Supervisor Hudgins, Tear Down This Fence!

Okay, so maybe it sounded better when the Great Communicator (tm) said it, in Germany, and when the barrier in question was actually an imposing concrete slab patrolled by heavily armed East German guards and police dogs and whatnot, but Reston bikers are quite nearly as peeved about two attractive metal fences that have been placed alongside a feeder path to the W&OD Trail to keep people from cutting up to the "transit center" that serves Reston's Fake Downtown, which wouldn't be home to anything as declasse as a bus stop.

There's a bike rack adjacent to the station that is well-used, and many people who use the W&OD Trail want to catch a bus.

When the transfer center and the adjacent Sallie Mae properties were developed, local bike/ped advocates met with the county and argued for direct connections from the trail to the Town Center and the bus station. Despite the fact that it was obvious that people would take the shortest route to these destinations, many excuses were given for not providing access.

Surprise, surprise, people cut through the woods next to Sallie Mae and others walked up a bank directly to the bus station. What was the response? Building two fences, one at Sallie Mae and one along the perimeter of the bus station. When the county proposed the fence, it was contingent on providing two new trail connections to the Town Center and the station. Now there's just a tall fence.

We're expressing our displeasure to Supervisor Hudgins' office.

Oh, snap! We're headed down there with a chisel. Some day, you'll be able to sell authentic chips from the Great Fence of Reston on eBay for a fortune.