On Foot in Suburbia: Retrofitting Walks into Herndon's Commercial District by Dean Perry

ON FOOT IN SUBURBIA:

Retrofitting Walks into Herndonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commercial District

Dean Perry MLA 2013

Thesis submitted to the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Landscape Architecture

by Dennis George Perry, Jr.

___________________________________ Paul Kelsch ___________________________________ Laurel McSherry ___________________________________ Brian Katen

Dedication to my parents, for their endless support, and a childhood full of nice paper and Prismacolor products. to my professors, Paul and Laurel, for years of guidance, teaching, and instilling in me a passion for landscape architecture to Aunt Laura, for teaching me and everyone close to her how to face big, scary challenges.

TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1 WALKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4 SITE + MASTER PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

2 CASE STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.1 FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 4.2 AREA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 4.3 LAND USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 4.4 CIRCULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 4.5 SOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 4.6 CLAIMED GROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 4.7 PATH TO A PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 4.8 MASTER PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 4.9 TOPOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 4.10 DENSITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 4.11 WALKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

2.1 SILVER LINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.2 RESTON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 2.3 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2.4 GREEN TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2.4.1 Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 2.4.2 Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 2.4.3 The Woods - Design . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.4.4 The Woods - Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 2.4.5 Washington Plaza - Design . . . . . . . 40 2.4.6 Washington Plaza - Walks . . . . . . . . 42 2.4.7 Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 2.5 RED TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 2.5.1 Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 2.5.2 Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 2.5.3 Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 2.5.4 Site Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2.5.5 Property Development . . . . . . . . . . . 56 2.5.6 Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 2.5.6a Planned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 2.5.6b Retrofitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 2.6 RESTON CRESCENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 2.6.1 Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 2.6.2 Walks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 2.7 CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

3 SITE SELECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 3.1 STAYING ON THE LINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 3.2 THE OUTER STATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 3.3 THE INNER STATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

5 DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 5.1 METRO WALKWAYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 5.1.1 Picnic Court + Wooded Trails . . . . . 108 5.1.2 Concourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 5.2 THE TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 5.2.1 Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 5.4 FOREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 5.5 TRANSECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 5.6 CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 PUBLIC DEFENSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 IMAGE CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

ABSTRACT

Walking is as old as humanity itself. It was the vehicle that spread the human race across the planet and for most of human history it was the means in which one explored their surrounding world. By examining the history, culture, and motivation behind the act of walking, form can be derived that accommodates the full spectrum of what walking has to offer. In examining the post-World War II suburb characterized by a separation of uses and a hierarchical transportation network centered on the use of automobiles, the occurrence of walking largely takes place as a recreational pastime. In suburban residential communities, walking trails are a commonplace amenity that enjoy frequent usage during evenings and weekends. When examining the commercial district comprised of office parks, retail, and restaurants, the space for walking has a much smaller presence, if any, than its residential counterpart. By opening corridors through these commercial areas for walking, the time available for walking expands to include regular business hours. The possibility is opened for recreational walking during breaks in the work day, and the creation of a pedestrian network that opens the commercial zone to pedestrian commuting. In accommodating both recreational and utilitarian walking with diversely charactered walkways, walking can be made a daily, common activity.

INTRODUCTION

The neighborhood in which I grew up was developed in the 1950s and it consists mostly of single family houses. Yet, only a ten minute walk away is a shopping center with a gas station, grocery store, a post office, and restaurants. The only time my family walked there was during a rare snow. All of the pieces are there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a variety of uses, all within a few minutes walk of each other. So why did my community use the car all but exclusively to get there? Upon examination of my native environment, I began to ponder how landscape architects can shape the world in designing for the pedestrian first. My initial research investigated automobile dependence and transit-oriented development under the umbrella of â&#x20AC;&#x153;walkability.â&#x20AC;? My research into walkability then led to the act of walking itself. Further study into the history, culture, and motivation behind walking piqued an interest that would lead to the creation of this thesis. In studying walking, I was able to stay within reach of my initial interests, but was able to explore the significance of a basic part of the human experience. Like so many walks taken, this thesis began with an intended route, and at the end of months upon months of reading, writing, drawing, and designing - I found I had wandered into a pleasantly unexpected place.

1 WALKING

to seek potential mates, to look out for danger, or to find food.1 Regardless of the motivation, a high vantage point was so advantageous that it became the dominant feature of our physical form. As early hominids began to move about using only the lower

UNIQUELY HUMAN

Walking is the most basic and universal

form of human locomotion. The motion is simple: place one foot in front of the other. Repeat. It can be quite the balancing act; step after step, the walker must swing opposite arms that act as pendulums extending from the shoulders to ensure stability and comfort along the way. While the common phrase is to say that people travel “on foot”, the experience engages the entire body. The single human frame requires little horizontal space and can traverse places and topography that conventional motorized vehicles cannot. While an average walking pace of two to three miles per hour in the modern world is not fast, much ground can still be covered if given a few hours. Walking is how the human race spread across the planet, and for most of human history, the masses relied on walking as their only means of transportation.

The history of bipedal walking is older than

our species. Presently, walking exclusively upright on two legs remains a uniquely human activity. There are many theories speculating why primates began to move about on two legs. Most of them are based on trying to get a better view – whether

extremities, this left the hands idle. The development of the human brain can be directly traced to the freeing of the hands; this arguably led to the intellectual development of Homo sapiens.2

With

hands available to manipulate the surrounding world, the brain grew in size and complexity over time in response to amassing skills the hands could perform. From our hundreds of thousands of years walking upright, we’ve found ourselves with a commanding view of our surroundings to orient ourselves and a brain with enough intelligence to make sense of what we experience along the way.

Walking through our surroundings orients

us in the world, and can connect us to both the constructed and the natural world. Moving through one’s environment at a walking pace allows for both exploration and examination. The walking experience is diverse and personal, with an infinite number of motivations pushing us to move through the world as pedestrians. Going for a walk provides time for introspection and thought. It provides an extroverted experience of exposing one’s self to the world with the intention of seeking out others for observation, or engagement. As walking has become increasingly 1 2

Nicholson, The Lost Art of Walking: The History, Science, Philosophy and Literature of Pedestrianism, 7. Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 14.

that it can be seen as a novelty and an occasional,

“Opening the gate, we tread briskly along the lone country road, crunching the dry and crisped snow under our feet, or aroused by the sharp clear creak of the wood sled […] while far, through the drifts and powdered windows we see the farmer’s early candle, like a paled star, emitting a lonely beam as if some severe virtue were at its matins there.”3

special activity. Through the examination of writings

from walkers and walking researchers, walking as

immediate surroundings and shares the experience

an essential part of the human experience becomes

with the reader.

apparent.

from a complete immersion in the environment

unnecessary, it has been engaged as a topic of research by those who seek to record its history and document its place in the world. Modernity has created the commonplace perception that it so rare

This attention to detail illustrates Thoreau’s Such a perspective originates

through engaging touch and sound in addition to sight. Thoreau was able to experience the minutest of details through the choice to travel on foot. The nuances of a place are understood by passing at a walking pace, allowing time for examination and to put observations in to context, which enhances the connection made to that place.

NATURE + SELF

Henry David Thoreau was an American

as liberation from the obligations of the outside world.

transcendentalist who believed firmly in simple living.

To Thoreau, a walk is an escape.4 Separated from the

He is also one of history’s most prolific walkers.

responsibilities and obligations of the urban world,

Thoreau used walking to meditate, to connect with the

the woods are peaceful and quiet. In “Walking,”

natural world, and escape the demands of civilization.

Thoreau asks: “What business have I in the woods,

His writings often describe his walks, giving insight

if I am thinking of something out of the woods?”5

into this personal experience. He authored several

In leaving behind the worries of the city, Thoreau’s

works in which walks are described in graphic detail.

immersion in nature allows personal concerns to float

“A Winter Walk” describes a journey through the

to the surface and be faced. In “Walking” and “A

snow covered forest engaging the reader through a

Winter Walk,” Thoreau’s views on the city versus the

thorough description of the surroundings as he and

country emerge. “Walking” describes the residents

his companion move through the forest:

of a village as prone to “degeneracy,” by having such 3 4 5

In his essay, “Walking,” the walk is described

Zochert, Walking in America, 310. Thoreau, Walking, 28 of 495. Thoreau, Walking, 28 of 495.

close proximity to the negative influences of criminals

and is an individual activity. Walking is about the

and poor sanitation. 6 John Stilgoe in Borderland, a

journey and what is seen along the way; not about

history of pre-World War II suburbs, adds further that

simply reaching a destination.

Thoreau did not see the city as a suitable place to

about connecting with the natural world, and seeing

raise children - again, he saw the urban setting as

oneself as part of natural systems, and not just social

a corrupting influence.7 Stilgoe explains Thoreau’s

order. If these things occur within sight of civilization,

ideal environment as the “borderland” – the space

then what is gained through walking like Thoreau is

between city and farmland.8 In discussing Thoreau’s

not lost.

Lastly, walking is

affinity for wilderness, it is important to acknowledge that he also valued connection to society and did not wish to live in complete isolation. The “borderland” of Thoreau’s time fosters contact with civilization and nature.

In making such an assertion that Thoreau

was at home in the “borderlands,” it can seem contradictory to Thoreau’s writings praising walks

THE BIG PICTURE

through the forest.

The “transect walk” is similar to a walk

inviting the reader to imagine themselves as “a

Thoreau would take, in the sense that the walk’s

part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of

purpose is about the journey, and not a destination.

society.”9

To Thoreau, a connection to nature is

Walking a transect can vary in length, but the most

essential to the experience. The borderlands of the

notable walks last for hundreds or even thousands

nineteenth century certainly held a different form

of miles. Such a walk ends with the transect walker

than the modern suburb showing characteristics of

possessing a thorough and detailed understanding

sprawl. Escaping to unspoiled nature was an easier

across entire regions. According to Rebecca Solnit

feat without the noise of traffic or the illumination

in her book, Wanderlust: A History of Walking,

of streetlights penetrating into undeveloped places.

the transect walk is undertaken as a purposeful

Thoreau’s take on walking illustrates what is gained

long distance journey to comprehend society’s

from the walk. Thoreau’s ideal walk avoids crowds

composition, discover one’s self, and for the

6 7 8 9

Thoreau opens Walking by

Thoreau, Walking, 96 of 495. Stilgoe, Borderland, 97. Stilgoe, Borderland, 98. Thoreau, Walking 1 of 495.

recognition of having accomplished the physical feat.10

In examining John Muir’s “Thousand Mile

Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 128.

Journey to the Gulf,” the perspective gained through

the southern Appalachians and to the Florida Keys,

walking a transect is illustrated.

and on a lesser scale the post-Civil War cultural

Muir

was

American

naturalist,

condition. Muir, staying true to his naturalist roots,

conservationist and writer who went on to found the

recorded little of his cultural experience in the South

Sierra Club in 1892. Most commonly associated with

in comparison to his copious descriptions of all things

landscapes in the western United States, his first

nature. In creating a series of individual interactions

cross-country walk occurred in the eastern United

and observations over a thousand mile journey, he

States. In 1867, shortly after “Walking” was published,

develops a larger understanding of the southern

John Muir set off across the country from southern

United States.

Indiana to Cedar Key, Florida on his “Thousand Mile Journey to the Gulf.” He had no specific route in mind, only the destination of the gulf coast of Florida. An enthusiastic naturalist, he cataloged plants along the way, keeping record in a pressings book and journal. His walk created a transect from the North to the South, from the woodlands in Indiana, through the Appalachians, to the Florida marshes. Not only did

SOCIAL SURROUNDINGS

this walk display the gradient from one environment

Solnit’s Wanderlust: A History of Walking,

to another, it showed a picture of the United States

explores walking throughout human history, while

shortly after the Civil War. In walking from town to

making an argument that walking in the modern

town, Muir depends on the hospitality of those whom

world is worth preserving both time and space

he meets along the way. Each person has a story,

for doing so. In contrast to the seemingly isolated

and perspective on post-Civil War America. He is

experiences of walking solo across a large portion

helped along the way by all walks of life – former

of the United States and Thoreau’s affinity for a lone

slaves, public officials, innkeepers and farmers. His

walk through the woods, Solnit’s writing takes on a

walk puts him in contact with people he would never

more sociological focus. To her, a walk can be used

meet had he not walked.11

Despite having a set

to connect to oneself and the surrounding world, but

destination, the journey remained the focus. Walking

also to other people. Solnit claims that when we

enabled Muir to see firsthand the spectrum of mostly

exist outside, we exist in a world simultaneously with

the natural settings ranging from Indiana through

countless others.

Muir, Thousand Mile Journey to the Gulf, 89.

