Metro News Release

For immediate release: October 10, 2003

Metro opens new parking structure at Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station

Today, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) officially celebrated the opening of an expanded parking structure at the Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station that adds an additional 1,000 parking spaces for customers. The station now has 5,100 parking spaces for customers. The new Franconia-Springfield parking structure, which broke ground in June 2002, added six-levels of above-ground parking that connect to the east side of the original six-level parking structure above the short-term parking area. A new ground-level 90-space Kiss & Ride area was also included in the project along with areas for taxi and shuttle bus operations. Funding in the amount of $15.8 million toward the construction of the parking structure was provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia ($13 million) and Fairfax County ($2.8 million). Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner, who was on hand for the groundbreaking, said that he was "pleased to help fund additional parking that will encourage the use of mass transit in one of the region’s busiest traffic corridors. The Springfield area has the dubious honor of having one of the most congested roadways in Northern Virginia. Providing additional parking at this Metro station will encourage people to use Metro as an alternative to their cars." The new structure features a new park-and-ride vehicle entrance, and both vehicle and pedestrian connection bridges between the existing structure and new structure at each above ground level to make it easier for drivers to locate available parking in the structure. "Additional parking makes Metrorail more user-friendly and allows even more individuals to take advantage of public transit," said Dana Kauffman of Metro’s Board of Directors. "After all, we want people to park their cars and use public transit. This new parking facility allows them to do just that." "With the addition of 1,000 parking spaces at Franconia-Springfield, this provides significant benefits to our customers who use the station every day, and it will help alleviate traffic congestion in the Franconia area," said Katherine K. Hanley, a member of Metro’s Board of Directors. The Franconia-Springfield Metrorail station and its first parking garage opened on June 29, 1997. The original parking structure reached its full capacity in 1998 shortly after the station’s opening, demonstrating the need for more parking spaces. At the time, Metro estimated 5,000 passengers would enter and exit the station each weekday. Those original ridership estimates have exceeded expectations and weekday ridership now averages nearly 19,000 passenger trips.

News release issued on October 10, 2003.