Actually this vision sounds pretty appealing to me. I currently get around without a car most of the time. If people were to track their trips as Ms. Kaplan indicated, they would find that many are short and can easily be taken by walking or bicycling. Just imagine how many more people would choose to get around by bike if there were bike lanes and other bike infrastructure.

Robert Simon's vision was to allow people to get around without always having to use a car, hence the Village Centers located throughout Reston. They haven't work well, in part because it's not always easy to get to them by bike, and when you get there, bike parking is usually inadequate. They also haven't had a critical mass of retail and residents. There's a strong argument that could be made for having higher density Village Centers to create more livable communities.

Arlington has demonstrated that if they don't expand their roads to accommodate more commuters, most of whom are just passing through their community, and you provide people with other choices such as frequent, direct public transportation, bike lanes, good walking routes and street level retail, people use them. In the future more and more people are going to want these choices, including the many elderly who want to age in place in Reston who won't be able to drive in the future.

People reducing single-driver car trips to go a couple of miles to the store or to the doctor or do dinner? I do that when I can, so it sounds pretty good to me. Since most car trips are under 5 miles we could all save some money on gasoline, insurance, oil changes, etc if we left the car in the driveway once and a while. If we could just reduce our use of gasoline just a little then the country won't be so dependent on oil from halfway around the world. Would it be healthier for people to walk and bicycle more? Yes, it would. Are most people overweight or at risk of diabetes or heart disease because they don't exercise enough? Yes, they are.
We're already spending millions of dollars a year on infrastructure to support automobiles (think bridges, roads, parking lots, snowplows). Do you find yourself paying for parking much in the Reston area? Nope, it's free even though a typical parking space costs thousands of dollars to build and maintain.
I don't think it's too much to ask to give people some additional transportation choices like walking and biking. We spend far less than a tenth of a penny on pedestrian and bicycle projects for every dollar we spend on car infrastructure. Don't sweat it.

More transportation choices, including walking and biking, are better, but "dieting" the existing roads to support more options is a bad idea. If anyone thinks that eliminating road lanes, especially those serving a metro station, is going to solve problems, they need to think again.

I see very few bicycles on the roads from, say, Thanksgiving to Easter, but we all have to go places regardless of the weather, the seasons and the amount of daylight. The roads are dark and dangerous at night -- although I own a bicycle and ride it in the summer, there is no way I would be able to do so on the dark roads carrying groceries with potholes, ice, snow, gravel and even dead animals in the lanes.

The best way to change behavior is through higher taxes on gasoline (or, to be fair, on transportation fuel in general). Even what may seem to be little things like free shipping from web merchants adds an enormous burden on transportation and waste management resources. Very few people pay their mandatory sales and use taxes on web goods, so that source of revenue is lost and, yet all of those packages have to be delivered one by one in fuel-hungry vehicles.

Most countries charge far more in fuel tax--and those who want to drive can while providing more money and resources for those who either don't want to or can't afford to drive.

I don't think anyone around thinks that the coming metro will be "affordable." Even at $4 gallon, it's still cheaper to drive than metro.

Reston is already a great place to live car free, with all the trails that are well-maintained and plowed. Compare that to the Northern Virginia norm, where the sidewalks are the place you dump piles of snow that take weeks to melt. With the right bicycle equipment, you can carry plenty of groceries, or food plus two or more children in just about any weather and without being in Olympic athlete level shape, assuming the trip length is not so far. Anywhere in Reston to anywhere else in Reston I can get to on a bike in less than 30 minutes. It just takes getting used to a different way of doing things.
I am semi-car-free already and find that a bicycle is just as convenient (if not more convenient) than a car for trips within Reston, and also more enjoyable. No looking for a parking spot at Trader Joe's or the pools. I can ride right up to the racks in the middle of the Reston Town Center, the Spectrum Center, and steps from the Lake Anne Community Center, the Hunters Woods Community Center, and North Point Village Center.
Everyone else can keep driving if they want to. I am happier, healthier, and wealthier bicycling in Reston.

I use public transit on an everyday basis during the week, and I agree with Ms. Kaplan to some extent. And, by the way, I have a hard time believing the statistics I've seen as to how few Reston residents utilize public transit to commute to work. Regardless, I suppose the figures must be somewhere in the ballpark.

