Seven Corners could become a transit hub

Preliminary plans are starting to come together in Northern Virginia to create a new transit station in Seven Corners. It could become a hub for improved transit lines along Virginia Route 7 and US Route 50.

Future Seven Corners transit hub. Image by Greater Greater Washington.

Three separate Virginia studies seem to be evolving towards one consistent conclusion: Seven Corners will one day become a transit hub.

The three studies are the Seven Corners master plan, Envision Route 7, and VDOT’s Transform 66, which focuses on I-66 but also includes Route 50, which passes through Seven Corners.

Seven Corners master plan

The newly adopted Seven Corners master plan mostly focuses on land use. It proposes to redevelop the area’s suburban retail strips as a new walkable town center.

In recognition of the importance of Route 7 and Route 50, the plan also proposes to replace the existing Seven Corners transit center—a collection of bus shelters along Route 50—with a larger station closer to Route 7.

Proposed new Seven Corners transit center. Image from Fairfax County.

The existing bus shelters are fine for the bus service that’s in Seven Corners today. But if plans for better service become a reality, a bigger and better depot will make a lot of sense.

Fairfax’s plans don’t go into specifics about what a bigger transit center might look like, but something similar to Shirlington Station might be a reasonable guess.

Envision Route 7

How does a light rail or bus rapid transit line running from Tysons Corner to Alexandria sound? Transit planners are currently studying that idea in detail, as part of a study called Envision Route 7.

Proposed light rail or BRT map. Image from NVTC.

Route 7, Leesburg Pike, is one of the most important streets in Northern Virginia. It’s a natural for a major transit route, with walkable Alexandria on one end, gigantic Tysons on the other, and nodes like Bailey’s Crossroads, Seven Corners, and Falls Church between.

Planners haven’t settled on a mode yet, nor even many specifics about the route. In any event, construction is still years away.

But assuming this line happens, Seven Corners is a promising location for a transfer station.

Transform 66

Virginia’s big plans for I-66 focus on converting that highway to HOT lanes. But a lesser-known aspect of that proposal would increase bus service on parallel roads, including Route 29 and Route 50.

Proposed bus service improvements in the I-66/US-50/US-29 corridor. Image from Virginia.

The Route 50 plans don’t call for BRT. What they propose is more like WMATA’s MetroExtra buses: Frequent service and limited stops, but not bus lanes.

Still, that would be a big improvement on Route 50, which has a cars-first design and poor bus service today.

The Route 50 plans originated from a 2009 Virginia transit study that made sweeping recommendations for better buses in the I-66/US-50/US-29 corridor. Those recommendations haven’t yet become a reality, but Transform66 is the best chance yet that they might.

None of these are a sure thing

Absolutely none of these plans are set in stone. The Seven Corners plan is adopted Fairfax County policy, but not an active construction proposal. Envision Route 7 and Transform66 are still in their draft stages, and could change significantly before planners finalize them.

But it seems inevitable that whether it happens sooner or later, Seven Corners will eventually redevelop to become more urban, and in so doing will likely become a hub for better transit.