So, even when we appear to be

Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 9.

alone, and other people are out of sight, she argues

often replaces the face to face conversation. These

that outdoor dwellers are still connected through the

interiors isolate individuals from each other, and they

physical space of the outdoors. In the urban context,

also isolate the senses. When driving as opposed to

she claims that walking through a given city makes

walking, the senses of touch and smell play a much

you a true inhabitant of the city.13 The value of this

smaller role in the act of moving through a place.

connection with others lies in the social capital

When exposed to the air, the temperature can be

gained through a community that at least recognizes

sensed and the air is unfiltered through a vent. In a

each other in passing.

setting where walking is a regular activity, escaping

Solnit’s view of the contemporary state of

these isolated spaces fosters social cohesion, even

walking is that she sees human existence mostly

with making brief eye contact in passing. Solnit’s

occurring inside a series of interiors. Leisure time is

claim about the opposite condition, of the universal

commonly spent in the home, travel and commuting

connectivity of exterior spaces is harder to justify.

in the car, and employment inside a building. In

In a discussion of connection, the act of connection

doing so, Solnit claims then that individuals become

requires some form of contact, even if that contact is

disconnected from one another in spaces designed

something is as non-interactive as being seen from

to defend from the outside world. Within an interior

several yards away. If any contact and firsthand

of a building or vehicle, the perception of the outside

knowledge of another’s presence is absent, then no

world is filtered. Individuals are left with media

connection is made. In occupying a common outdoor

absorbed through the television or internet for

space, some kind of recognition and contact with

information.14 To Solnit, a walk is seeing the world

others is essential to a space that fosters connection

for one’s self, and not mediated interpretation.

with other people.

Interior spaces certainly act as agents of

isolation. The network of interiors Solnit describes

TO GET AWAY, OR TO ENGAGE?

allows one to greatly reduce the amount of

interpersonal contact that occurs casually throughout

walking as a fundamentally valuable activity, Solnit

the day. In the home, entertainment is largely found

and Thoreau appear to have differing views on where

via the Internet or television. In transit, the automobile

they would prefer to walk, based on the themes of

allows for an encased solitary journey at a speed too

their writings.

great to pay attention to anything besides the act of

setting and preference for wooded paths seems to

driving. Once in the workplace, digital communication

contradict Solnit’s preference for a crowded street.

13 14

The contemporaneous writing of Solnit pines for

Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 176 Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 252.

Despite having common assertions in

Thoreau’s aversion to the urban

community cohesion through passing each other

“a rebellious and subversive act.”15 By not using an

while walking through generously portioned public

automobile or essentially anything on wheels, the

space.

Thoreau and Solnit’s respective writings

modern walker goes beyond an uncommon sight to

touch on the two seemingly opposite surroundings

a rebel, undermining the primacy of the automobile.

for a walk: alone through the silent forest and in a

This human act of walking is longed for by the author,

crowd on a noisy city street.

Both experiences

claiming that modern humans have lost touch with

have much to offer the person walking through

an essential part of their being.16 People, according

each environment. However, to someone seeking a

to Jacks, do not connect with beauty in the sense

break from the hustle and bustle of the urban setting,

of experiencing beauty first hand with their bodies.

Solnit’s crowded public plaza would be unpleasant

Building upon “Reimagining Walking,” “Walking and

and irritating. To an individual who has been stuck

Reading in Landscape” expands upon his concept of

inside all day, a lonely walk through the woods would

“reading” the landscape.” He further reinforces his

offer no opportunity for interaction with people after

previous essay by arguing that “bodily knowing” is

an extended time of isolation. Solnit and Thoreau

“essential to knowing” the surrounding world.17

offer two different visions for a place to walk, but one

does not have a superior position over the other. In

can be acquired by breaking down walking into

seeking to create a place to walk, providing places

four practices: Sighting, Measuring, Reading, and

to both be seen and to leave people watching behind

Merging. Sighting is a survey of the landscape within

facilitates the spectrum of what walking has to offer.

view. In seeing all objects in a singular view, one can

Jacks describes how this connection

begin to arrange and make sense of them.18 Through judging various features, relationships between features can be established, which increases the understanding of how different components in the landscape interact with each other. Measuring is the way that we stake a claim to the landscape and take ownership of it in order to make sense of it.19 To clarify

QUESTIONING AUTHORITY

Ben Jacks’s essay “Reimagining Walking:

Four Practices,” recognizes the loss of walking in the modern landscape. Jacks argues that walking is so foreign in the modern world that it has become

“measuring”, Jacks recalls the experience of walking 15 16 17 18 19

Jacks, Reimagining Walking: Four Practices, 5. Jacks, Reimagining Walking: Four Practices, 9. Jacks, Walking and Reading Landscape, 270. Jacks, Reimagining Walking: Four Practices, 6. Jacks, Reimagining Walking: Four Practices, 7.

a newly purchased property. Metes and bounds are

beside a road with no sidewalk, the act questions

measured on paper, but walking the property creates

whether there should have been one placed there

a tangible understanding of boundaries. The body is

to begin with. Having the experience of walking in

used as the measuring device to understand space.

an exposed, unsafe position to the road then furthers

Reading is taking observations and translating

their understanding of the priority of pedestrianism

them into meaning.20

In other words, to interpret

where they walk. Challenging and defying norms and

the narrative the landscape is telling. The stories

rules enhance one’s understanding of them. When

surrounding the walker play out on the streets or in

one walks outside of the designed experience, that

the forests, and it must be interpreted to make sense

design is challenged. Jacks adds another layer onto

within the setting observed through sighting and

what the experience of walking provides: a method of

measuring. Merging, the final method, is a synthesis

challenging, defying, and questioning the surrounding

of the previous techniques in making sense of the

world. While other research discussed so far outlines

landscape.21 By combining the experiences a fully

connection to self, nature, and the community, Jacks

in person bodily knowledge can be gained about the

exhibits walking as a way to question the outside

setting and the goings on within the landscape of the

world, in order to understand it better.

walker. From Jacks’s essays, he argues that being

physically present in the landscape, moving only on

an agent of rebellion in her discussion of protests

foot, is crucial to truly understand the surrounding

and marches. Consistent with her perception of

world at the immediate tactile scale and its context.

walking as a social and communal act, groups that

By understanding this connection, the walker is

are congregated in the form of a protest or march are

able to place themselves in the world and know

communicating. In a rebellious act, marches show

themselves better.

strength and solidarity, and are not always done with

When Jacks refers to “rebellious” or

permission.22 Both Jacks and Solnit’s interpretation

“subversive” walking, he doesn’t necessarily refer

of rebelliousness in walking find common ground in

to a deliberate act of defiance. When one walks

the necessity for public space. Jacks’s “rebellious”

where the designed landscape has not accounted

walker walking where it isn’t designed to happen

for the pedestrian, that act defies the decision to

demands more space and a higher priority for

give a low priority to the pedestrian by doing it

pedestrian infrastructure.

anyway.

protests demand space owned by the public to

For example, when an individual walks

20 Ibid. 21 Jacks, Reimagining Walking: Four Practices, 8.

Solnit makes a case as well for walking as

Solnit’s marches and

Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 216.

ensure the space to communicate via walking en

to seeing walking in certain places. According to

masse.

Macauley, walking “out of place” is uncomfortable to those who are walking, and the people around them. In descriptions of the out of place pedestrian discussed by Jacks, Nicholson, and Macauley, an unfriendly picture of suburban walking appears. The pedestrian walking out of place feels uncomfortable according to Nicholson, and Macauley claims further that they make the people around them

OUT OF PLACE

uncomfortable as well. In an environment where

Jacks calling modern walking “rebellious”

walking has not been designed for, encouraging

and “subversive” is additionally indicative of how

walking where the automobile dominates the

the experience of walking feels in suburbia. Geoff

landscape would be unsuccessful, as the experience

Nicholson in his book, The Lost Art of Walking: The

would be uncomfortable for the person walking

History, Science, and Literature of Pedestrianism;

and those watching them from their car. In order to

makes an apt description in describing the feeling of

ensure that walking remains within comfort zones,

“crossing an empty parking lot” as the way that many

giving walking a place removes these out-of-place

walks feel in the suburban setting.23 There aren’t any

perceptions. As walking in the suburban landscape

rules against it, but simultaneously, the experience

often must take place in places dominated by cars,

leaves one exposed and feeling out of place. David

walking’s decline becomes more evident. In a place

Macauley, in his essay “Walking the City: An Essay

where it is uncomfortable, in the suburban setting, it

on Peripatetic Practices and Politics,” adds another

happens less.

layer to Jacks’s and Nicholson’s perceptions in this discussion with his observation that in many suburban

ENLIVENED SPACES

situations, the walker is “viewed with suspicion,

as a vagrant, outcast or unwelcome outsider, and

discussing the consequences for the pedestrian

sometimes taken into custody for walking on the side

of automobile dependence.

of the road where no pedestrian path exists.”24 Not

the all but disappearance of the walking city to the

only is walking uncomfortable for the person actually

“ever-accelerating century.”25

walking, but for those who are not accustomed

speed of walking cannot keep up with the pace of

23 24

Nicholson, Lost Art of Walking, 156. Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 253.

David

Macauley’s

essay

begins

Macauley attributes In other words, the

Macauley, Walking the City: An Essay on Peripatetic Practices and Politics, 5.

the transportation needs of the modern world. A

walking as an occasional activity is insufficient works

sprawling, regional economy in which employment

on two levels. Places that enjoy a steady stream of

centers are distributed miles apart and separate

walkers enjoy safety through constant observation,

from residential areas demands that people be

an attractive aesthetic in appearing occupied,

able to traverse long distances in a short amount

and community cohesion through recognition of

of time. In relying so heavily on the automobile for

community members in passing. The second benefit

transportation, that “we have become dependent

is found individually with the accrued experience

upon a single form of transportation that has

of walking regularly, and constantly engaging one’s

recreated the landscape in its image.”26 Macauley

environment at a walking pace. When one walks

explains further that the choice to give the automobile

as a part of their daily routine, an accumulation of

primacy has undermined the “habitable and livable

small experiences and observations amass into a

pedestrian scale in the environment.”27 The distance

true, up-to-date first hand understanding of one’s

in between destinations has grown to accommodate

surroundings.

the pedestrian. Solnit makes a similar observation to Macauley in what is lost from the experience of

SETTING THE PROBLEM

walking itself:

“The decline of walking is about the lack of space in which to walk, but it is also about the lack of time – the disappearance of that musing, unstructured space in which so much thinking, courting, daydreaming, and seeing has transpired. Machines have sped up and lives have kept pace with them.”28 The frequency in which people walk is an important aspect of walking that Macauley raises: “Without availing ourselves of regular walking, places are bypassed and effaced. In the process, we are courting topoclasm, place-alienation and the creation of nonplaces: sites without life.”29

This statement that

26 Macauley, Walking the City: An Essay on Peripatetic Practices and Politics, 6. 27 Ibid. 28 Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, 259. 29 Macauley, “Walking the City: An Essay on Peripatetic Practices and Politics”, 8.

During the time that Thoreau was regularly

presenting Walking, prior to its publication in 1862, walking was perceived by him to be occurring less often as time progressed. Thoreau’s perception that the walk was being lost seems to be indicative of man’s constant relationship with walking. Nicholson observes in his book that “for most of human history, the vast majority of people walked exclusively. The second we did not have to anymore, we stopped.”30 As human technology has progressed, walking has indeed become a gradually increasing “lost art.” Through this relationship between the advancement of transportation technology and the prevalence of walking in the built form, it raises an important issue with walking. In a discussion of the virtues of 30

Nicholson, The Lost Art of Walking, 14.

walking, it is important to acknowledge as Nicholson

community – natural or constructed. Walking as a

has, that for many Americans, life moves too quickly

vehicle for connection with one’s self, others, the

for a walking pace. In response to the necessity

environment, and one’s community is essential, and

of fast transportation, the case for the necessity of

has become a rarity. In pursuit of finding a way to

expanding the time and space for walking becomes

reacquaint the suburban landscape with the benefits

stronger. In recognizing the value of walking, both

of walking, I ask: How can the suburban landscape

maintaining and creating new space to walk requires

be reconnected with commonplace walking?

a strong effort to resist the pressures that modern transportation puts on our public space set aside for walking.

Among these various positions on walking,

a diverse value exists within this one act. It is both an introverted and extroverted activity. A walk that is preferred one day may not be preferred the next. Through this lens, what one gains from walking

RETROFITTING

described by Solnit, Thoreau, Muir, and Macauley

are all valid, with each offering a unique experience

of walking, the landscape formed by walking’s

to one another, not a superior experience to one

diminished cultural stature emerges as an object of

another. In keeping with a common observation

inquiry. In investigating walking’s fading role in the

that the automobile-centered suburb has lessened

daily routine, the place that responds to this low

its inhabitant’s propensity to walk, a diverse set of

priority for walking, that in turn further discourages

experiences must be designed to fully offer what

walking, best serves as a laboratory to observe the

walking has to offer.

state of walking in the contemporary landscape. The

For the majority of the time that humans

suburban settings designed primarily for automotive

have been humans, walking has provided an excuse

transportation are the source of most trips that

for regular exposure to the natural, built, and social

minimize the need for one to travel at some point

settings that surround them. As the necessity of

as a pedestrian. As the “ground zero” of walking’s

walking has been removed from the typical daily

decline, it sets itself as the context for the issue of

routine, this contact with one’s surroundings has

walking’s faded role in one’s life. Outside of this

been lost. Regular exposure to the outside creates

automobile dependent form, a design investigation

an accurate perception of what is happening in one’s

would not address the landscape that is problematic.

