2050 Eastern Gateway Concept Plan - City of Falls Church

Goals
The goals for the future transportation network in the study
area seek to address the issues described above. The goals are
multi-faceted and aim to address the needs of the existing
community as well as newcomers to the study area, the need to
provide smooth circulation to facilitate economic development,
and sustainability concerns related to the local environment,
economy, and social equity. These goals are meant to serve as
a general starting point and may be expanded with future
public input or direction from city staff as specific plans are
proposed within the study area. The fundamental transportation
goals for the proposed development at the Falls Church Eastern
Gateway are as follows, not listed in any priority order:
Goal 1: Minimize traffic congestion resulting from the proposed
development.
Goal 2: Move people and goods efficiently.
Goal 3: Meet the transportation needs of long-time Falls Church
residents as well as the new residents, employees, and tourists
that come to the study area as a result of the proposed
development. Such transportation solutions will focus on local
transportation services within the study area, with connections to
regional services.
Goal 4: Coordinate land use and transportation planning to
accommodate the transportation needs resulting from the level
of development proposed for each site within the study area.
Goal 5: Minimize negative impacts to air quality as a result of
the proposed development and its associated transportation
impacts.
Goal 6: Promote a multi-modal transportation system that is
socially equitable and economically and environmentally
sustainable.
Strategies
Each strategy described below may help meet several of the
proposed transportation goals. Some of the strategies are
already in use today, but there is a need to expand these
efforts and perhaps focus them for the study area. For
example, those who currently work in Falls Church may use the
ridesharing services provided through the Metropolitan
Washington Council of Government’s existing Commuter
Connections program. When the study area is built out and has
a high concentration of employees commuting from various
parts of the D.C. region, a ridesharing program specific to the
study area may be warranted. Such a program could
potentially be run through the city, through individual
employers, or through coordinated efforts between employers
within the study area. This example demonstrates that the
transportation strategies already in place today may also be
effective in achieving transportation goals in the future.
These strategies vary in how difficult they are to implement, the
associated costs of implementation, and their potential impacts