Poll: Should Tysons street parking be paid or remain free?

The meter is running out on free street parking in Tysons.

Fairfax County shared plans on Tuesday (Dec. 14) to eventually install curbside parking meters throughout the area, with a managed parking program that could expand to other parts of the county, if successful.

Initially, the program will focus on the Tysons core, where a study identified 1,272 spaces along 22 miles of curb space on public roads surrounding the Greensboro, Spring Hill, Tysons, and McLean Metro stations.

While many details of the plan are still being worked out, including meter rates, county officials say it will encourage more turnover around the Metro stations and address complaints from businesses about commercial vehicles occupying spaces for extended periods of time.

However, drivers might be reluctant to pay for a resource that they’re accustomed to getting for free, as Reston Town Center learned a few years ago.

Metro also doesn’t have dedicated garages for its Tysons-area stations, with the idea that most people will travel using transit, but for local residents, getting to the stations means walking or cycling across congested, often unsafe roads.

How do you feel about the idea of paying for street parking in Tysons? Is it necessary for an increasingly urban and populous area, or does it seem like more of a hassle than it’s worth?

Photo via Mr.TinDC/Flickr