In discussing the decline of the occurrence

If a place can be retrofitted to accommodate walking,

developed. It can be seen as walking’s diminished

then it sets an example for other developed and

role remaining diminished having been relegated to

undeveloped places alike. But what is left to use

the “leftovers” of the landscape. In a more positive

where the land has been “built-out?”

light however, these corridors and marginal spaces

Charles Little in Greenways for America outlines

create connections between uses that would

the contemporary movement for the addition

otherwise never meet directly in a hierarchical street

of “greenways” through both developed and

network. Opportunity lies within these corridors as

undeveloped

a special place that provides a unique experience to

landscapes.

Greenways

are

linear pieces of land set aside for recreation or environmental protection. In reaction to the long history of the American landscape being developed in a manner that omits pedestrian access, greenways have become a popular tool to provide a network of paths and trails that retrofit an infrastructure for onfoot travel and recreation.

Little describes the strategy used by planners

and designers for implementing a greenway system: “The object is to use riversides and stream courses that have been floodplain-zoned against development, to use abandoned railroad beds and canal towpaths, to use high tension lines and even sewer right-ofways, to use old roads untrod and new roads unbuilt to use mandatory recreational land dedications by subdividers, to use special ridgeline open spaces – in short, to use anything linear they can lay their hands on to provide the greenways for a skein of paths and trails crisscrossing within and leading out of metropolitan America.”31

From examining Little’s list of acceptable

properties for conversion to a greenway, it can paint a bleak picture of the possibilities using what is left after acres upon acres of property have been 31

Little, Greenways for America, 38.

those who travel on foot.

NEXT STEPS In the spirit of seeing the world for oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self, I continued my walking research in the field. Having been drawn to the Dulles Corridor in Northern Virginia to investigate the extension of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit

Authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

(WMATA)

Metrorail

service,

its sprawling character made it an ideal place to investigate walking in suburbia. By setting out into this place on foot, case studies emerged that exhibit the state of walking in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suburban landscape and illustrate the successes and challenges in designing for a diverse pedestrian experience.

2 CASE STUDIES

2.1 SILVER LINE

Phase 1 - Open 2014 Phase 2 - Open 2017

ASHBURN

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My initial interest in making the suburban landscape more pedestrian-friendly brought me to the “Silver Line” as a work-in-progress to study. The addition of Metrorail typically is followed by the surrounding area adapting to an influx of pedestrian traffic. The Silver Line is an extension of Metrorail into Northern Virginia from Tyson’s Corner to Ashburn, via Dulles International Airport. Phase One as of the writing of this thesis is soon to open, with Phase Two remaining in the planning stages. In studying planned and existing developments along the Silver Line, design exercises and site analysis began to speak to my readings and writings of walking. As my research focused on the act of walking, and its role in the contemporary landscape, this corridor proved to be useful in examining how the suburban landscape and walking shape each other. Among these proposed stations, Reston would emerge as an ideal location to study how people in the suburbs walk.

4 mi

TYSON’S CORNER

WASHINGTON, DC

2.2 RESTON Route 26

7 DC

I-66

495

Reston’s development took a different path than most suburbs in Northern Virginia. Founded in 1964, Reston was a master planned community that was laid out to accommodate a pedestrian network that would be implemented as an integral part of the community. It was one of the first of its kind in the United States. At the time, suburban sprawl had become the norm, and most residential development was oriented towards using the automobile exclusively. Robert E. Simon, Reston’s founder, had a different vision. He envisioned a place where work, recreation, and the home were integrated with one another and would remain accessible throughout an individual’s life span - instead of a single-mode transportation network for those who are capable of driving. Placing “town centers” and “village centers” as central hubs of shopping, entertainment, and employment intended to ensure residences could easily access amenities on foot. It was envisioned that employees of Reston businesses could easily find housing close by. Much of Simon’s vision can be seen in Reston; the trails have been constructed as planned, and are popular with Restonians and visitors alike. Throughout its execution, the trails have anchored the placement of recreational facilities and further reinforced the trails as a not only a link to destinations, but act as a destination in themselves. Though Reston has taken on many of the qualities of its more conventional suburban neighbors over time, this walking network would prove to be an ideal setting to see the state of walking in suburbia.

Reston Association Communities Reston Commercial Corridor Town + Village Centers

Pink Trail

Site Case Study

W as

hin

Green Trail

nio

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Herndon-Monroe Station (planned) M

Blue Trail

Reston Town Center Station (planned) M

Wiehle Ave Station Opening 2014 M

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Red Trail

Turq u

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Trail

N 0

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1 mi

2.3 CASE STUDIES

WALKING The prioritization of placing walkways throughout Reston makes it an ideal place to examine walking’s contemporary position in the suburban landscape. With walking so readily available in Reston, a wide spectrum of suburban walks can be seen. In such a town with an expansive walkway network, if there’s a suburban walk to be found, it can be found here.

THE RESTON TRAILS In keeping with the town’s original master plan, a system of trails extends throughout Reston. Each trail is named by color, with many of them linking to one another, creating a network that partially links the entire town. The commercial corridor consisting mostly of offices that exists along Route 267 is not served by these trails. An examination of this network’s planning, implementation, and current usage gives insight into integrating a trails system into an environment where a trail placement comes secondary to property divisions and existing construction. In selecting the Red Trail and the Green Trail, a circuitous trail and a linear trail respectively, both typologies of trail configuration can be studied. Both trails are two of the oldest in the system, and in selecting these, the intent of the master plan carries more strongly than the others.

RESTON CRESCENT In between phases, it is common practice for real estate developers to construct a temporary green space to provide an amenity while waiting to build out the rest of the parcel. In the case of Reston Crescent, a park has been created in the midst of a landscape characterized by large surface parking lots and single use office buildings. In an examination of this landscape, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the portions of the plan which have been constructed, the temporary landscape, and in their current state, what they offer to those who occupy this office park during the day.

Green Trail

Reston Crescent

Red Trail

N 0

.25

1 mi

2.4 GREEN TRAIL Ne

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w rk

Reston Parkway

Parc Reston

The Village

N Baron C

ameron

Nature Trail

Transition

0 100 200

400

600 ft

Avenue

Washington 0 100 Plaza

200

300

The Green Trail extends from Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original core at Washington Plaza to the edge of the decadesnewer Reston Town Center. From end to end, the trail makes its way through densely populated urban-charactered places, through forested areas, and clusters of housing. Through these various settings, the trail offers places for one to seek out others, and to engage the surrounding community, or a place to seek out refuge from the social environment of the surrounding town. Through making drawings along specific segments of the trail, lessons can be gleaned from examining successes and failures of specific moments along the trail. Through the lens of what can be gained through a walk, the Green Trailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s routing through a wide swath of forest and its position within Washington Plaza provide the best examples in these case studies to examine what makes a good place for a walk in both private and public settings. The adjacency of these two settings invites further investigation into how these two contrasting places transition from one into the other.

400

2.4.1 GREEN TRAIL DESIGN

Spectrum Shopping Center

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Baseball field

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Reston Town Center

Founderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Park

0 100 200

400

600 ft

Residential Office/commercial Retail Parks and recreation Green Trail Blue Trail Pedestrian tunnel

Baron C

ameron

Avenue

Play Structure Lake Anne Elementary

Washington Plaza

Lake Anne

The Green Trailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design intent was to be a part of a network of walkways that would link the town together separately from the street network. Along the trail, pathways extend outward, connecting neighborhoods with each other and to recreational amenities. The trail additionally acts as a destination as itself. Walking for leisure on the trail is a popular pastime that is encouraged by diverse places along the way, and separation from disturbances, such as traffic noise. With a major employment center located at Reston Town Center, the trail does connect residences with employment and shopping. The trail acts as a direct pedestrian connection to Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destinations that is an alternative to the hierarchical street network. When walking, one does not organize their path the same way cars have been organized to move â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the routing is tailored for the way people move on foot, taking the direct route, which is the shortest and least resistant path.

2.4.2 Investigation

In order to understand how this place works at the scale of the pedestrian, drawings were made of the identified settings along the Green Trail. For each setting, a drawing was made that identifies key features that shape the experience along the way. An additional drawing was made for each of the five settings that maps the types of walking that happen within that setting. In doing so, the design could be evaluated on a scale that speaks to what it is like to move through it, and lends itself to seeing how people walk through these various places.

Of the five distinct settings along the Green Trail, two examples provided the best examples of an environment where one could seek a social walk, while the other provides an example of a place SPECTRUM CENTER where one can escape a crowd. TheSHOPPING large and open Washington Plaza allows a connection to other people, TUNNEL the trail moves under Reston EXPANDED PARKING setting ISLAND Parkway to avoid crossing th and provides a social for one to walk through. pedestrian walkway is created to multi-lane arterial road link the larger shops to the ones Conversely, the widening forest along the western side across the street. of the trail screens away the surrounding homes, at which point one can begin to see themselves as part ! PATH TO NOWHERE of the natural surrounding as opposed to the built this extra space for walking seldom used and poorly placed surrounding of Reston.ismost foot traffic goes from

GREEN TRAIL

@ RESTON PARKWAY

DESIGN The Green Trail through this portion of Reston separates as much as possible from travel lanes for vehicles. In doing so, the trail user can free themselves of the concern of moving traffic. The walk is enjoyed more thoroughly with fewer distractions.

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though the forested portions of this site are thin between buildings, it is still effective in screening away structures

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GREEN TRAIL

TUNNEL EXPANDED PARKING ISLAND

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SPECTRUM SHOPPING CENTER

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SEPARATED PATH

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though separate from the road network, the trail feels like a claustrophobic afterthought compared with the portion of the trail built in 1968

the green trail route was placed as far away as possible from the travel lanes of Reston Parkway

commute errand

JUST PUT IT OVER THERE...

BREATHING ROOM

commute errand

the trail dissolves into the concrete sidewalks that frame parking spaces and lead into the condominium buildings

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errand

LEGIBLE

g se d og t ex d o p h i nk ercis g d f a c onvecon e exeog do mily rs tem rc g dog dog dog dog dog d fam e ta pla is e exercise exercise exercise og d e p ily lk g ot e wondveer rtsheintaklckognotsesm ip clate x fam ssip con i ly family family family fam on w com ily mut f errand e

DESIGN

commute

@ PARC RESTON

commute errand

GREEN TRAIL

i r

sh op Days and times of most frequent walking: sh 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 8a 9a 10a op sh op

9p 10p Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

2.4.3 THE WOODS DESIGN

100 200

300

400’

This steeply sloped valley prevented development from encroaching into this wooded area. As a result, the trail as it runs through disconnects with the built environment, and allows one to see themselves as part of the trees, or as Thoreau phrased it: “as a part and parcel of nature.”321 As the trail bends to accommodate topography, the view ahead points towards the woods, instead of down the trail. This further screens other people when moving through this portion of the trail. Visual separation is the key component of achieving this experience. In reducing the visibility of people and buildings, the experience connects one with the natural environment and themselves.

Thoreau, Walking 1 of 495.

HE WOODS

Green Trail Paths to communities Property line

134’

4’

0’

200’

N 0

40 80

160

240 ft

WALKS

The vast majority of walks here are for leisure. Within those leisurely walks however are a diverse set of motivations. It is common to see pets being walked, or to see parents with school aged children making their way down the path. While walks happen here with others, the trail here is not solely about solitude. No matter the walk, it is done in a place that separates one moving through from the built environment. While the design here lends itself toute a place where one m m nd can get away, those passing regardless of co rrathrough e what brought them here will find themselves seeing themselves as a part of the surrounding trees, as opposed to the surrounding residences. e ut m m d co rran e

2.4.4 THE WOODS

e ut m m d co rran e

commute errand

g do y g il is do am rc i g ly f exe r th n do i e e co g fam cis nd ip do y er o ss g mil ex te w go do fa ise pla alk c t er m e ex nte ers co onv c

commute errand

e ut m m d co rran e e ut m m d co rran e

e ut m m d co rran e

g d l ex y fa og d er m co cis ily og d ta nt e fa lk em ex m og go p er ily do ss la cis fa g ip te e m d co w ex ily og nv on erc fa do g er de ise m d il se r t ta hin exe y fam og d lk k rc i go co ise ly og d f ss nt ip em exe ami og d co p rcis ly nv lat e fam og d o er e w ex il se o er y f g do gd ta nd cise ami lk e o e ly

commute errand

e ut m m d co rran e

commute errand

e ut m m d co rran e

e ut m m d co rran e e ut m m d co rran e

In observing that the walks happening here arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always about nature or being alone raises an important point: the walks found in this segment of the trail can easily be found in other differing segments as well. In seeking walks outside of what the woods has to offer, the linear form of the Green Trail requires all walks to be funneled through other portions of the trail.

