Bus and Public Transportation
Description of buses, shuttles, bike paths and other transport available in the region, apart from private cars and Metro.
From Location to Commute, Will This Affect Real Estate?
For those searching for homes in Northern Virginia, the location is always the main and important factor. However, there are a lot of specifications that would decide on a location. Those would be the exact neighborhoods, views, noise, schools, accessibility to shopping centers/ entertainment/ convenient stores/ healthcare and more. But there is one factor that will remain to be the most important specification and that would be Commute.
Washington DC does have the most gridlock highways in the country and as regional planners suggest improvements to handle the current situation, people and employment still rains hard. Although from the perspective of Real Estate it is a blessing but in terms of commute it is already a complicated and challenging situation that would grow into a more challenging one.
According to local news radio WTOP, the Washington DC region is primed to grow by more than 2 million people over the next 25 years, however the same report did highlight that the region needs to build more accessible roads to handle the influx. While as observed by the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, once we get beyond our current major roads projects to deal with the current concerns, there are “no improvements in the pipeline after this”.
Based on the current situation we have, the concern of location in Real Estate may as well be commute. A worker’s commute being frustrating and lengthy can and will have a large impact on his or her lifestyle and even personality. Bearing this in mind, the consideration to trade other location features to commute features will definitely arise.
Such commuting features may be:
- Accessibility to current or possible job centers that may include military bases.
- Convenient highway access
- Accessibility to mass transportation like Metrorail
- Proximity to airports – Dulles or Reagan National in Northern Virginia or BWI
- Consideration of toll vs. non-toll highways
- Carpool hours on certain highways that can affect commute
- Accessibility to secondary roads and upcoming road improvements
- Awareness of where “ bottlenecks” can be found
Would such considerations make a large change of location specifications to commute specifications in terms of Real Estate?
King Street Community at it’s best
Union Station in Alexandria backs to the King Street Metro
Situated at the foot of Shooter’s Hill at the point where King Street leaves Old Town Alexandria, The King Street Metro provides 30 metered parking spaces (for short time parking) and bike racks as well as car sharing.
At the top of Shooter’s Hill is the George Washington Masonic Memorial where one can look down over King Street to the Potomac. It is only in King Street where one can find an array of shops and restaurants, many of which you would normally find in an elite mall. There are also unique shop stops, boutiques and nightclubs along with fun activities/events.
There are more than 4000 historical buildings of exquisite architecture that were commercialized to house small businesses and homes for a modernized community in Old Town Alexandria. Historic structures are lines with brick sidewalks as well as elegant modern structures.
Because of Old Town’s prestigious real estate, prices are quite costly, but it is a great place to reside in for its historic properties, condominiums, garden style condos, townhouses and houses.
King Street Trolley
Parking would be sort of a problem especially in areas where tourists flock along King Street so it would be advisable to take the Metro to King Street, then catch a ride on the King Street Trolley, for free, if one would wish to do some sight seeing.
A few communities near King Street Metro:
- Fort Ellsworth
- Carlyle Towers
- Carlyle District
- Carlyle Square
- Torpedo Factory
- Royalton
- 1600 Prince
- Seminary Walk
King Street Metro in Alexandria VA
Our latest enhancement: Walk Score now includes public transportation!
Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score attempts to numerically measure how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking. If you’re looking for a walkable area, check out what Condo-Alexandria.com can do:
Search by Walk Score. Now this is cool. You can decide what your minimum walkable criteria is when you search for properties.- Sort by Walk Score. If you can search by Walk Score, you should be able to sort by Walk Score too. Just click in the “sort by” box at the top of the results and choose “Walk Score, Highest First” to order the search results from highest to lowest Walk Score.
- View the Walk Score in both the search results and property details. Every time you search for property you’ll find out just how walkable the area is!
View the Walk Score tile. When you click on the “Walk Score” link at the top-right of the property details area, you’ll see the Walk Score tile that shows all of the amenities that are factored into the score.
We hope you’ll enjoy using Walk Score as much as we enjoyed building it into our system. We’re really excited to say that we’re one of the first providers of this type of functionality. We spent quite some time on the UI for this feature in order to make everyone happy.
And in case you haven’t heard, Walk Score just improved its usefulness. Previous versions of Walk Score did not include public transportation. That is to say, a property next door to a metro station had no higher Walk Score than a property far from public transportation. Well, that’s all changed now!
Our latest enhancement adds mass transit to the Walk Score calculations. See for yourself now.
