In Northern Virginia, one in every 11 people struggle with food insecurity. Food for Others is an important part of Northern Virginia’s safety net for those needing food when an emergency strikes and for the growing number of working poor who need to supplement their inadequate food supplies. On Sunday, September 25th, 390 people and 45 sponsors joined together at Tysons Corner Center for the 9th annual Tysons Food for Others 5k and Fun Run, and raised $93,000! A HUGE thank you to the runners, walkers, donors, and generous Tysons and N. VA. businesses that sponsored the 5k .
On Monday, September 26th, Tysons Partnership held its second in a two-part series, Employer Forum: Talking Transportation. During the virtual forum, participants heard from Regina Sullivan, Metro’s Vice President of Government Relations & Policy. She presented on the Silver Line Extension, the final steps underway to ensure it is ready to come online, and new marketing plans to entice ridership.
Regina began the presentation with a brief overview of the Silver Line Extension and the 90-acre railyard that is accompanying it. The railyard will be one of the largest in the country and is critical to the operation of the entire metro system. Metro is currently working with the Airport Authority, Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on the list of safety requirements they must meet before the Extension can officially open to the public. For example, Metro must complete emergency responder drills and run simulated service, which will take place from October 3-17.
Furthermore, last week, Metro’s board voted to provide General Manager Randy Clarke with the authority to set a revenue date. Once FTA and WMSC finish the safety certification at the end of October, an opening day will be set.
While these final steps are taking place, it is extremely important that marketing and communications around the Extension continue to occur. Regina went over the communications strategies and campaigns that are currently underway to ensure riders are being kept up to date on the project’s progress. Some strategies include: the Silver Line page on Metro’s website, the Silver Bulletin, their bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to the project, routine press releases, new station videos, social media, and a paid media campaign featuring press tours of the new stations.
Attendees also heard about the community outreach Metro is doing to ensure they are reaching their riders, like going to local libraries, laundromats, and community centers to name a few. Regina also touched on the outreach they are conducting across all 91 stations to raise awareness about the new stations that are going to be opening. Metro is also partnering with local farmers markets, festivals, and other organizations to host special events in the communities along the new Silver Line.
Through research, Metro found that quite a few people in Fairfax and Loudon Counties know that the Silver Line is coming, but aren’t sure where the new stations are located. As a result, they have created station specific maps to push out on social media and at all their events.
Metro continues to implement programs and initiatives to entice riders back to Metrorail including a two-dollar fare on weekends; a new program called Clean Sweeps, an initiative instituted by General Manager Randy Clarke to help keep Metro stations clean; promoting Metro’s SmartBenefits employer program; increasing travel frequency with the return of the 7000 series; and ensuring Metro continues to be safe. Since Labor Day, Metro has seen a 10 percent increase in ridership.
For more information on the Silver Line Extension and to stay up to date, click here.
Every year at the start of their summer internship program, LandDesign sends interns from across the country to one of the company’s many offices for a weeklong immersive experience. Over the course of the week, they learn about a major project the firm is working on, pitch design concepts, and present their proposals to the rest of the firm.
This year, after two years of not having the program due to the pandemic, the landscape architecture and civil engineering firm hosted their summer interns at their Washington DC office. The interns had the opportunity to learn about LandDesign’s involvement with the ongoing development at the Greensboro Metro Station and visit a number of projects the firm has been working on.
“We chose our Washington DC office to host our internship charrette week because of the dramatic transformation of Tysons over the last few years,” says Deborah Miller, Executive Director, Strategic Growth and Business Development at LandDesign. “Tysons is in many ways a model for edge city urbanization, and we wanted our interns to experience the incredible projects we are working on in the area.”
LandDesign has played an instrumental role in the development of Tysons’ into a transit-oriented, mixed-use urban center. In particular, they’ve advocated for creating more open spaces between buildings, pedestrian focused developments, and a greener, more climate friendly Tysons.
One of the organization’s slogan is, “Why just make something, when you can create something that matters?” The employees at LandDesign take this motto to heart by creating engaging spaces that bring the community together and draw people to the region.
LandDesign Partner, Stephanie Pankiewicz says, “we work with our clients to help our communities thrive through great design. Our mission is to create places of value and being a part of the most ambitious suburban redevelopment in the greater DC region exemplifies our commitment to that mission.”
At The Boro, the company designed Boro Park, a programmable space that offers numerous opportunities for placemaking activation, including live music, movies, markets, and festivals. They also planned and developed SkyPark, a 28,000 square foot park that is joined by all three of The Boro’s residential buildings. The park features an outdoor theater, bar, grilling stations, fire pits, bocce courts, ping pong, cornhole, and badminton.
The firm currently has over 20 projects in Tysons, including another major endeavor they are working on, The View. The proposed development will comprise six buildings, totaling more than 3 million square feet of mixed-use space and will be one of the largest developments ever approved in Tysons. LandDesign has also created a design plan that includes a multi-block urban park. The park will feature an outdoor amphitheater, light installations, sculpture garden, and more.
LandDesign has been a Tysons Partnership member for several years and participated on several advisory committees. For more information about the firm and the work they’re doing in Tysons, click here.
On Monday, June 27 th , Tysons Partnership hosted its first in a two-part series, Employer Forum: Talking Transportation. During the virtual forum, employers discussed the current challenges facing the return to public transportation after the COVID-19 pandemic, potential solutions to help entice employees to utilize non-vehicular modes of transit, and what the new Silver Line extension will mean for Tysons.
As companies have implemented a hybrid work model, the way in which people commute to work has changed. Meanwhile, employees see challenges in using public transportation to get to work. The two biggest challenges employers have heard from their staff regarding the return to public transit include Metrorail’s lack of expanded hours and the frequency in which trains run.
“The headways have just eroded overtime, and it is no longer quick and efficient to take Metro. in particular on the Silver Line,” says Hillary Zahm, Vice President of Development for Macerich.
Current ridership on Metrorail is at 35 percent of pre-pandemic levels. These numbers are slowly rising and will hopefully increase as Metro recently announced a plan to bring the 7000 series back into service. Even with these challenges, there are some positive signs that people are returning to Metro.
“I’ve noticed an uptick in people at MITRE taking the Metro recently—I just see it in our shuttle service from the Metro to the campus,” said Chris Boynton, Senior Manager of MITRE’s McLean Campus. “I’m anxious to start taking the Metro myself when they complete it out to Ashburn.”
Tysons Partnership and its members are dedicated to continually working with Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to help address these challenges. In addition, many businesses are also offering incentive programs to help entice their employees to use public transit. Tammy Hoffman, Vice President of Enterprise Services at Fannie Mae, mentioned that their organization offers a 50 percent match on employees’ public transportation costs up to the tax limit of $265 per month.
The meeting perfectly coincided with WMATA’s most recent announcement that the organization had taken over control of the Silver Line extension from Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
The Silver Line extension will include 11.4 miles of new track and six new stations, making the commute to Tysons from the west more accessible. Commuting is top of mind for many employers, as they look to attract and retain talent. The extension gives employers another solution to current and prospective employees who are dissatisfied with their current commute.
“As we all look at retention challenges, hiring challenges, etc, having something else in your toolkit with commuting being at the top of the list of complaints—they are all important,” says Hoffman.
Furthermore, with the Silver Line extending all the way to Dulles International Airport, the number of visitors staying in Tysons is projected to increase bringing an increase in visitors and tourists which will be great for Tysons businesses and the local economy.
The second part of the Employer Forum: Talking Transportation Series will take place in September. Stay tuned for more details.