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commute - segment of the commute on foot

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o g dog a ily famdog do ily e em ercise e fa x g w onder th xe do ily i n g s p converse t do am ci g ly f xer thi n do i e r o

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Legend

other pens on foot

e ut m m d co rran e

commute errand

dog dog dog dog dog family family family exercise exercise exercis contemplate wonder converse talk gossip cothi n

ute comm errand

o g dog a ily famdog do ily e em xercise exe fa

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dog d o g do exerfcamily fa g dog dog m is d contee exerciisley family og dog do f g m gossiplate woexerciseaemily fami dog dog dog dog do g d f ly p con nder x verse thinkecrcise exeframily family family famil y c i s talk g ontem cise ex er ossip er p convelate wondceisre exercise exm plat e ssi rse tal o k gossitphin k constee talk g c o nv e r

N 0

40 80

160

240 ft

mute

com scale: 1â&#x20AC;?=40â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ute frequent walking: Days and times errand of most comm errand 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p

ute comm errand ute comm errand

g do y g il is do am rc i g y f exe r th n do il e e co g fam cis nd ip do y er o ss g mil ex te w go do fa ise pla alk c t er m e ex nte ers co onv c

e ut m m d co rran e

commute errand

g d l ex y fa og d e m og c rc i ta ont ise ly fa do lk em ex m g go p er ily do ss la cis fa g ip te e m d co w ex ily og nv on erc fa do g er de ise m d il se r t ta hin exe y fam og d lk k rc go co ise ily og d f ss nt e ip em xe ami og d co p rcis ly nv lat e fam og d o er e w ex il se o er y f g do gd ta nd cise ami lk e l go r th exer y fam og d ssi ink cise ily og d p c co on nt exercfamil og d ver em o i y se pla se ex fam g d og tal te i k g wo ercis ly f oss nd e m dog ip er exe ily co th rc fa dog nv in is m d er k c e e ily f og se on xe am do ta te rcis ily g d lk m go pl e ex fam og a ssi te erc ily d o g pc w i f on on se e x a mil dog ve de d e y rse r th rcis fam og t al ink e ex ily do k g co er fa os nt cis m sip em co p n

commute errand

e ut m m d co rran e

e ut m m d co rran e e ut m m d co rran e

ute comm errand

e ut m m d co rran e

commute errand

e ut m m d co rran e

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g do y g mil do fa cis i g ily xer r th on e e c do g famise nd ip do y rc o ss g mil xe e w go do fa se eplat talk ci e er tem rs ex on nve c o c

e ut m m d co rran e

d o g do g dog do exercfisamily familyg dog e exerc contem ise family conve plate wo exercis nd rse tal k gossier thi p con

e ut m m d co rran e

9p 10p Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

2.4.5 WASHINGTON PLAZA DESIGN

100 200

300

400â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

In contrast to The Woods, Washington Plaza is a wide and open space that is all about the view to everything around. Limited vegetation and structures within the plaza keep the view open, allowing one to survey the physical, constructed setting and the social setting alike. Paving banding suggests direction to guide visitors through the plaza, while the expanse of Lake Anne contained by a wall acts as an excuse to linger and view the water - along with people in the foreground and background. These wide open spaces provide a place for seating and cafe-style dining. While walking is the way that most people here are able to connect with the social setting around them, watching people walk is an important draw to bring the surrounding community out and into the open.

paving bands invite traffic through the plaza destinations (gray) shops and restaurants, along with the landscape attract visitors and invite them to wander and explore vegetation is confined to the edges, and does not obstruct views within the plaza

destinations (gray) shops and restaurants, along with the landscape attract visitors and invite them to wander and explore

paving bands frame seating areas

lake anne visual focal point: common center of attention that excuses watching others in public

width: the trail is routed over a wide surface allowing for gathering, stopping, and watching

waterfront benches allow â&#x20AC;&#x153;front rowâ&#x20AC;? view to water - and people

N 0

120 ft

2.4.6 WASHINGTON PLAZA WALKS

Similar to the neighboring wooded segment of the trail, the walks that happen here are largely for leisure. Sharing many of the same walks as what happens in other places along the Green Trail, a few additional walks emerge here. Street level retail encourages â&#x20AC;&#x153;shopping walkingâ&#x20AC;? where individuals move slowly through the space examining window displays - and other people around. This social environment is ideal for those who go for a walk hoping to encounter other people. In a similar observation to The Woods, walks that occur elsewhere overlap into this unique space. In order to reach adjacent settings in which to walk, passage through this space often has to happen first.

Legend dog dog dog - walking a dog gossip converse talk - walking with one or more people contemplate, wonder, think - alone, not talking with anyone people watch - walking while watching walking shop shop shop - strolling past store fronts, peering in

Days and times of most frequent walking: 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p

9p 10p Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

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ossip t lk co converse gamily faam gossip talk il nv ily f converse family family kfacm k l plate wo y f e m a e t t n o p i s s o in ily g th m e s fa er r g d o o d e d g ily n v g o n do n w dog dog do mplaote sip talk co amily famhiilnykfam conte ch watch watc g t verse gosamily family fw g d gadtcohg watch wasth r n o e o d c d g n k o l o o p h d a s p o t g ss f sho gossip family familyk contemplatge dog dog do atch watch wop shop shop il i p converse amiley wonder thing dog dog do atch watch w op shop sh a t y fa mtialk mily family fp lat dog dog do atch watch w hop shop sh l y fa ew m e t n o o g o n d er think cog dog dog tch watch w shop shop s d o g dog dog d tch watch wa p shop shop sh o at ch wa c h watch wat shop shop shop

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onder plate w dog contem g dog r thinkdog dog dofamily family wonde dog ily family g o v d n erse dog mily fam talk co fa family gossip

nverse talk co

N 0

120 ft

t w fa d

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ce en es pr e ng dg tro bri s s e of id ts

2.4.7 TRANSITION: THE WOODS + WASHINGTON PLAZA

Emerging from the woods, the built environment makes a small encroachment into the trees.

120 ft

Crossing under the bridge along a channelized stream announces the developed setting ahead.

The presence of homes close to the tree-lined path indicates a more developed setting ahead.

The plazaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban condition emerges after a sequence of alternating transitioning environments and thresholds.

2.5 RED TRAIL

This 2.1 mile loop around Lake Thoreau provides residents and visitors alike with a pedestrian connection to recreational facilities and shopping, while also acting as a destination in itself. Though part of a master planned trails system, its construction faced many obstacles in its implementation. In examination of this trailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development, many lessons emerge revealing how the trail negotiated existing conditions in its segmented construction around the lake. In further examining this trail, the habits of suburban walkers become evident as well.

Similar to the Green Trail, the design follows many of the same cues. As the Red Trail winds its way around Lake Thoreau, it encounters many different settings. Through the village center, it moves through a small plaza and under the colonnade of the shopping center. With people all around, the experience exposes one to the built and social environment of this village within Reston. In other portions of the trail, the built environment fades into the background as wider wooded areas remove oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s self from the man-made features of the neighborhood. In other portions, the trail moves through a hybrid of the built and unbuilt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; homes and heavy vegetation intertwine leaving a quiet place that keeps a visual connection to the fact that the individual is still very much within a developed place.

ise

Va ll

Dr .

NORTH VILLAGE

WATERFRONT

NATURE TRAIL

SOUTH VILLAGE

So uth

La ke sD

DAM

N 0

100 200

400 ft

2.5.1 DESIGN

The Red Trail provides a recreational amenity that connects several other recreational amenities along the trail. The trail further connects surrounding residences with a village center, comprised of a shopping center with a grocery store, restaurants, and small shops. Major employment centers outside of retail remain out of reach of the Red Trail. The circuitous trail ensures that when making a loop, no decision must be made along the way when to turn back. In removing the need to turn back, the surroundings never repeat themselves. The resulting experience is a continuously new setting to enjoy while walking. However, when a particular walk is sought, moving through unpreferred settings becomes necessary to reach the preferred place to walk.

LEGEND Residential Commercial Retail Recreation Red Trail Additional Trails Crosswalk Pedestrian Tunnel

Sunrise ball field

Valley D

rive pool

grocery play field

ail

ret

Lake Thoreau

play

uth

middle and high school athletic fields

boat launch

Ridge Heights Road

riv

pool

N 0

100 200

400 ft

2.5.2 Investigation

In continuing with making drawings to examine the pedestrian-scale experience of each setting along the trails, the design of the Red Trail can be evaluated on the same level as previously done with the Green Trail. Similar to the Green Trail, large open walkways create a connection to other people, and provides a social setting for one to walk through. Conversely, the widening forest along the western side of the trail screens away the surrounding homes, at which point one can begin to see themselves as part of the natural surrounding as opposed to the built surroundings of Reston.

SWITCH-UP

the trail continues, but its surface changes to a 5â&#x20AC;&#x2122; concrete sidewalk

BREATHING ROOM

the trail is moved away from the arterial road with fast traffic and road noise

CROSS HERE

clearly marked crosswalk lets the pedestrian know the trail continues across the road

! FORK BY THE ROAD

no marked crosswalk or signage make this joint in materials confusing when wayfinding

RED TRAIL

@ SUNSET VALLEY RD. 50

DESIGN

BACK ON TRACK

trail surface returns to the most common asphalt

PUBLIC SPACE

leaving the edge of the trail open to the masses allows the trail have its own uninterrupted, undisturbed space

OWNERS ONLY

the lakefront in this portion of the trail is only accessible by private residences. the red trail is forced away from the water

RED TRAIL

// THROUGH THE WOODS

DESIGN

BRANCH OUT

the red trail connects to similar “spur” trails that further expand this singular trail into a node for a trails system throughout reston

RED TRAIL

@ LAKE THOREAU DAM

DESIGN NOT JUST TREES

native grass field is maintained with interpretive signage to provide diverse wildlife habitat and education

! A LITTLE CRAMPED

the benches provide a resting place for looking out at the water and others. their position so close to the trail makes it awkward to sit while others walk past

THE LEFTOVERS

the unbuildable land which is least valuable to home builders is ecologically valuable in slowing and filtering runoff

So u

th L

ak es D

riv e

Lake Thoreau

TIGHT SPACE

though heavily wooded, this portion of the trail is set in the woods as much as it is these backyards

THE VIEW

absent tree plantings and a linear path open the view to others and the surrounding scenery

Lake Audobon

TUNNEL

a tunnel under south lakes drive and connects to the local elementary, middle and high schools

scale: 1”=30’

RED TRAIL

// THROUGH THE VILLAGE

DESIGN ON THE ROAD AGAIN PARKS AND REC

this open field with maintained turf provides space for unstructured play - easily accessible from the trail

instead of weaving the trail through developed lots, it is pushed into the margins alongside sunrise valley dr.

! WHICH WAY?

the trail’s surface in this segment is indistinguishable from the sidewalk network found in this subdivision

SIGN POSTS

bollard trail markers containing a small map show the way through the trail - including this disjointed crossing

THE VILLAGE

reston’s village character is felt walking through areas of both mature tree stands and clustered housing

scale: 1”=40’

RED TRAIL

THROUGH THE VILLAGE

DESIGN

1977 1979 1980

1976

1977 CROSSING THE LINE

the trail here crosses property lines instead of running along the edges. in doing so, a link is created between properties

2.5.3 Walks

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thr

Also similar to the Green Trail are the types of walking that occur throughout the loop. Most walks occur during evenings and weekends. Little connection to other uses limits the ability to commute on foot, and while walking is commonplace outside of business hours, it remains largely a recreational activity. Closer to the village center however, an occasional shopping bag can be found making its way from the grocery store.

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ED TRAIL

o ugh cut

through cut through cut through cut through cut through cut

@ SUNSET VALLEY RD.

