Thank you David for listing these new Silver Line Metro station names. Aside from the Wiehle-Reston East...the rest are a VAST improvement. Nice to let the public who is paying for this project to weigh-in with some creativity.

by Pelham1861 on Apr 5, 2012 1:37 pm • link • report

The names are an improvement. To be clear, however, this is just a proposed list for the Fairfax Board - who would then forward them on as recommendations to the WMATA Board.

by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2012 1:55 pm • link • report

Most are not my choice, but cheers for the Fairfax BOS for getting rid of the previous horrific names.

by Jasper on Apr 5, 2012 1:58 pm • link • report

I don't live there, but what is Greensboro Park? And "Innovation"? Is that a location? All said, much better. Not perfect, but much better.

by ah on Apr 5, 2012 2:11 pm • link • report

Re: Streetcars -- So this is really happening? David, you've been covering this for a long time. What would you guess the odds are of actually having streetcars running before Dec 31, 2013?

by LoLo on Apr 5, 2012 2:17 pm • link • report

Is "Innovation" the station at/near Dulles Airport? If so, why don't they call it Dulles instead of a name they just made up?

by Joe on Apr 5, 2012 2:20 pm • link • report

Joe: No, that's the one before Dulles. The Dulles station is not in Fairfax County.

by David Alpert on Apr 5, 2012 2:21 pm • link • report

@Joe

Innovation is named for the nearby Innovation Avenue.

http://g.co/maps/wf6rf

by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2012 2:34 pm • link • report

I prefer "Coppermine" since that's a name that sounds like a place. "Innovation" is an abstract concept rather than a place.

by Michael Perkins on Apr 5, 2012 2:36 pm • link • report

The streetcars will be great once they are running but honestly I don't see this happening before end of 2013. I mean how close to reality is the maintenance facility at Spingarn HS? I don't know that I've heard a "yes we are building this."

by MLD on Apr 5, 2012 2:42 pm • link • report

I herein propose new names for the Silver line stops:

Tysons East-McLean - Futility
Tysons I&II - Invisibility
Tysons Central - Suspicion
Tysons-Spring Hill Road - Idealism
Reston-Wiehle Avenue - Sentimentality
Reston Town Center - Hard Boiled Eggs
Herndon-Reston - Nostalgia
Herndon-Dulles East - Innovation

by Scoot on Apr 5, 2012 2:53 pm • link • report

MLD, you know the saying, "elections have consequences." Mr. Gray was the Council President who tried to delete the funding for the streetcars in the middle of the night. It took a massive online effort to restore them. If he did that as Council President, do you think he's in any rush to implement them as mayor?

by Cavan on Apr 5, 2012 2:54 pm • link • report

Innovation was one of the choices in the WMATA survey, named for Innovation Ave, yes, but I think more so to represent an official station for the Center for Innovative Technology (which is nearby):

http://www.cit.org/

And yes, I did vote for it.

by Mark P. on Apr 5, 2012 3:12 pm • link • report

That being said, if there is not going to be station access on the north side of the toll road, the side CIT/Innovation Ave is on, then I do not see the point of calling it that.

by Mark P. on Apr 5, 2012 3:15 pm • link • report

@Cavan--

There will never be streetcars running in DC during a Gray administration, certainly not before his re-election campaign. The streetcars have become the symbol of development and strong opposition exists among many residents who won't see the benefits of the streetcar for a long time to come. Gray can't afford to lose that voting block, so no, I don't think streetcars will be running any time soon. It's just as well with me. I stand with the opposition on this one: streetcars are a profound waste of money unless they have dedicated lanes. Does DC really need another transit system to bungle?

by MJ on Apr 5, 2012 3:21 pm • link • report

@MJ

I am not quite that jaded, I think this train (no pun intended) has already pretty much left the station. I think we will wind up with these things at some point in 2013.