Courthouse Metro in Arlington VA on the Orange Line
Condos at the Court House Metro
The Court House Metro Station is located in Arlington, Virginia at Wilson Boulevard and Uhle Street. The Court House metro is located on the Orange Line, in between the Rosslyn and Clarendon metro stations, and services the greater Courthouse neighborhood. The metro station began service in 1979 and is scheduled to be on the Silver Line by the start of operations in 2011. Located in the epicenter of Arlington, estimates project that sum 14,000 people enter and exit the station on an average weekday.
The area surrounding the Court House metro station represents a wide-range of residential, commercial, government and retail buildings. Colonial Village, for example, located just north of the metro station, is one of Arlington’s first garden apartment complexes and part of the complex has been designated as a Historic District by the Arlington County Board. By contrast, the metro stop is also surrounded by the Court House Plaza buildings, which include almost 600,000 square feet of office space. In 1993, the Arlington County Board adopted the Court House Sector Plan Addendum which envisions the Court House metro station area as an urban government center with an eclectic mix of numerous, high-capacity office and commercial properties coexisting with and in preservation of the nearby local and residential neighborhoods.
If you’re looking for a home on the Orange Line, you might find the following links useful:
- Rosslyn— At the center of the world: many homes here have views of Washington monuments, Iwo Jima Memorial
- Courthouse — Walk to everything with a condo or home near Courthouse Metro Station
- Ballston— Map includes Ballston Metro and Virginia Square/GMU on the Orange Line in Arlington VA
- East Falls Church Metro — Metro station located near I-66
- Dunn Loring / Merrifield — Homes and properties near and inside the Beltway
- Vienna — First/last stop on the Orange Line in Virginia
Alexandria’s DASH bus
DASH (Driving Alexandrians Safely Home) buses operate around, across and near the city of Alexandria, Virginia.
DASH buses are clean, safe and an effective way to get around Alexandria.
Boarding the bus is simple and easy. When the bus arrives, just step into the bus and then deposit the exact fare or use your WMATA SmarTrip card. If you have any questions about routes or transfers ask the driver and then take a seat. On some of the most popular routes or during rush hours, there might not be any available seats. In that case just move as far to the rear of the bus as possible. (This makes it easier for others to board easily.)
If you’re new to city buses, you need to be aware that the bus driver doesn’t always stop at all bus stops! To signal to the driver that your stop is approaching, press the yellow signal strip or pull the bell cord. It’s best to do this about a block from your destination so the driver has timely notice to stop at the next bus stop. When exiting the bus, the rear door is easiest because others may be waiting to board through the front door.
DASH riders are expect to follow a few simple rules of safety and courtesy:
- Smoking, eating, or drinking is not permitted on the bus.
- Radios, I-pods and other devices may be used only if they cannot be heard by others
- There are a limited number of priority seats that are reserved for senior citizens and disabled persons. You may sit in these seats, but riders are expected to volunteer that seat if the seat is needed by a senior citizen or disabled person. If the bus is full, riders are expected to volunteer seats as needed.
- All passengers must keep their feet off the seats.
DASH drivers may refuse service to anyone who does not observe these rules or to anyone whose behavior is disruptive or hazardous to vehicle or passenger safety.
A tour of Crystal City
Crystal City is located in Arlington County Virginia between the Potomac River and the neighborhood of Aurora Highlands.
In many ways, Crystal City is a transportation hub. Crystal City well served by mass transit with easy access to the metro at the Crystal City Metro stop and many bus stops in the area. In addition to land transportation, Crystal City is served by Reagan National Airport. Jefferson Davis Highway / Rt. 1 is a main artery here, as is I-395.
 In addition to Jefferson Davis Highway, one of the main thoroughfares in Crystal City is Crystal Drive. Crystal Drive runs parallel to Rt.1 from north to south through Crystal City. Many of Crystal City’s most desirable homes are found on Crystal Drive including Crystal Gateway and Waterford House.
The Shops of Crystal City are accessible from Crystal Drive and from many other locations in Crystal City. |
Crystal Drive is generally uncongested and offers a wide choice of restaurants and shops.
One of the nicest things about Crystal City is the abundance of greenery in this urban setting. Crystal City manages to be convenient, metro accessible, full of high-rises, shops and restaurants, but home to many trees and parks.
Crystal City is connected by a network of tunnels and shops both below grade and indoors that make Crystal City a walker’s paradise.
These passages network the shops of Crystal City to Crystal Drive and the Crystal City Metro Stop and more.
Pleasant sidewalks follow alongside the broad avenues of Crystal City.
From the skyline of Crystal City to the shops in the heart of Crystal City, this is a pleasant and convenient place to work and live.