WALKS 52

Dayswalking: and times of most frequent walking: Days and times of most frequent 9a 3p 10a 4p 11a 12p 6p 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p8a 2p 5p 1p6p 2p7p 3p 8p4p 9p5p 10p

Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

9p 10p

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WALKS

e comrrand mu te

cu e g d x o

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Sat-Sun

co err m an m d ut e

e comrrand mu te

co err m an m d ut e

errand commute

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commute errand

e mut comrand er

nd e ra ut - walking with the intent to burn calories er exercise m talk gossip converse - walking with one or more person m co contemplate wonder think - alone, not speaking with another

RED TRAIL

THROUGH THE VILLAGE

commute errand - the portion of the commute that happens on foot dog - walking pets family - walking with family members errand running window shopping

comerran mu d te

shortcut sho r tc ut

WALKS

Sat-Sun

o y w o g dofamil lkercis nde g e

amil y ily f g do n fam og do e w o e ily g d mplat rcis e doontecise exe o ss i p c k cexerse talk g er nv

fa m e il y e t w onfa mily fam o g a l d er ily fam cise dogk gossi think conte p exe dog conver rcis dog d se e ex erciseog

err com an mu d te err com and te mu ise ewo te x

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fa d ily m dog e og k conext e r n ise c sip co n s go

Sat-Sun

d an te err mu m co

d an te err mu m co d an te err mu m co

e ut m m nd co rra e

mily fg d do r t h de ex ise er s e v

Mon-Fri

mily family f ily fa og dog doamily fam ily f g do fam dog d ily og der think contemplg dog d amily fam m d on a o fa dog te w rcise exercise exercise ete wo g dog ily family fam il y f a g pla exe onverse talk gossip co xercisneder thindog dog dog do g d o g r nver exer k contempla c te won d e i se ta cise ex isessip lk gos ercise exercise exe r c co o sip conve p rse talk g o s si

do fam co g d ily n o tal exertem kg c

d an err mute com

t ily pla ers famem nv g d g fa t do ly pla is i ilycont co do xer c og amtemxer t p f n e g d ily co e e ssi fam k sip g do m ink cis go g y far th xer se ly in os do ise domilnde e e ver n ly family family fam i r th k g og erc i m a f y wo rcis co l i k fam hink contemplate wond e tal g d e ex der t se talk gossip convers e o is on converg dog dog dog d og do g d xerc o g d exercise exercise ex ercise e e

y family fami mil contemplately family family fam wonder t k n hink contily family famil i h k gossip converse emplate mily t l a l k wondyefa g a os t dog dog dog r thinkfacm ily family dog dog sip converse tal g ontem p fam o k gossip d xercise exercise dog dog latete i convers exercise dog dog e e tal k gcormramnud w ly e e x s ercise e dog dog o e s xercise dog fa m dogm exercise dog dog dog sip y dogilyd fa iel r think ccis exercise dog mn d do xer lk wontie dogamily fa a c sgeoessip ta e late xe r te p x r f tem u e u r m e erse m rcis coneercise comand conv extalkm err co mute comand Days and times of most frequent walking: err nd 2pte 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 8a 9a 10a 11a 12pra1p r u e m Mon-Fri e m mut co comrand r

ily ily fam ily fam r think ily famlate wonidsee exerciserse y fam p exerc nve famil k contem ise ssip talk codog dog mily in exerc ily faonder tehxercise nverse gog dog dog o e fam co ily late wxercis p talk dog dog d g fam mp e e ossi ily nte rcis rse g og do am co exe ve g d ly f hink rcise lk con og do i am r t xe ta og d l y f de e ip mi wonercise goss dog d a f ily late e ex erse og fam mp cis nv g d ily nte xer k co do fam co se e tal dog ily hink erci ssip og fam r t ex go g d ily nde cise rse do fame wo exer onve dog ily g am lat ise lk c do ily f emp erc ta g fam cont ise ex ossip g do erc rse g og do x e e e rcis onv dog d exe talk c

co err mm an ut d e

rou

t th

rou

t th

ily m fa te n co nve co do m fa xer e fa

e comrrand mu te

co erra m nd m ut co erra e m nd m e u co rra m nd te m ut e

d an te err mu m co

co err m an m d ut e

errand commute

exercise - walking with the intent to burn calories talk gossip converse - walking with one or more person N scale: 1â&#x20AC;?=30â&#x20AC;&#x2122; contemplate wonder think - alone, not speaking with another exercise - walking with the intent to burn calories commute the portion of the commute that happens on foot RED TRAIL talk gossip converse - walking with one or more person dog - walking pets contemplate wonder think - alone, not speaking with another // THROUGH THE VILLAGE commute errand - the portion of the commute that happens on foot family - walking with dog - walking pets family members family - walking with family members WALKS errand - errand running or shopping errand running window shopping te mud cut through - walking off thethe trail ortrail sidewalks cut through - walking off or sidewalk n com rra og dog dog dog do og dog d ly family fam ily fag m dog d dog d amily fami dogy family fonder think coxnetercmispelaete wonder thiliy famog do w cise e nverse gxoesrcise ex nk conily fa g do platercise eixpetra sip talk ercis tem mil g d k co l dog dog do xee goss con e ex plat y famog d dog ily family g vers erc e wo ily og do plate fa e g ise e nder famil g dog dog do gmily facm ossi xerc think y family family fa think onrtceim r e se ex p ta ise x contemp e late won d rcise e ossip ta e lk co exerci l nvers se exercise exe v erse g e gossip talk con

nd te erra mu m co

errand commute

il ily fam ny fam o fam plate w ersdeegr t y fa ily m o ink m i famnte lk conv ilyk co sip tadog dog dog co l y family famhin oss dog xercise exercisd ip tan templ family fam ate e d lk c ily er t se gdog ise e onversewonder ily f o m er g rc e r g d og dog doggosssipthinkamily nv o exe cis d e e exercise exe og dtoalk ccontfami rcis g on em ly e e do ve p fam xer g rs lat ily cis do e g e w fam e e g d oss ond ily fa xe og sip er thin mily fa rci do talk mily se g d convk exe og do erse g os rcise g exercdog dogsdsip o ise ex ercise g

sip

rou

t th

co erra m nd m ut e

x s il h s s o g e

ss go se fa er ly nv mi coly fa e wo k l i t a ta ip fam pl o sss ily tem d go m on og ise se y fak c g d rc ver mil in do exe con y fa r th og ise talkfamiol ndeog d xerc w g d ise e do erc ex

amily family f ily f amily famnder thsiipnktacontempl lk conv o goss se e dog dog dog deorg og e exercise exercis dog e exer cis c

errand commute

exercise - walking with the intent to burn calories talk gossip converse - walking with one or more person contemplate wonder think - alone, not speaking with another commute - the portion of the commute that happens on foot dog - walking pets family - walking with family members errand - running errands watch - looking at the scenery (and others) cut through - walking off of the trail or sidewalks

e comrrand mu te

Sat-Sun

c er co erra om ran m d m nd ut m e ut e

Mon-Fri

co erra m nd m ut e

9p 10p

f g c o a mildog d e rc i se netempyl famiolyg dog d s e g xer ate w fam og d ossi cise e onder ily fam og d p ta xerc think ily lk co ise e con f nver xerc te se go is s

tcut

ortcut shor

shortcut sh

errand commute

Days and times of most frequent walking: 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p

e comrrand mute

s go k rse ve famhin onmilyde r t do a on og rc g d e exe cis

WALKS

nd erramute com

f c e t

@ LAKE THOREAU DAM

do al xe on am g k c rc te ily do on ise m f g ve e pl am d

RED TRAIL

er g nd m cis do er i e e g d th ly f t xe oginkamalk rc d co ily co ise o n fa nv ex g dotemmilerse er g pl y f go cis do ateam sss wa e e g d w ily ipt tch xe ogon fam alk w rci d de ily co atc se og r t fa nv h ex d hin m er wa erc og k ily se t ise docon fam go ch w ex g d tem ily sssi atc erc og p fa pt h ise dolat mil alk wa ex g de w y fa con tch erc o on m ve w ise g d de ily rse atc ex og r th fam go h w erc do in ily ss at ise g dk co fa sip ch ex og nte mil talk wat erc d m y f c ch ise og pla am onv wa ex dog te ily f ers tch erc d wo am e g w ise og nd ily os atc ex do er t fa ssip h w m f erc g d hin mi ta a r a cis g d se pl m ise og k ly f lk c tch e e o g g o ate il y ex docon am on wa erc g te ily ve tc xe do sss wo fam rci g ip nd ily ise dogmp fam rse h w se do tal er fa ex dolat ily go atc ex g k c th mi erc g e w fa ss h erc do on ink ly ise do on m sipt wa ise g d ver co fam ex g d de ily f alk tch o s n exe g e te ily erc og r t am co w rcisdoggos mp fam ise dohin ily nv atc s e e do sip lat ily ex g dk co fam ers h w xe g ta e w fa erc og n il e g a rci do lk o ise d tem y fa os tch se g co nd ex do ex og pla m ssip wa erc do te ily ta tc er g d cis ise g d w fam lk h w a ex og o ily c er d e fa v tch cis og r t m er e e d hin ily se xe og k c famgo rci do on i sss se g te ly ip family f d e xe og mp am talk conte family rci d lat ily c con mpl fam se og e w f dogverse ate w ily fa ex do exer dog dgosssoi nder mily f er cise og p t th am a exe dog lk c ink ily c f r ily ss wacise e dog donveronte amil tch xer og se mp y fa fa ipt g wa cise dog gos late mi ise do con mily alk ss w ly tch ex ex g d tem famcon wa erci dog ip ta on fam er og p il ve tch se do lk der ily cis d la y f rse e c g f wa xe d on th am e e og te am tch rci og ve ink ily xe do wo ily s wa e e dog rse con fam rci g nd tch xe se do er d go te ily warcise og dsssipmpl fam ily f ex g amil erc do tch ex og ta ate w ise g wa erci doglk convoender thy famil tch se e dog do rse go ink y fam wat xercise e g dog sssipcont ily f xerc do ta em am ch w atch is g lk pl wat e exer dog dconvaete wily cise og rs ch exe d r

famil y fam ily exer cise contem family family fam talk cexercise eplate wonder thin ily family family fa kc m x onve rse ercise exercise e ontemplate wo ily family fam dog dgossip talk conve xercise exercise ex nder think con ily family te er rs f og dog dog dog doe gossip talk conve cise exercise exmplate w amily f er rs o a g dog dog dog dog e gossip talk co cise exernder thmily fa dog dog c n dog doverse go ise exeink co mily f g dog ssip rcis nte am dog talk e ex mpl ily fa dog con erci ate mil dog vers se e won y fa dog e go xerc der mily dog ssip ise e thin dog talk xerc k dog conv ise dog erse dog

2.5.4 SITE DEVELOPMENT

In constructing the Red Trail, it had to be placed among a series of higher priorities. Natural features determined where residences and the village center would be located. Regional transportation planning further influenced the contiguous space the trail would be placed within. Finally, a desire to maximize the number of units possible further restricted the space where the Red Trail could be routed. Though master planned at the town level to be an integral part of Reston, the Red Trail was placed after the fact in many cases around Lake Thoreau.

1 NATURAL FEATURES & Drainage lake fill line

lake fill line

drainage 5’ contour line

major road

legend residential

drainage 5’ contour line

major road

legend

office/commerical retail institutional red trail

2 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION

residential office/commerical retail institutional red trail

scale: 1”=400’

lake fill line drainage 5’ contour line

The lake’s footprint, drainage channels and topography first determine the buildable area.

lake fill line drainage

5’ contour lake fill line drainage

5’ contour line lake fill line drainage major road

5’ contour line major road

Lake fill line Tributary 5’ contour line

Arterial roads are placed to align with the greater context of the vehicular transportation system.

major road

Arterial roads

legend residential office/commerical retail institutional

legend

red trail

residential

major road

legend office/commerical retail residential

3 placement of buildings institutional office/commerical legend red trail retail residential

institutional office/commerical

4 route trail

scale: 1”=400’

red trail retail

scale:institutional 1”=400’ red trail

scale: 1”=400’

Buildings and secondary roads placed to accommodate drainageways and slopes, along with integrating with arterial roads.

Among the three preceding priorities, the trail is routed in the space remaining after natural features, topography, drainage, and vehicular transportation are considered.

2.5.5 PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

In addition to reinforcing observations made at the Green Trail, the Red Trail provides an insight into how trails in this system were designed. The community that exists around Lake Thoreau was years in the making. As landforms, regional transportation, and maximizing the amount of development possible around the lake dictated the routing of the trail, property lines would drive many decisions in where to place the trail, once construction commenced. As each developer began to subdivide and develop each parcel, they were required to construct the segment of the trail that ran through their property. In this patchwork approach to implementation, the trail often had to be negotiated through existing development.

1977 1977

1977

1979 1977

1972 1972

1972

1986

1979

1980

1978 1972 1972

1985 1980 1979

1976

1981

1977 1976

1977

1978

N 0

1984

.25

.5 mi

2.5.6 IMPLEMENTATION

Beginning with a vision outlined in Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s master plan, the Red Trail began its journey around the lake, as each cluster was developed. In some places, this development across multiple clusters occurred within the same window of time. In other places, the trail had to be continued, but existing development made a contiguous surface difficult to achieve. In comparing a segment of the trail that had to contend with existing conditions with a segment that could be integrated into a design from the beginning, it can be demonstrated that after-the-fact addition of walkways can be successful, and by identifying how challenging places were designed, lessons can be carried into a design exercise in the future.

RETROFITTED As the trail through this side of the lake was constructed, existing development required the trail to be negotiated through developed parcels.

PLANNED This block of clusters developed around the same time allowed the trail to be more easily integrated with the existing conditions and through proposed home sites.

1977 1977

1977

1979 1977

1972 1972

1972

1979

1986 1980

1978 1972

1972

1985 1980 1979

1976

1981

1977 1976

1977

1978

N 0

1984

.25

.5 mi

2.5.6a PLANNED Built 1972 Built 1976 - 77 Built 1972 Built 1979 - 80

Built 1976 - 77 e

Ridg

This segment of the trail constructed between 1972 and 1977 demonstrates the benefit of having space on the drawing board to implement a trail unencumbered through multiple clusters. The experience alternates evenly between groves of trees and then clusters of townhomes. This consistency provides neither a uniquely urban or natural environment, but the predictability and rhythm achieved here makes for an undisturbed walk with little interruption.

hts Heig

Roa

Built 1976 - 77

160

320 ft

2.5.6b RETROFITTED

Built 1977 - 1979

Built 1972

ake

er L

Upp

Built 1972

Driv

Sunris

e Valle

y Drive

Built 1986

ake

er L

Upp

Built 1978 - 1979

Driv

Built 1986

0 With several years in between the development of these clusters, the trail had less flexibility of where it could be placed. As a result, the space in the margins was the only place left for the trail to go. With these in between spaces unaligned, jogs in the trail create interruptions to the continuous experience the planned segment to the south enjoys. In the case of the crossing at Upper Lake Drive, the trailâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface ends, and relies of the existing sidewalk network to continue the path. Signage is required to clarify this interruption and point the trail user in the right direction. Once the trail continues however, the trail relegated to the leftover marginal space between neighborhoods provides a similar experience to the planned, southern segment of the trail. This retrofitted segment of the trail demonstrates two things: when retrofitting, great care must be taken to ensure way-finding is effortless as possible, and that even marginal, leftover spaces have great potential that can provide the same level of experience of a planned, well-executed path from the beginning.

