Saturday, October 24, 2026
THIS WEEK ON THE PODCAST
DULLES IS ADDING A PAID VIP TERMINAL, AND FAIRFAX COUNTY IS WEIGHING ITS PLATE CAMERAS
Park at a private entrance, clear your own security line, wait in a suite, then ride across the airfield to your plane. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority plans to open that service at Dulles in early 2029, for any traveler on any airline who pays. Neither the authority nor its contractor has said what it will cost.
We spent the back half of this week's episode on that terminal and on Supervisor Walter Alcorn's call to end Fairfax County's contract for Flock license plate cameras. Graham sees the two stories as one: in Northern Virginia, people who pay skip the line, and people who drive get their plates read. Kathy pushed back on the first part. Buyers we work with weigh the drive to Dulles and the character of a neighborhood when they choose a street, so we follow both stories closely.
You can watch the full episode or jump to the parts that interest you below.
QUICK HITS
FROM THE TOP OF THE EPISODE
Glade Drive and Bowman Towne Drive could get bike lanes when they're repaved in 2027
Fairfax County's transportation department proposes bike lanes on three stretches of Glade Drive between Reston Parkway and Soapstone Drive, and on Bowman Towne Drive from Town Center Parkway to Reston Parkway. The online meeting runs Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and the comment survey closes Nov. 18. We'd like the county to go further than fresh paint on roads it already plans to repave, with routes people can ride to the Metro and to run errands. Read more
A trunk-or-treat at the Y, witches on Lake Anne and an oyster fest fill the calendar through Nov. 14
BreadBreakers hosts its free neighbor dinner at Reston Community Center Lake Anne on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. The YMCA Fairfax County Reston holds a free Trunk or Treat on Friday, Oct. 30, from 4 to 6 p.m., with decorated cars, games and candy in the parking lot on the Early Learning side of the building. Read more
On Sunday, Nov. 1, paddleboarders dressed as witches and warlocks push off from the Lakeside Cluster dock on Lake Anne at 1 p.m., gather for a group photo at Lake Anne Plaza and finish at Lake Anne Brew House, which offers discounts to anyone in costume. Bring your own board, and either park on Orchard Lane and walk it to the dock or launch from the boat ramp on Inlet Court, off Wiehle Avenue, by about 12:30 p.m. Read more
Early voting ends Saturday, Oct. 31, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Run for Valor 5K starts at Reston Town Center at 8 a.m. on Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, and Aslin Beer Company holds its Oysterfest in Herndon on Saturday, Nov. 14, from noon to 6 p.m.
Voodoo Brewing is open, and the Halloween House stays up through Oct. 31
Voodoo Brewing opened today near the Innovation Center Metro station. On Spring Street in Herndon, the owners of the Historic Herndon Halloween House move a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man to a new hiding spot every day, and Kathy has yet to find him.
THE BIG IDEAS
DULLES WILL SELL ANY TRAVELER A PRIVATE ROUTE TO THE PLANE
The airports authority released renderings on Oct. 20 of a 37,000-square-foot VIP terminal on a 1.2-acre site near the Cargo 6 building. daa International, the overseas arm of the company that runs Dublin Airport, will build and run it under a 20-year contract and aims to open in the first quarter of 2029. Passengers get their own parking and entrance, private security screening, suites and lounges away from the concourses, help with check-in and bags, and a car to the plane. A daa executive told FFXnow the service is open to any airline and any class of ticket.
Neither the authority nor daa has announced a price. PS, which runs a private terminal at Miami International, charges $1,295 a person for its shared lounge without a membership and $4,950 for a private suite for up to four travelers.
Graham's view on the episode: the terminal joins the express lanes on I-66, the Beltway and I-95 as one more place in Northern Virginia where people with money can pay their way around everyone else. Kathy's: plenty of people here fly often, and some of them will gladly pay for the time.
ALSO ON THE EPISODE
HERNDON'S 10 PLATE CAMERAS ANSWER TO THE TOWN COUNCIL, NOT THE COUNTY
Supervisor Alcorn told a Board of Supervisors committee on Oct. 20 that he would vote to end Fairfax County's contract with Flock Safety, which runs 84 license plate cameras for county police. The committee took no vote, none is scheduled, and the cameras stay on.
Kathy pointed out on the episode that a county vote would not cover Herndon's cameras. The Town of Herndon runs 10 Flock cameras under its own contract, so residents inside town limits take the question to the Town Council, and Herndon voters fill six council seats on Nov. 3.
We also pulled up DeFlock, a volunteer-built map of plate readers. Its pins cluster around Reston Station, along Sunset Hills Road, around the shopping centers on Elden Street between downtown Herndon and the Fairfax County Parkway, and near Dulles. Users add the pins themselves, so the map shows what people have reported rather than a full count. See the map
Police credit plate readers with more than 570 recovered stolen cars and 60 missing people found since 2022. Alcorn questions how Flock stores the data and who can reach it. Kathy put it to you on the episode: are these cameras a safety tool or a privacy problem? Reply to this email and tell us.
WHY WE'RE WATCHING THIS
DRIVERS HERE ALREADY PAY TO SKIP TRAFFIC, AND TOLL OPERATORS READ THEIR PLATES
Drivers who want to skip traffic already pay for it on the Dulles Toll Road and the express lanes on I-66, the Beltway and I-95. Toll operators read E-ZPass transponders and photograph plates to bill drivers who have none. Supervisors spent this month arguing over 84 police cameras. We looked for a public count of how many plates the region's toll operators read in a day and did not find one. Whether a toll operator, an airport contractor or the county police holds the record of where we went, we want to know who keeps it and for how long.
THE PODCAST
SUBSCRIBE AND FOLLOW ALONG
We record every week from Reston and Herndon, with the openings, the arguments and the numbers behind the headlines. Follow along on whichever app you use.
FROM GREATER RESTON LIVING AT COMPASS
Weighing a home closer to Dulles or the Metro?
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Reston Insider is written by Kathy and Graham Tracey of Greater Reston Living at Compass, and you can call or text us at (703) 231-7049.
Compass, 11943 Democracy Drive, Reston, VA 20190 | (703) 783-7485