Even the shops below-grade are well-lit and feel open and friendly. Crystal City is a well-planned community.
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About the Author — Will Nesbitt is the principal broker of Will Nesbitt Realty and maintains Condo Alexandria. Will specializes in condos, townhouses and single family residences in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax County, Crystal City, and Kingstowne. Will resides in Belle Haven Estates just outside Alexandria VA in Fairfax County. |
King St. Metro
The King St. Metro is a great station for commuters, day-trippers or tourists. Near the Metro, one will find many interesting things to fill an afternoon, an evening or an entire day.
The King St. Metro serves both the Yellow and Blue Lines. It is a hub for many bus routes and the King St. Trolley. Most hours there are cabs waiting at the station to serve as needed.
In addition, this station links the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and Amtrak to the Washington Metro Transit Authority.
There are a variety of fun things to do here, just a few blocks from
the new Patent and Trademark Office.
The King St. Metro stops at the foot of the Shooters Hill, the location of the “Alexandria Lighthouse” (aka the George Washington National Masonic Memorial,) where King St. veers away from Old Town. From the Memorial, and from the Metro, one can look down King St. toward the Potomac to the unique shops, boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs and activities of Old Town Alexandria. The area has some of the shops you would expect in an upscale mall, but many of shops and restaurants you’ll find only here.
Shops of Crystal City
Crystal City has an abundance of shops and eateries with over 200 choices, including apparel, electronics, jewelry, specialty gifts and books/newspapers.
Many of these shops are located underground between Crystal Drive, 15th and 23rd Streets. The shops of Crystal City are just five minutes from downtown Washington, Old Alexandria, and right off the Metro Yellow/Blue line at the Crystal City station.
Many services are also provided at Crystal City Shops such as
- pedicures,
- banking,
- shipping,
- medical health,
- cleaners,
- car rentals,
- shoe repair,
- costume tailors, and more.
Guests of Crystal City can stay at one of 11 hotels which offer accommodations to suit most tastes.
Parking at Crystal City is available in two enclosed parking garages
with easy access to all the stores. Parking is free on weekdays after 4
pm and all day Saturdays and Sundays. Parking entrances for shops at
2100 are Crystal Drive between 20th and 23rd Streets. Parking entrances
for shops at 1750 are between 15th and 18th Streets.
Store Hours:
Monday to Friday 10 am – 7 pm
Saturday 10 am – 6 pm
Shops at 2100
Monday to Saturday 10 am to 6pm
Some stores open on Sundays
For general information call (703) 922-4636
For condos and all your real estate needs in Crystal City, contact Condo Alexandria.
- Search condos and real property in Crystal City
- Rental management and landlord services
- Sell your Crystal City condo now!
Huntington Metro Station
Huntington Metro Station (normally just called “Huntington”) is the last stop on the southern end of the Yellow Line. The south mezzanine of Huntington station is built into a hillside creating a unique panoramic view of Alexandria. The high rise along the tracks is the Midtown Alexandria Station.
Huntington Metro
Because of the hill, the station is elevated high above Huntington Avenue, but located below grade at North Kings Highway. The station is accessible via escalator access and via an interesting funicular elevator.
Yellow Line tracks at Huntington Metro
The lower entrance to the Metro is on Huntington Avenue at the foot of the Huntington Club. The bridge in this picture is the metrorail. The bus is one of many that use the Metro as a hub. Unlike many metro stations in Northern Virginia, Huntington has over 4,400 parking spaces accessible from both entrances. Because the parking is ample, many Huntington Club residents drive to Huntington and park in commuter garages.
Condo Comparison: Walk to Huntington Metro
This is part of series of articles comparing the benefits of condos in close proximity to the Huntington Metro
Hands-down, the easiest walk to the Huntington Metro among these
would be the Midtowns of Alexandria. From this building’s south lobby
one can see the buses coming and going. It’s literally only paces from
the Midtowns to the Metro. Just cross the street and you’re at the
Metro station.
The runner-up here is the Huntington Club. Admittedly the Huntington
Club bounds with the Metro station, so it is physically closer than the
Midtowns. But the Huntington Club is built into the hill at North Kings
Hwy and that means that residents have to walk up or down the hill to
enter the Metro system. It’s definitely a more difficult walk from the
Huntington Club than from the Midtowns.
Montebello is a short walk through Mt. Eagle Park to the upper level
of the Huntington Station. The walk is definitely longer than the walk
from the Huntington Club
The Hunting Creek Club is the furthermost from the Metro of the
group. Hunting Creek Club residents must walk about 4 blocks to the
Metro entrance.