160

320 ft

2.6 RESTON CRESCENT

This parcel is a work in progress, as of the writing of this thesis. The property owned by the developer is being reconfigured to accept a more gridiron arrangement of its buildings, while increasing in density. Parking garages will replace surface parking to accommodate the larger number of people who will eventually work on this site. The two southern-most buildings have been constructed, and the buildings in the center of the property have been removed. In undertaking the task of redeveloping at 36 acre parcel such as this one, a great amount of capital must be raised to proceed with the entire project. In order to proceed before the entire amount of funding can be obtained to build the project, it is common practice to divide the property into phases. Two buildings have been constructed, and three have been removed in anticipation of additional landscape and building construction. In between phases, it is common practice for real estate developers to construct a temporary green space to provide an amenity while waiting to build out the rest of the parcel. In the case of Reston Crescent, a park has been created in the midst of a landscape characterized by large surface parking lots and single use office buildings. In an examination of this landscape, it provides an opportunity to evaluate the portions of the plan which have been constructed, the temporary landscape, and in their current state, what they offer to those who occupy this office park during the day.

Planned parking garage Planned office building Planned open space

Sunrise

Valley D

rive

160 ft

2.6.1 DESIGN

The configuration of this 36 acre site affords convenient access to different walks. When exiting to the north, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;walking parkâ&#x20AC;? extends far past the buildings giving the walker a place separated from the buildings and alongside open fields and stands of trees. Exiting the buildings to the south, the as-planned portion of the site has been constructed, which is a promenade overlooking two artificial ponds, and the entry drive from Sunset Valley Drive. Along the south side of the buildings, an arcing promenade along the southern face of the buildings extends across most of the site. This side is open and provides easy views to other people, and the ponds in the distance, with a wide sidewalk comprising the surface of the promenade. Walks that happen here are varied, with people walking in pairs, strolling, and pacing short distances back and forth while on the phone. The walks here are more purposeless appearing and are slower. On the north side of the buildings, the park is naturalistic with narrow pea gravel paths used to route walks through the park. This trail physically separates the walker from the constructed surroundings. With the unbuilt environment entering the foreground, one begins to see themselves as part of the natural features that exist within the temporary landscape. The more expansive area allows for more people to inhabit the space, and maintain a sense of privacy. It is common to see individuals walk through the park talking on the phone, with the ability to keep others out of earshot. In contrast to the distance provided overall by the naturalistic walking portion of the site, the narrowness of the pea gravel path brings others walking the other way into close contact with a walk that seeks inaudible privacy. Walking for exercise is a popular lunchtime pastime.

existing tree stand screens view to neighboring properties

s he nc be

tree

plan ting

pea gravel path invites walking through the park

parking lot not demolished

tree

plan

ting

picnic shelter

THE PARK

THE PROMENADE

wide sid

ewalk o

spar

Sunrise

w to ot

pen

ng o

nti e pla

w s vie

pens vie

hers

water creates visual focal point for viewing

Valley D

rive

160 ft

2.6.2 WALKS

The walks found at Reston Crescent are largely recreational. The commuting walk, or the walk from “point A” to “point B” largely takes place in the parking lots to and from vehicles. Without a destination to necessitate a walk, walking on this site is still a commonplace activity, and remains a diverse activity with the varied settings located to the north and south of the buildings. The site performs well in offering a distinct walking environment on both sides of the site with easy access to each. Depending on the walk desired, the more secluded, naturalistic side and the public, open side are immediately accessible. If wanting to walk in private, a walk through an open public space isn’t required, and vice versa. This site exhibits the popularity of recreational walking outside of the typical time of after work, during evenings and weekends and the typical place, residential districts. During business hours, people are often the most unattached to personal responsibilities as possible. There are not meals to prepare at home, nor children to attend to. Reston Crescent allows walking to be further entwined into one’s life by maximizing the places for walks to take place, by expanding it into a place where people dwell – during business hours.

Legend phone phone - walking and talking on a mobile phone exercise exercise - walking for health benefits gossip gossip - walking with one or more people contemplate, wonder - alone, not speaking with anyone commute - segment of the commute on foot cut through - walking off the pedestrian paths people watch - walking while watching walking

cut through cut throuth

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thr ou gh cut

p m nx s g p e er go ossliaptephci w n sip os pg e ssi ondip gossip g go o e w oss lat ip g exercise exerci ss i p se se rci

w horcise p ond n e pexer go e r ho cise ssi thi ne e p g n k ph oss con o ip g te oss i

on e commute commute commute commute commute phthink r ssip

xe ee p rcis o nete i s exee php a n tem ipl gos n oss

commute commute commute commute commute commute commut

on ph

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ne pho

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se d rci on c xe w onte m e e late hone p s i hon ep erc mp ex onte pho n c e on ph

phone

thr ou gh cut

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ise exercise exercise exercise ex xerc one phone phone phone phonercis e e e phonder think contemplate wond e phe n e w ossip gossip gossip goss er o ip g th h lat ssip g oss go

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rcise exercise exer exe phone phone ph cise exer ercise exercise exe isehonetemplastesipwgonder one ph cise exercise exercise exercise exerocniseepehxo c rcis r ne phone ph ossi thi o n hone ph e p go e o p g n k conne phone phone phone p ex ne k coossip contemplate wonder think con ne phonexe oss k n i t h r e t wond e t a pl m e o in g i t s s i p o p g g p s i s o e g o p i s i s p s s o m g g p o p s o i s g s o g s s p i i p s goss i ip go pla e t ssip e g

ut e

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m co

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mu com

ute mm

co m

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exercise exercise e hink contemplate woxercise exe n sip gossip gossip r gossip dgeor thinkcise one p s c commute commutehocnoemphone phone phonsip go ontexer p e p s e e t c u o s mute commu e c te comm te comphonsip egmp ise gosm hon exe mmu o c mu e p osslat eexer p t e p rcis te xeon te ho ip w cise goe w ho e e e e n co ne gosond ssiondne xe rcis e ph wo go mmp sip er p g e rci commute commute commute comm se expehonplateossip com ute com uthon gothin o mute ex m ip g ute comme e phossipkg er m m ute co ne os o c commut c p e mm sip co ho ise t u t e c o m m u te commute comm ute m go nte ne ex m u c o te com omm ssipmp p h er c e ute go lat one is ut ssie w p e e m p go h x om n e commuptehocnoemphone phone phone e t c u m phon m ne e o o h c p t e e e p l o e e w n p atch peo phon atch ut hone pho w u e l p m o e p p m ne p le wa e pho com m h emplate wonde t n o c o c t k n a i c h t w r e o e r thin h pl ond te k contch pe ne ph mut muhone patch peok contemplate w o e tem opl com plat e w ne pho com ne p le w r thin ew a pho peop wonde ond tch p ne phmute e n ch e t e o a r l thin eop one co ph wat temp m k c le ne n on wa pho m ho ople nk co tem tc ne ut p i e pe th e h n p r lat pe pho o h e e w o ne ph atc nd on ple ph ne e w te wo o d o w l er ph op pla th atc ne p ink h pe ntem o c on pe ne co te p p l h pl e w o at e a exercise exercise exercise exercise e w xercise e xercise exerci se ex ercise exerc ise ex ercise exerci se exer cise exe rcise ex ercise e xercise exerc ise exercis e exercise exe rcise exercise exer cise exercise exercise exercise exercise exerci ute mm

h o

e in ne ch p r th t de

tch wa le op k

160 ft

Days and times of most frequent walking: 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p

9p 10p Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

2.7 CONCLUSIONS

Though the Red Trail and the Green Trail have much in common, the each demonstrate separate lessons well. The Green Trail shows successes in creating form that invites walks that allow one to engage others, and a separate place that allows one to engage a natural setting and oneself. The Red Trail demonstrates particularly well the challenges of adding walking trails in the midst of existing development. In setting out to find walking in Reston, it was not difficult to locate. While walking remains too slow to keep up with the demands of commuting, the trails set up throughout this town afford a convenient place to walk when one has time for leisure. On nice days, the trails enjoy a steady flow of people jogging, enjoying each other’s company, or simply trying to expend their pets’ energies. This enjoyment however is limited mostly to evenings and weekends. Reston Crescent demonstrates the opportunities to expand the places to walk outside of the “evenings and weekends” window of time. In the placement of a pea gravel path, the recreational walks found in the suburban setting find a new place. Many of the authors cited in the previous chapter seem to be at odds in some respect with findings observed in the field. Reston hardly has the feel of a bustling city street, but walking can be found quite easily. The way most walks happen here however, are motivated by leisure.

THE PROBLEM THICKENS Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s walkway network demonstrates walkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stature in suburbia. While easy enough to find, it occupies specific times and places: evenings and weekends and residential districts, as leisure.

THESIS In order for walking to become commonplace, places to walk must be available everywhere. As residential areas remain well served here by a network of walkways, the separated commercial areas lack similar attention in providing places for people to walk. To bring walks into the commercial district, a network similar to Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s invites both utilitarian walking by connecting destinations, and walking for leisure by providing a diverse set of experiences that invite walks to happen with the walk itself acting as the destination.

3 SITE SELECTION

4 mi e

hl e

Av e

e 28

HERNDON

lle Ai s In rp t’ or l t

Ro 6

Ro 2

Phase 1 - Open 2014

Phase 2 - Open 2017

ASHBURN

RESTON

TYSON’S CORNER

3.1 STAYING ON THE LINE My initial interests in the Silver Lineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s influence on adjacent communities led me to an ideal place to observe walking in Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suburban setting. In moving forward with the search for a site, the Dulles Corridor remained a logical area in which to remain, having spent so much time studying Reston. To provide a framework to my search for a site, I used planned Metrorail stations as starting points. The sites along Phase Two were the best locations to study, as construction had not yet begun. With only a platform location selected, the sites remained unswayed by the impending changes Metrorail brings. In selecting this line running through large commercial areas along the highway, many places immediately presented themselves as potential sites. In creating a design that encourages walking of all kinds, the Metro opens the opportunity of a new walk to this corridor - the commute.

Phase 1 - Open 2014 Phase 2 - Open 2017

ASHBURN

RESTON

lle

Ai s In rp t’l or t

HERNDON

3.2 THE OUTER STATIONS The outer stations along the Silver Line include proposed locations along Route 702 and Route 606, as well as a station planned for Dulles International Airport.

N 0

4 mi

TYSON’S CORNER

ROUTE 702 This site was eliminated from consideration as it remains undeveloped. The exercise here lacks the challenges of a retrofit, which makes a weaker argument.

ROUTE 606 Like the site along Route 606, this site was eliminated from consideration as it remains undeveloped.

DULLES INTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;L The area adjacent to this proposed Metro station is only to serve terminals within the airport.

Phase 1 - Open 2014 Phase 2 - Open 2017

ASHBURN

RESTON ay

on st Re

HERNDON

3.3 THE INNER STATIONS These stations are to be placed in locations where the land is built-out, or close to it. While all of these sites are possible to use as a setting for a design that engages the experiences of walking, the process here evolved into finding a site that would provide the most engaging situations to contend with in a design investigation. A successful design produced in a difficult setting provides a stronger argument than one that fits with little resistance.

N 0

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TYSONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CORNER

ROUTE 28 The current configuration of this site easily accepts form that provides a diverse set of experiences. In a different circumstance, the exercise at this location provides few challenges, making for a weaker argument than elsewhere.

RESTON PARKWAY Reston Town Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban form dominates any design intention adjacent to it. In response to this small urban core, the design becomes an extension of the town center.

HERNDONMONROE This site provides a large commercial area with a form centered on serving vehicular transportation. Of the inner stations, this site provides the strongest challenges to creating a network of walkways.

4 SITE + MASTER PLAN

4.1 FEATURES

With the proposed Metrorail station acting as a central starting point, surrounding features then begin to draw the site outwards. Conversely, in moving out from the proposed Metro station, additional features create boundaries and enclose the scope of the design to a contiguous site. The site extends outward to neighboring greenways and is bound by freeways to the south and east, residential areas to the west, and the Washington and Old Dominion Trail along with the CIA field office to the north. The site considering all of these features is approximately 300 acres in size. 1. Washington and Old Dominion Trail - 45 miles long, extends from Purcellville, VA to Arlington, VA 2. Residential districts (red) outside scope of commercial areas 3. CIA field offices - site secured and gated 4. Sugarland Run Trail 5. Haley M. Smith Park 6. Chandon Park with asphalt path to Monroe Street 7. Limited access freeways fragment area around proposed Metrorail stations 8. A commuter parking deck removes the need to provide more parking on the north side of the highway. The Metrorail station platform will be placed in the center of the highway median, with pedestrian bridges extending north and south to both sides of the highway.