Hopefully he gets indicted sooner rather than later, and we can get rid of this clown and get someone qualified in there who wants to grow the city. Though, judging by our most recent election, still not sure the votes are there to get a quality mayor in there.

by Kyle W on Apr 5, 2012 3:42 pm • link • report

Wow, those names are much better. Still do not like "Wiehle-Reston East" - why not just Wiehle Avenue? It's become a local landmark. Greensboro is also well-known to anyone who has ever prowled around the back end of Tyson's Corner. "Innovation" is actually kinda cool.

by Jack Love on Apr 5, 2012 3:58 pm • link • report

@Jack Love

My one thought on 'Wiehle-Reston East" is because that station will be the terminus of Phase I, they want to give the user the hint that the train will get you to Reston (broadly defined) before the phase 2 stations are built.

by Alex B. on Apr 5, 2012 4:01 pm • link • report

Rumor has it that in Virginia, you are going to have to get off the streetcar in Arlington and then get on a bus in Alexandria. What gives? These projects bring a lot of excitement to region and are encouraging.

by Carlos M on Apr 5, 2012 4:07 pm • link • report

@carlos

that was a silly article. Both arlington and alexandria agree that Crytal City Potomac Yards Transitway will start as a busway, and will eventually become a streetcar. Arlington wants the conversion sooner, within the next 5 year plan, and Alex wants it later. They will undoubtedly find some way to split the difference. Some journalist suggested that folks would change from a streetcar to a bus at the boundary, but thats silly and will not happen.

by AWalkerInTheCity on Apr 5, 2012 4:16 pm • link • report

The staff recommended names for the Fairfax County station names are a vast improvement, although "Innovation" is a little odd. I voted for Coppermine, just because it was different. Greensboro Park is an interesting choice because Greensboro Drive does not intersect with the station. I should look up the development plans to see if there are plans for a Greensboro Park near the station location.

The question is whether the supervisors on the county board will agree to with the staff recommendations or will some of them insist on confusing names with Tysons in 4 station names or Rt. 28 in place of Innovation because they are short-sighted or want to placate some interest groups?

On other hand, if they stick with Innovation, in 5 years (assuming Phase II moves forward on schedule), people will be able to take the Metro from Innovation to NoMa. Which I find amusing, but I may have an odd sense of humor.

by AlanF on Apr 5, 2012 4:17 pm • link • report

As I've repeatedly said, the streetcars will never run, but we will continue to lay tracks to induce development... It's a way to screw over cyclists, while letting other people think we have a progressive city... until it eventually becomes clear.

by @SamuelMoore on Apr 5, 2012 4:18 pm • link • report

I like all the station names except McLean; it gives a false impression that the station is actually within walking distance of the heart of McLean. It would be like calling Foggy Bottom "Georegtown".

by GFriday on Apr 5, 2012 7:20 pm • link • report

Alex B., I think you may be right with why Wiehle-Reston East is recommended. The station there will be at Wiehle Avenue but also will be the end of the Silver line for a few+ years in the Reston area.

Greensboro Park is an area with office buildings between Route 123 and Westpark Dr just north of where the station will be. The large SAIC campus is in Greensboro Pk. I think this is why they went with Greensboro PARK versus Greensboro Drive.

The names probably are not final until our Board votes on this on April 10. These are just staff suggestions based on the previous names being rejected.

by Gallows Rd on Apr 5, 2012 9:56 pm • link • report

For my post above, I found this report on the station names which provides some explanation. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fcdot/pdf/silverlinestationnamesreport.pdf

by Gallows Rd on Apr 5, 2012 9:59 pm • link • report

@AlanF: I doubt the supervisors will go back to confusing multiple Tysons station names. Part of the reason we're going through this (again) now is because the board's previously recommended names were rejected by WMATA.

@GFriday: I tend to agree. Mike Perkins suggested Scotts Run. Another option not on the list would've been Lewinsville, which is the neighborhood on the east side of the DTR/123 interchange.

by Froggie on Apr 5, 2012 10:02 pm • link • report

These names are an improvement based somewhat on WMATA's survey choices, but I don't think some of the choices go far enough in developing a sense of place.

The newly proposed "McLean" needs to change. It's too far from the actual city. The area of this Metro station has a small little community of its own. I like the variation, though, of calling it "Scotts Run-Lewinsville." Using Froggie's suggestion with my own.

"Tysons Corner" is too simple. The station should also describe the shopping facilities too. How about "Tysons Corner Mall" This would also suggest a shopping zone should people look around, i.e. the Galleria.

