Flair Warning: Immovable Object Meets Unstoppable Force, or DRB Out-DRBed By Larger Quasigovernmental Agency

V. v. sad news for future riders of the Silver Line. When they alight at the Reston Town Center Metro station at some point in the future, assuming the system doesn't disintegrate into one continuous, 24/7 track fire that's visible from low earth orbit by then, they won't be graced with the sight of "flair." Give us some absolutely heartbreaking blockquote, BFFs at Reston Now:

The RTC’s Design Review Board late last year made several design suggestions to the county, the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority (MWAA) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Among them:

• The pedestrian bridge over the Dulles Toll Road that “should signal arrival at a place of distinction,” possibly with LED lighting that could be programmed to change color periodically.

• An entrance pavilion with different colored bricks or paint.

• Bus staging area and larger island with artistic flair — “perhaps a tensile structure that would serve both function and form. A general “softening” of the island scape (essentially a solid concrete platform) would also be desirable.

• Public art that would add to the sense of distinction.

We have no qualms with the idea that our fake downtown gritty urban core is a "place of distinction." We have the most distinctive midscale chain options anywhere, and "flair" is a nice homage to the RTC chain dining experience:

But you know who wasn't impressed by the RTC DRB's call for flair? Metro and MWAA, that's who:

Representatives from MWAA and Metro responded that Metro facilities must have a uniform appearance.

Kind of like our houses, compost bins, mulch, landscaping stones, and party walls? That's right -- our fake downtown's DRB just got out-DRBed by our fake transit agency's DRB. That hurts, especially when it comes from an agency whose idea of wild innovation is single-tracking three lines worth of trains into one tunnel during rush hour.

Adding insult to injury, we're guessing this means that our much-anticipated rad '80s art is never coming to Wiehle, the end.