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4.2 AREA

The potential of approximately 300 acres is endless. Illustrated in the figure-ground diagrams on the right, the size of the site in Herndon could fit most of Old Town Alexandria, the entire town of Purcellville, or third of Downtown Washington within its bounds. Having established the site within which to design, an understanding of how much land there is to contend with proves useful in establishing a set of analysis drawings. The following exercises look at what makes up this site on a â&#x20AC;&#x153;macroâ&#x20AC;? level. After understanding the site on a large scale, a finer grained analysis could then follow. Each panel on the right shows one square mile.

Downtown, Washington, DC

Purcellville, VA

Old Town, Alexandria, VA

Site - Herndon, VA

4.3 LAND USE

Despite the initial perception that this site is a completely homogenous commercial district, it is home to a variety of uses. Though mostly office space, service garages, self-storage units, retail, and restaurants can be found. In a design that encourages all kinds of walking in a place such as this, lunch time dining is an important motivation behind the decision to walk to consider.

Residential Institutional Vehicle Service Self-storage Office Retail Restaurant

M M

N 87

N 88

325 650

1300 ft

4.4 CIRCULATION Among the uses identified in the previous section, circulation centers around the automobile. Large parking lots serve each building enabling convenient vehicular access. Sidewalks run along the main roads, but they remain parallel with roadways. While people can be seen moving through the site on foot on these sidewalks, the majority of circulation occurs in the parking lots from cars to building entrances, and vice versa. Pedestrian circulation in this place is designed to follow the hierarchical movement of vehicles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; moving from large arterial roads, to smaller scale driveways, then to the destination. The only crosswalks that exist on the site are at the intersection of the major arterial roads, constraining the movement of pedestrians within the â&#x20AC;&#x153;blocksâ&#x20AC;? created by these major roads. In identifying destinations such as restaurants in the previous land use section, the lack of crosswalks prevents access to existing amenities within the site.

Public streets: space where walking is entitled

Private driveways: most common circulation network

Pedestrian network: Follows vehicular circulation on private land

4.5 SOUND

Having researched the experience of walking, two types of places emerge that allow for a diverse set of walks to occur. In designing for a public, extroverted experience, an open, visible, and active character is desired. For a more introverted, peaceful experience, a more secluded and quiet place is preferable. In searching for existing conditions that accommodate these different types of places, sound played a large role in selecting places that already possessed some of these qualities that could be augmented, without necessarily having to introduce a new quality. In the center of the site, between two large parking lots, emerged as a place away from the noise of Herndon Parkway, Spring Street, and Route 267 to the south. In a more public setting, the noise along the road is more tolerable when seeking a walk that encounters movement and activity. Along Route 267, the noise is considerable, but constant. After walking along the highway here, the constant noise eventually fades into the background and becomes less disturbing than the more intermittent traffic along the arterial roads running through the site.

NOISY unpredictable, irregular traffic noise NOISY consistently present traffic noise QUIET secluded from vehicular traffic, limited foot traffic as well

275 550

1100 ft

4.6 CLAIMED GROUND

With such a great expanse of surface area between buildings, possibilities seemed endless for the routing of walkways through the site. After exploring multiple methods of creating such a network, I returned to Charles Littleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assertion that in-between spaces contain great potential for linking places to one another along greenways. I found this stance to make a stronger argument than an aggressive taking of land that would interrupt the existing functioning of this site â&#x20AC;&#x201C; convenient parking will remain necessary for this site to function. Restonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Red Trail further reinforced that introducing walkways among developed parcels could provide an experience on par with a walkway that was integrated in to a design from the drawing board. If a design for a network of walkways can work within the constraints of an automobile dependent commercial district, it makes a strong argument that such a strategy can be implemented elsewhere. Focusing on marginal, in-between spaces as the strongest locations to place walkways, surfaces that were not a building, nor parking were removed from consideration. In doing so, a fine web of claimable ground presented itself as a starting point for identifying corridors that could then be developed into a design.

4.7 PATH TO A PLAN

With 300 acres to work with, I began with a process that first identified the existing pedestrian infrastructure (1), then added to the existing condition. With the sidewalks along Spring Street and Herndon Parkway, along with the Washington and Old Dominion Trail identified as components to remain as a part of the new network (2), I placed centerlines every 600 feet - a typical city block length - and extended them outward from the planned Metro station to the south (3). The centerlines then give way to the available space available in the identified â&#x20AC;&#x153;claimed groundâ&#x20AC;? (4). In doing so, even coverage is ensured, while accommodating existing conditions on the site. The addition of two additional east-west paths enclose the new north-south corridors into an enclosed network (5). Within the this network, a diverse set of experiences can be created that cater to whatever would motivate one to walk through this place. Based on previous analysis, the routes highlighted in red emerged as the corridors to take further (6).

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4.8 MASTER PLAN

The creation of the master plan allowed the selection of two corridors that could be developed, as examples of what could happen across the entire site. The walkway extending from the Metrorail station was selected for its necessity to be developed as a public, and open place to walk. The higher density surrounding the walkway extending from the train platform further reinforces this place as the more urban, and crowded place to walk. The corridor extending from the Washington and Old Dominion Trail to the wooded open space on the southeast corner of the site was an ideal location to create a walkway that contrasts to the character of the walkway that accommodates the connection to Metro. After the initial selection of these two corridors, two additional designs further exhibit the potential of the site to connect the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s occupants with what walking has to offer. Having selected the two sites shown on the right, a more fine grained analysis began to show the conditions that must be addressed in placing walkways through these corridors.

OPEN, PUBLIC WALKWAYS planned routes that offer experiences of engagement with those around SECLUDED, INDIVIDUAL WALKWAYS planned routes that allow one to separate from social settings

TRAIL + Low density; few people + Quiet Appropriate setting for a place to walk where one seeks to walk in a quiet place without a crowd.

WOODED TRAILS, PICNIC COURT, AND CONCOURSE + Between two of siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest buildings + Connects to Metro Metro, density, and a formal layout to the north create a context for a design where one can walk among others.

M M 0

275 550

1100 ft

4.9 TOPOGRAPHY

The site as a whole was developed on a lot-by-lot basis. As each lot was developed, the site was graded to accommodate large parking lots. Grading work could not continue past the property line, so as each site was completed, it left a terraced landscape throughout the site. This issue presents a challenge in placing the walkways in between parking lots â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a level surface is required to walk upon, and the ground underneath is typically sloped.

Key Map

2 390’ 395’

400’

390’

340’

370’

385’

380’ 375’

340’

345’

390’

365’ 360’

350’ 355’

385’

350’

375’

380’ 380’

355’

350’

360’

Property Line 5’ contour line 355’

Contour line at property line 355’

Proposed walkway

N 0

100 200

400 ft

4.10 DENSITY

In the selected corridors to be designed, density further contributes to the environment that will shape the walking experience. The corridor extending from the Metro station (1) is also situated within the most densely populated portion of the site. In addition to commuters streaming in and out of the station, the walkway placed through this corridor will also be set within one of the highest concentrations of people. The corridor extending from the wooded portion of the site (2) to the south to the Washington and Old Dominion Trail to the north is set within some of the lowest density uses within the site. Adjacent to one or two story office buildings and retail, this walkwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of density contributes to a setting where a lack of people contribute to the design intent.

100

1 to 2 Story 3 to 4 Story 5 to 6 Story

2 1

101

4.11 WALKS

Walks that happen here are similar to what was observed in Reston Crescent, but less common. Along the arterial roads, sidewalks allow one distance for getting away during breaks in the day. Walks occur most frequently during the middle of the day, around lunchtime. The most frequent walks occur between cars and the doorways of the buildings.

Key Map

Days and times of most frequent walking: 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p

9p 10p Mon-Fri Sat-Sun

102

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5 DESIGN

5.1 METRO WALKWAYS

As this part of the site was taking form, it was observed that the entire thesis was present on the walkways adjacent to the Metro. The Metro and Herndon Parkway demand wide, open, public places to accommodate crowds. The north and south ends are more conducive towards a more individual, quiet experience. In addition to the diverse set of walks that must be designed for in close proximity to one another, their intersections must also be negotiated. A balance has to be struck between preserving each walkwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character, while creating an easy to understand and nondisruptive transition from one condition to the next. The challenges of retrofitting exhibited in the development of the Red Trail in Reston are present here as well. With mostly constrained, marginal spaces to work with, unaligned strips of land must be strung together in order to create a continuous, undisturbed route. In this one place, the challenges found all over the site are exhibited.

106

383’

390’

395’

WOODED TRAILS

385’

Transition between wooded trails and open spaces to the south 380’

PICNIC COURT

380’ 375’

Alignment of “claimed ground” requires special attention where jogs occur in walkway routing

Herndo

n Parkw

380’

380’ 380’

375’

CONCOURSE

Crossing point for wooded path and concourse

370’

385’

100

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5.1.1 WOODED TRAILS + PICNIC COURT

108

Beginning to the north, moving southward, this walkway runs along the edge of a parking lot, with a dense stand of trees to the east. On the west side of the asphalt trail surface, the planted area is expanded by taking seldom-used parking spaces to increase the vegetative screening from the built surroundings. The wooded, secluded character of the trail on the north side carries south through this portion.

(1)

In contrast to the respectfulness of building only within leftover marginal spaces, extra “breathing room” can be found within parking spaces at the periphery of individual building sites. The intent of remaining in marginal spaces is to preserve the function of the parking lots. Taking rarely occupied parking on the edges remains in line with the intent of initially selecting non-parking and non-building covered land as “claimed ground” on page 91.

(2)

Moving south again, the concrete paver path turns west to meet the walkway’s alignment with Metro. The informal tree planting pattern consolidates into a formal line signaling a transition to a more open, and public space. Where the public, open walkways to the south meet the wooded trails to the north head-tohead, a gradual transition from one to the other signals to the pedestrian that conditions are different ahead.

(3)

Ginkgo trees throughout the site are used as wayfinding markers to signal to the pedestrian that they are on this system of walkways. The line of Ginkgo trees extends south all the way to the Metro to create visual continuity across Herndon Parkway. The adjacent driveway was narrowed to provide more space for the wide, and open walkway next to the picnic court.

(4)

The Picnic Court provides a place off to the side to people watch. Close to a lunch restaurant, this gap between the buildings opens enough for a shaded seating area with open views to the walkway.

(5)

To continue southward, a new crosswalk is added to provide a visible, safe passage across the street and to provide continuity across the street. The sidewalk on the south side of the crosswalk is at its widest to accommodate cross traffic on the sidewalk, and the north-south foot traffic coming to and from the Concourse to the south.

390’

383’

WOODED TRAILS

395’

Pinus strobus White pine

Acer rubrum Red Maple

385’

3 Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo

Quercus rubra Red Oak

Amalanchier canadensis Serviceberry

Platanus x acerifolia London Plane Tree 380’

PICNIC COURT

Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust

Herndon

380’

375’

100ft

Parkway

109

WOODED TRAILS + PICNIC COURT

SECTIONS A. (A)

The topographical change at property lines identified in Section 4.8 is well exemplified here. Where in most places the topographical change was the result of site grading happening in a patchwork fashion, berming here was used to screen the office park from the subdivision to the north. Though the grade is steep, and initially created as a barrier, at the top of the hill, the vegetation provides ample screening to the trail running along the ridge.

B. (B)

Tree height must be reduced to account for overhead power lines here.

C. (C) (A)

At the picnic court, cafe tables and chairs are placed in a widened paved area to the side of walkway (enlargement below).

D. (A) (D)

A decomposed granite bed surrounds the ground where the row of Ginkgo biloba trees are planted. Precipitation can soak into the soil, while creating a continuous surface for foot traffic back and forth between cars and the buildings.

E. (E)

110

A crosswalk is added across Herndon Parkway. The road is pushed outward to make room for a center pedestrian island to let pedestrians cross if one direction of traffic is clear. New traffic signals ensure that traffic can be stopped altogether for safe crossing.

E Key Plan

E 0

7.5 15

30 ft

5.2.2 CONCOURSE

112

The Concourse is comprised of a chain of open spaces that create a open path from Herndon Parkway all the way to the Metro station. This wide and open walkway provides space for crowds to move through at rush hour as well as room to the sides for seating.

(1)

The sidewalk along Herndon Parkway is widest at its intersection with the Concourse. The intersection of these two public and visible spaces for walking required extra width for foot traffic moving along Herndon Parkway, with the additional pedestrians moving back and forth from the Metro. At the intersection all of these walks, a water fountain was placed - as all walks ultimately require water.

(2)

Ginkgo trees act as a visual marker that the Concourse is part of a larger system of walkways. At the intersection with Herndon Parkway, Ginkgos on either side of the sidewalk create a strong visual cue that the walkway continues northward, as the path jogs to the west briefly before continuing north.