"Greensboro Park" is, of course, a business park. The name itself sounds pretty, but it isn't quite representative of what's really going on there. How about a variation, calling it, "Greensboro Court"? I'm sure the developers of the area can and will incorporate courtyards into their designs--giving this area a sense of place.

"Spring Hill" should be "Spring Hill Rd." No need to jazz it up, since it's only a road--an important one though, and the name not representative of the general area in of of itself.

"Wiehle-Reston East"--Really. Reston will have it's own station soon enough. No need to muck up this station in the early stages, and then once the "Reston Town Center" station is built, extract the Reston East suffix from the name. Call it "Wiehle Ave" for now. If the residents of the area have a better suggestion later, add a suffix to the name when that happens. "Grosvenor-Strathmore" wouldn't dream of adding Bethesda North to it's original namesake.

"Reston Town Center" is good.

"Herndon" by itself is ok. Some people may like "Herndon-Monroe" That is the name people in the area call it.

Lastly, "Innovation" alone is creative, but sounds hallow. Give this area a fuller representation of a name. "Innovation Center" sounds as though you've arrived somewhere. "Coppermine" too is different and worth some thought.

I took the survey when it was out, but since then I've changed my mind on a couple of stations. I hope the Fairfax board looks to, and outside the survey, and incorporates rethought suggestions. Here is my newly summerized list starting from the east and moving west:

--Scotts Run-Lewinsville
--Tysons Corner Mall
--Greensboro Court
--Spring Hill Rd.
(Remember, someday, when the financing is right, there will be the planned, "Wolf Trap Park" station inserted here. I would also like to see a "Hunter Mill" station west of that)
--Wiehle Ave.
--Reston Town Center
--Herndon-Monroe
--Innovation Center

Keep an open mind. And keep rethinking these sites until something innovative is created.

by Dave on Apr 6, 2012 5:33 am • link • report

I can't imagine a Wolf Trap station is ever going to happen.

An infill station would cost a couple hundred million dollars, and would only get a couple thousand trips a day with the current land use pattern in the area.

The land around Wolf Trap is already single family homes. It would be unfathomable for the land use in the area to suddenly change from single family homes on fairly large lots to multi-story buildings which would be needed to pay for an in-fill station.

A couple hundred million dollars is better spend elsewhere than a Wolf Trap station.

Hunter Mill makes more sense. There's a medium size office park on the south side of the highway within walking distance, and it's near the bike trail. Then again, Wiehle is near the bike trail and a much larger office park, and only a mile away.

by Michael Perkins on Apr 6, 2012 8:51 am • link • report

Wolf Trap won't happen. Not only is the surrounding area unlikely to substantially change its land use, the existing homes are all cul-de-sacced, making walking to a potential station circuitous.

Likewise, if there were a good use for the land, complimentary to Wolf Trap's mission, it would be structured parking. Except that there are no eastbound off-ramps to access said parking from the toll road.

Given that Wolf Trap is controlled by NPS, I suppose it's possible they could go the Arlington Cemetery route and pay for a station themselves out of their own pocket, but I doubt it.

by Alex B. on Apr 6, 2012 9:18 am • link • report

Thanks for the link, Gallows Rd. It's interesting to see how differing GGW can be from other residents in the region.

by selxic on Apr 6, 2012 10:48 am • link • report

Innovation sounds like a place where cartoon characters live.

by jen coleslaw on Apr 6, 2012 11:25 am • link • report

Innovation sounds like a place where cartoon characters live.

Actually, it sounds like a place where "synergy" and "corporate value added" take place while people "ideate" on "mission-critical paradigm shifts".

by Falls Church on Apr 6, 2012 12:37 pm • link • report

I would like the McLean station to be called Mclean/Pimmit or perhaps Scotts Run (maybe they will actually do something to enhance the area around the creek then). Pimmit Hills is much closer to this station than McLean. I like Wiehle Avenue.

by K on Apr 6, 2012 12:44 pm • link • report

@K

Call it McLean. Call it Pimmit. Call it Scotts Run. But, please, for the love of God - no more hyphens and slashes.

If the name isn't a great fit for the area, that's fine so long as it's a good name.

by Alex B. on Apr 6, 2012 1:01 pm • link • report

Alex,

I can sometimes take some getting used to, but hyphens are sometimes useful.