In any case, I spend enough time on public transit during the week and my time is simply too precious to be spent using it on the weekends; especially in light of the fact that the frequency of bus service is significantly reduced on these days.

What is lost in this discussion is the fact that, if we are really forward thinking, with any luck, vehicle use will not have any significant adverse environmental impact in the future. Sure, we're not there yet; but the prospect is finally on the horizon!

Regarding bicycling - which I think is great - I'm not sure that Fairfax County should devote budget to bike lanes given the already extensive Reston pathway system. Rather, I think any available funds should be spent to complete the paths and sidewalks throughout Reston - and neighboring areas - so all pedestrians have a truly seamless means of moving safely throughout the community.

If there are monies available to devote to bike lanes after accomplishing the above, great! Lastly, I feel strongly that proposals for altering the current capacity of Reston roadways (e.g. the Soapstone Road discussion) are misguided.

I think the one dimension that is missing from this conversation is that non-automobile transportation is fine for most people except when the weather turns nasty. Who wants to stand out at a bus stop for 15 or more minutes during a pouring rain? How are you going to ride your bicycle down a snow covered road, as we experienced last week? How are we to walk to the stores when our sidewalks are still covered in snow?

Don't get me wrong. I ride the bus/train every work day and I ride my bike, take the bus or walk quite frequently on my non-work days. However, if you think I'm going to give up my car during inclement weather, then you're nuts.

I think Kathy's point is well taken and, in some ways, critics above are taking her comments out of context. In general, I believe you can't make a suburban community (all Reston outside the old RCIG) an urban community simply by reducing people's vehicular mobility. Most of the needs of most of the people (notwithstanding the avid bikers and walkers above) can not be met by walking or biking.

So, let's be a little more specific. How often, especially in wintry or wet weather, not to mention nighttime, do you walk or bike or bus--
--to go to the supermarket to buy family groceries?
--to carry kids' or grandkids' sports practices, instrument lessons, etc.?
--to visit entertainment centers (movies, community theater, restaurants, bars, etc.)?
--to go shopping (apparel, electronics, etc.) (some of which can be done on-line)?
--to work (even if you work in Reston)?

And, to make this more concrete, I ask these questions of Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, who is one of the principal advocates choking POV use. Indeed, more specifically, do you, Supervisor Hudgins, regularly walk, bike, or bus to work (about 1 mi. to NCGC) or grocery shopping (less than 1 mi.)?

My point is shrinking Reston's automotive transportation vessels will only lead to economic starvation for Reston (and more largely for the County) as the means of mobility become more constrained. It could lead to vascular economic deterioration and failure as our community doubles and triples in population & jobs.

Terry, I'll agree that not everyone can take short by using a bike or walking, but many can. And no, we can't convert this suburban community into an urban one by wishing it were so. But if we continue to look at the future by extrapolating what we have now, we'll be stuck in our cars forever.

Imagine living in a community in which taking some of those trips that you list by biking is easy; going to sporting events, the movies, dinner, shopping or to work. In places with that vision, they create options for people to take those trips by other modes than driving. Does it really make sense for members of the YMCA to get in their POVs, drive a short distance, hassle with parking, to then go in and workout on a treadmill? These are what the transportation people in Malvo, Sweden, a place that receives lots of snow and cold weather, call "Rediculous trips." They want people to take fewer of them so they are providing good facilities for doing so.

Some of us do take the kinds of trips you list by bike; it's actually pretty easy and would be much easier with better bike infrastructure. We're committed to an environmental ideal in which we don't depend on oil from foreign countries to get around; we don't pollute the air when we take a short trip, the least efficient trips you can make, we also have fun and get exercise. But most people just want to easily and safely get around. In places with good bike infrastructure people choose to ride because it's easy.

I am a half-hour max, from most friends and family by car. 20 minuites from my office.

I am 2 hours from the friends and family by public transport. Most I can't reach at all. I am one hour from my office by bike. And the bike route is through Siren City (southwest Reston.) I used to live there. I know the neighborhood. I'd have to carry a gun.

If Ms. Hudgins is so hot for car-free, how come all of the bus routs that were de-funded by the county were in Hunter Mill District?

Car-free is a pipe dream.