(3)

Seating areas are placed opposite of tree plantings. Benches at the north and south ends provide places to wait, while the central portion contains cafe-style tables and chairs, giving lunch time diners a place to eat outside, and people watch.

(4)

Paths extend from adjacent buildings. Raised paths calm traffic, acting as speed tables. The east side of the Concourse features a sloped walk down to the adjacent path for those traveling with wheels.

(5)

A small paving area acts as a cut-through for those going back and forth between the Metro and the adjacent west building.

(6)

The concourse crosses the southernmost east-west path before connecting to the pedestrian bridge to the platform. Instead of the transition between these two conditions taking cues from the north side by gradually changing from one into the other, the necessity of keeping the concourse immediately present at the connection to the Metro creates a different solution here. By simply crossing the smaller path, the concourse immediately draws out the crowds from the train platform, and into a space that has room for them.

Herndon 383’

Parkway

390’

FG 378’

395’

1 385’

Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo 380’

FG 379’

380’ 375’

380’

380’ 380’

375’

370’

TW 380’ BW 379’

385’

Key Plan

380’

PROCESS

Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust

TW 382’ BW 380’

1. Create spaces at the end of each extended adjacent path (4)

TS 382’ BS 380’

2. Extend spaces north and south to create open corridor for both lingering and passing through

Taxus x media Yew (hedging)

380’

FS 382’

Pinus strobus, Acer rubrum, and Quercus rubra mix

Amalanchier canadensis Serviceberry

5 TW 383’ BW 379’

N FG 383’

50 ft

CONCOURSE

SECTIONS At Section A, the double row of Ginkgos guides the pedestrian through the jog in the north-south walkway crossing Herdon Parkway. Benches and a water fountain at this end of the Concourse invite this intersection to act as a waiting area and resting point.

Sections B, C, and D illustrate the difference in the topographical relief on both sides of the Concourse, moving north and south. The topographical change at the edge of property lines is apparent where the Concourse is located. This presents a particular challenge in creating a wide, open - and level walkway. By using retaining walls on the east side of the Concourse, the gradual slope of the western parcel could be used to bring the elevation at Herdon Parkway up to the elevation of the base of the Metro station pedestrian bridge.

B C

Key Plan

D 0

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30 ft

CONCOURSE

The Metro stationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pedestrian bridge connecting to the Concourse.

116

Seating areas frame a large, open walkway that connects the Metro with the rest of the site.

117

5.3 THE TRAIL

118

Chosen as the second corridor to develop, the half mile long â&#x20AC;&#x153;Trailâ&#x20AC;? takes on a quiet, sparsely populated character which lends itself to walks that seek to escape crowds and noise. Similar to the corridor extending from the Metro station, the quiet character that defines this corridor intersects the public and open setting along Herndon Parkway.

100

200

400 ft

119

Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo 350’

N 0

120 ft

1 2

Sprin g Stre et

355’

Quercus rubra Red Oak

Juniperus chinensis Chinese Juniper (existing screening hedge)

Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust

345’ 350’

(1)

A new pedestrian crossing ensures that pedestrians can stop traffic in order to cross the street undisturbed.

(3)

The taking of parking spaces on the west side of the trail provides an additional 20’ to buffer the surrounding buildings.

(2)

Ginkgo trees on the Trail act as markers as they do on the walkways near the Metro. Allees of Ginkgo trees on either side of Spring Street reinforce that the path continues across the street, while inviting passersby on Spring Street onto the Trail.

(4)

Where the Trail stubs out to paths across the parking lots, a pair of Ginkgos mark the entrance to the network of walkways. Along the northsouth running Trail, maples, oaks, and pines are planted in an informal pattern in keeping with its more naturalistic character.

(5)

The connection to the Washington and Old Dominion Trail happens seamlessly; the asphalt paths isolated from their surroundings simply meet as an extension of each other.

Acer rubrum Red Maple

Pinus strobus White pine

and Old Do min ion Tra il

350’

Wa shi ngt on

345’

A Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine (existing screening hedge)

340’

345’

THE TRAIL

Section A

Section B

Acer rubrum Red Maple

2 355â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

THE TRAIL

120 ft

(1)

Vegetation for visual buffering is commonplace along the site for this walkway. Additional plantings respond to the existing vegetation, and build upon it. (Existing vegetation marked with red dot ).

(2)

Similar to the north segment of the Trail, short paths extend outward across from adjacent doors and sidewalks. Ginkgo trees are planted here to signal the entry point to the network of walkways.

(3)

The taking of the row of parking on the east side of the Trail opens up an additional 20â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of planted area for the Trail to pass through.

D Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo

355â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

3 Quercus rubra Red Oak

350â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Sprin g Stre et

Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine (existing screening hedge)

Pinus strobus White pine Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust

Section C

Section D

LANDING A seldom used parking lot provides the site for the “Landing,” the southernmost point on the Trail. These parking spaces provided space for the Landing which creates a place where the opposing conditions that meet here can transition from one into the other. Such an open space allows ample room to walk off the sidewalk or paths and “land,” or pause, and decide which type of place in which to continue. At this intersection of the open and public Herndon Parkway streetscape and the quiet character of the Trail, a separate, third type of space negotiates the transition from one to the other. The Landing is organized by the surrounding sidewalk and paths that meet at this point. Extending the asphalt paths from the quieter trails to the sidewalk breaks up the space and creates different “rooms.” In order to not divide the space too severely, crossing allees of Ginkgo trees frame routes from one side to the other. Similar to the corridor extending from the Metro, Ginkgo trees mark the way along this new system of walkways. On the “urban” side of the landing, the sidewalk surface extends inward, creating a small plaza. Benches framing the space provide a place to rest, and to watch other walks pass by. On the “rural” side of the plaza, the grassed surface is only crossed formally by asphalt paths, leaving an open lawn with picnic tables in which to linger. A water fountain is placed in the middle of all of these intersecting walks, again, as all walks require water.

Section A

New pedestrian crossing with traffic signals Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo

Gleditsia triacanthos inermis Honeylocust

Quercus rubra Red Oak

80 ft

LANDING

The quiet, naturalistic side of the Landing.

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The visible, public side of the Landing.

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FOREST

In keeping with providing a diversified experience as possible, asphalt paths move through the site, with the option to walk by the water, or to walk on higher ground. The paths are broken into loops, to accommodate shorter lunchtime walks. A crossing on the north side connects to the Sugarland Run Trail. Heavily planted with invasive tall grasses, a pine forest would be planted with close spacing to speed up succession, but at the same time, allow the forest to continue afterwards on its own way.

The Trail

The Landing

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Neighboring the Trail to the south, this additional tract was designed to exemplify how the site as a whole provides opportunities for the entire spectrum of walking. This 36 acre tract is the closest existing condition to wilderness possible that one can walk through on this site. The furthest separated from its built surroundings, it provides the best opportunity to walk among trees that screen away what lies beyond. Designed to a lesser degree of specificity than the two corridors developed from the master plan, it establishes a program, and shows how this tract is an essential part of the diverse experience that can be found in this new network of walkways.

invasive grasses removed and planted with dense pine stand 355â&#x20AC;&#x2122; 350â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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crossing over Spring Street connecting to Sugarland Run Trail

355’

350’

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high voltage power line tower

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+370’ 350’

Route 267

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240ft

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TRANSECT

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Section A

100 200

400 ft

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High voltage power line tower 4’ wide path in right-of-way centerline

The walkways in my design have been programmed and designed site specifically, but they remain “safe” and encourage a type of conformist walking. The trail network prescribes where it is acceptable to walk, and could be seen to imply elsewhere, that it isn’t acceptable. Inspired by Jacks’s writing of “rebellious walking,” the final walk here dares pedestrians to question authority – with their feet. The high voltage power lines that run through this site create a direct opening through everything here. Where there is not pavement, a four foot wide pea gravel path is placed in centerline of the corridor. In walking the centerline, one walks outside of social norms, jaywalks, and trespasses. The implicit rules that apply to this site are challenged, and having been challenged, are understood better.

In doing so as well, a transect is walked of the site, creating a full understanding of what this place is like. The full spectrum of what the site has to offer can be understood. The quiet and naturalistic forested trails and the populated walkway extending from the Metro are both encountered along the way. In addition to these two contrasting settings designed within the master plan, the undisturbed site through parking lots, office buildings, and parking lot tree planters illustrates the character of this place as a whole, contrasting the pedestrian scale narrow path with the wide expanses of parking required to make sure the businesses within the site remain accessible.

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CONCLUSION

In designing a place that offers the full experience of walking, two types of places emerge as “poles” on the walking spectrum. The first corridor developed extending from the future Metro station took on a public, open, and visible character, while the second corridor, the “Trail,” took on a quiet, isolated, and sparser character. In creating these two distinct settings, the most selective of motivations for walking were accommodated. Walks that seek others demand a place that especially focuses on the ability to connect with others. Walks that seek to get away from other people require a similarly focused intent, but in facilitating space between others. The other walks, such as running errands, commuting, or exercising are less particular, and don’t seem to mind what type space is there, as long as it provides convenience, comfort, and safety. The writings from the first chapter show a similar pattern. The writings of Rebecca Solnit and Henry David Thoreau remain at odds with each other on an ideal place to walk. Solnit desires a public and

engaging place to walk, while Thoreau romanticizes about the isolation of the undeveloped naturalistic setting. As the discussion continues, the walking experience described by Macauley, Muir, and Jacks becomes less about the place in which walking happens, but the possibilities that exist while on foot. In moving into studying walking in Reston, the Red and Green trails accommodate both ends of this walking spectrum. Large wooded expanses and open plazas are both critical pieces in a network that attempts to provide as many varied experiences to maximize as many types of walks as possible. Returning to the question of how the suburban landscape can be reconnected with commonplace walking, the answer lies within providing as many opportunities for walking as possible. Through field observations, the state of the suburban walk could be seen in Reston: walking was not difficult to find, but was confined to residential areas, during evenings and weekends. Through the discovery of a small office

park with special areas set aside for walking, a divide could be seen in where walking was made available, and where it had not been considered. By expanding a network of walkways into the commercial district, walking is brought into a place where previously it was not given a prominent position. It is further made available outside of evenings and weekends. Having been brought into a new physical setting and into new hours of the day, the task at hand remained creating a place that accommodated the full spectrum of the motivations for walking. In drawing from the literature reviewed in chapter one and the designs of the Red and Green trails, the two corridors designed in this site demonstrate a place for walking in a social setting, and a place for walking that is designed for a more individual experience. Through the process of designing for the most particular of walks, a network emerges that provides a place for all walks with motivations in between the two â&#x20AC;&#x153;polesâ&#x20AC;? of social and individual walking experiences.

PUBLIC DEFENSE

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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IMAGES

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p.11 - Jayaraman, Nagesh. On the path to ‘Enlightenment’ / Explore. Flickr.com. Web. Taken November 25, 2009. p.11 - Quinn, M. Grand Canyon National Park: Hikers Descending South Kaibab Trail 0233. Flickr.com. Web. Taken May 12, 2013. p. 12 - Reed, Matt. Route of John Muir’s Thousand Mile Journey to the Gulf. http://www.datadeluge. com/2012/07/thousand-mile-walk-to-gulf.html. Web. Retrieved August 18, 2013. p. 13 - Newman, George Alexander Ishida. Walking Down a sunny street near shinjuku. Flickr.com. Web. Taken March 5, 2011 p. 15 - Noveski, Oliver. Protests in Skopje (11.06.2011). Flickr.com. Web. Taken June 11, 2011. p. 17 - Leishman, Chris. The Road Warrior. Flickr.com. Web. Taken December 14, 2010. p. 19 - Photograph by Dean Perry. p. 24 Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 27 - Image based on map by Reston Association; https://www.reston.org/portals/3/GENERAL/ Reston%20Map%202013.pdf p. 29 - Image based on map by Reston Association; https://www.reston.org/portals/3/GENERAL/ Reston%20Map%202013.pdf p. 30 - Image based on map by Reston Association; https://www.reston.org/portals/3/GENERAL/ Reston%20Map%202013.pdf p. 44 - Photographs by Dean Perry. p. 45 - Photographs by Dean Perry.

p. 60 - Photograph by Dean Perry. p. 61 - Photograph by Dean Perry. p. 62 - Photographs by Dean Perry. p. 64 - Image based on map by Reston Association; https://www.reston.org/portals/3/GENERAL/ Reston%20Map%202013.pdf p. 65 - Site plan overlay drawings by Urban Engineering & Associates, Inc., included in staff report: SEA 201-H-027-2, Retrieved from http:// ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4288318.PDF. Retrieved November 15, 2012. p. 67 - Site plan overlay drawings by Urban Engineering & Associates, Inc., included in staff report: SEA 201-H-027-2, Retrieved from http:// ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/ldsdwf/4288318.PDF. Retrieved November 15, 2012. p. 71 - Photographs by Dean Perry. p. 74 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 75 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 76 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 77 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 78 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 79 - Base imagery from Google Maps. Retrieved from http://maps.google.com p. 91 - Photographs by Dean Perry.

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