When a station is inbetween two equal communities, they share a commoninity. Franconia-Springfield is an example of that. As long as the use of hyphens isn't excessive--there are only two stations along the Silver Line extension that might use it--I don't see a big problem. After some consideration, I would change my previous listing from above to unhyphenate the "Herndon-Monroe" station. It should now be "Herndon" alone. "Monroe" doesn't seem significant enough, but that could be worth discussing.

by Dave on Apr 6, 2012 10:05 pm • link • report

I like all the new proposed names except for Wiehle-Reston East. Hunter Mill Rd is the Eastern limit of Reston, and i'm unclear as to why no station there -- plenty of developable land there.

by dcseain on Apr 6, 2012 10:45 pm • link • report

[This comment has been deleted for violating the comment policy.]

by Dan on Apr 7, 2012 10:00 am • link • report

I don't particularly care for the name Wiehle-Reston East, but I'm not sure posters here are recognizing it as an existing name.

by selxic on Apr 7, 2012 10:02 am • link • report

A few comments have mocked previous GGW thoughts about the station names -- but actually (from the memo linked above), it seems that both Fairfax and WMATA staff, and the public, largely agree that the names previously approved by the Fairfax board would not serve the Metrorail system well. WMATA staff called the names "repetitive, confusing, or not distinctive enough to assist in way-finding and travel on Metrorail"; Fairfax staff "determined through public feedback, discussion, and survey results that brief and nonrepetitive names are more popular."

I liked the survey and thank Fairfax County staff for opening up the station naming process.

by Payton on Apr 7, 2012 12:52 pm • link • report

I'm not sure anyone has really mocked GGW for the naming. It was basically a given that the original Fairfax names couldn't even be used no matter if they actually wanted them.

by selxic on Apr 7, 2012 10:31 pm • link • report

On the station names...

Generally a step in the right direction. Except for Innovation. Really? So tacky and weird.

by nativedc on Apr 9, 2012 10:35 am • link • report

I'm sorry but removing the street name in the case of Innovation Ave and Spring Hill Road is just ridiculous and deceiving.

Call it what it is. If it's a plaza or square, great, if it's just a street name, leave the street name. If New York Avenue works for another station, then why not?

As for the Tysons stations...well, I do agree that anything is an improvement over the existing repetitive names.

by LuvDusty on Apr 9, 2012 1:30 pm • link • report

@ David, Michael Perkins and Alex B.

The likelihood of a future station at Wolf Trap disappeared when the provision in Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the future station were deleted in the Preliminary Engineering Design Refinements Environmental Assessment.

The provision for the future twin platform station was located west of Trap Road in the FEIS on a retained fill, the retained fill had a 0.35% grade to accommodate the future platforms. The highest point of the top of the rail at the west end of the retained fill was roughly 18' above the lanes of the Access Road.

The primary reason why the provision was deleted was to reduce costs. The amount saved after deletion was $5,987,100.

The grade at that location today is roughly 2.90%

by Sand Box John on Apr 10, 2012 12:05 am • link • report

It's understandable the Wolf Trap Station was pulled. I hope the land use around that area will change sooner or later in order to accommodate a future station. Perhaps building a small music college with apartments or condos, and a music museum linked to the mission of the performing arts center could be the start of adding density to the area. In addition, having the NPS pay the majority of the costs for the station is the sensible way to go.

The "Innovation" Station could be called "Innovation Center," or "Coppermine View." Coppermine isn't directly at the station's site.

by Dave on Apr 10, 2012 4:18 am • link • report

Additionally, on the Wolf Trap site, add a music and theatre arts campus with a medium garden and jet fountains, B & B lodgings, specialty restaurants and cafes with hunting or trapping themes, a restaurant row, artuary posts, and horse stabbles and riding trails. Tourists before taking in a show at the Filene Center, could take a stroll in the garden before grabbing some grub. Land patterns would have to rethought. A reasonable wooded buffer would have to be maintained around the area, so more and larger dwellings would have to displace some single family houses. These are just some random thoughts. What do others think should happen there in order to get a Metro station built?

by Dave on Apr 11, 2012 4:08 am • link • report