a lot of places that I would visit more if they offered free coffee. Maybe I should start a change.org petition to get that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to reston before there were garages. There was just a big lot behind rio grande. (we have since left reston for another house, but can get to rtc in about 15 minutes)

Again, if they can figure out how to make it so I don't have to pay for parking when I want to take my child there for a little weekday excursion, fine. I sometimes just go there to window shop, kid plays in the fountains, maybe we grab a small meal. But being asked to pay to park there is going to send me to fairfax corner, which is about the same distance. That would be a shame.

+1. Sometimes we go there to hang out and have coffee, sometimes we're just there to do window shopping or check out an event, other times we're there to have a nice dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We moved to reston before there were garages. There was just a big lot behind rio grande. (we have since left reston for another house, but can get to rtc in about 15 minutes)

Again, if they can figure out how to make it so I don't have to pay for parking when I want to take my child there for a little weekday excursion, fine. I sometimes just go there to window shop, kid plays in the fountains, maybe we grab a small meal. But being asked to pay to park there is going to send me to fairfax corner, which is about the same distance. That would be a shame.

+1. Sometimes we go there to hang out and have coffee, sometimes we're just there to do window shopping or check out an event, other times we're there to have a nice dinner.

And if weekday visits from families who arrive by car to have hang out, have coffee, or window-shop, and who insist on no-pay parking, are important to RTC, then RTC will figure out a way to continue weekday no-pay parking for such families on such visits.

But possibly such visits from such families aren't that important to RTC, or are less important than other things.

[Anonymous]

There is also a movie theater there. Most people in the burbs don't want to pay to park at a movie theater.

[Anonymous]

If the weekday families aren't important, then a good portion of their weekday traffic is cut. And they will have to cancel the daytime performances by children's acts in the pavilion.

My feeling is that they will find a solution here that will allow for casual daytime shopping and meet ups while still deterring commuters.

[Anonymous]

Well it's happening - Reston Town Center is ending Free Parking:

http://patch.com/virginia/reston/reston-town-center-announces-huge-change-parking-area

[Anonymous]

Guess we're done with RTC now. Fairfax it is

[Anonymous]

I live in Reston, and here are the reasons I am opposed to the parking fees:
- Aside from the Metro station, none of the other shopping centers in the Reston area charge for parking. Neither do any of the malls that are closest to RTC (Fair Oaks, Dulles Town Center, Tysons I and Tysons II).
- The paid parking solution is convoluted. It's not like you take a ticket on the way in and pay on the way out. You have to download an app, visit a pay station, or pay by phone. There are 4 pay stations but 7 garages. You have to provide your license plate when you park for parking enforcement purposes. You pay upfront based upon the amount of time you expect to spend at RTC, rather than paying for the actual amount of time you are there.
- A few stores plan to validate, but the validation process if you don't use their app is wonky (basically, they aren't validating that day's visit, but giving you a coupon for validation at a future visit).
- Not all the employers at RTC will reimburse their staff for parking expenses. It's a shame that RTC didn't take their retail tenants (and their staff) into account when making this switch.

[Anonymous]

Luckily free parking was included in our lease