Boston Properties: You'll Come Around to Paid Parking at Reston Town Center

RESTON, VA — Boston Properties knows that there's a lot of people not happy with the decision to end free parking at Reston Town Center -- but they're also confident that the "overwhelming majority" of locals will come around to the idea eventually, a spokesperson says.

Free parking will end Sept. 12, and despite the fact that that is weeks away, there has been a lot of very vocal Reston residents who have voiced their anger over the change, and a petition against the move has more than 6,000 signatures. But don't expect Boston Properties, the developer that manages RTC, to budge on the issue.

"In almost every mixed use development across the country, there is some isolated adverse sentiment when transitioning to a paid parking model," said Kathy Walsh, director of marketing for the Fallston Group, which represents Boston Properties. "However, once folks recognize how the additional revenue supports ongoing operating costs to maintain a high quality, world-class experience, the overwhelming majority of customers recognize and accept the long-term benefit."

Walsh added that so far, 2,400 people had downloaded the ParkRTC app, which people will generally need to use to pay for their parking (although you can also pay online or via phone).

Furthermore, Walsh argued that paid parking has always been the plan, and that this isn't something Boston Properties introduced out of the blue.

"The decision to move to a paid parking and mobile safety communications model was made based on years of research and the original master plan which called for paid parking at Reston Town Center," she said. "With regard to public opinion, Boston Properties held one community meeting and more than 20 meetings with hundreds of people, primarily retail and office tenants. Boston Properties deeply respects the various perspectives of those who passionately care about this issue. The Reston Town Center management team is listening; in fact, several policies were enacted based, in part, on customer feedback - free weekend and holiday parking, free parking for retailers, the Find Your Car feature and a soft touch approach to enforcement."

Revenue from paid parking will go toward "world-class facilities, family-oriented events, top brand attraction, innovative technologies and nonprofit donations," she added.