This week, we got into two things that Reston residents have been asking about for a long time: what is actually going to happen with traffic, and when. We also covered a community landmark that is quietly disappearing, and a local business that opened a gym unlike anything else in the area.

As agents who work in and around Reston and Herndon every day, these are the kinds of stories we follow closely. Infrastructure, access, and how a neighborhood moves around all factor into how people think about where they want to live, whether or not they are actively buying or selling.

You can watch the full episode on YouTube or jump to a section using the timestamps below.

We opened with our visit to MindShift Gym in Reston. They offer parkour, hammock yoga, hula hooping, and acrobatics classes for all ages. They also have a fire truck that converts into a mobile parkour setup for events and birthday parties.

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The 108-year-old carousel sustained serious damage during the February snowstorm, and inspectors determined it cannot be repaired. It is leaving April 1st, with a replacement planned for spring 2027. Fairfax County's parks website lists several alternative carousels in the area, including one at Burke Lake, while the wait continues.

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Chiboo Macarons at Lake Anne has Easter bunny macarons available this weekend, and Ted's Bulletin is running a limited Easter Pop-Tart with a peep on top, which is either a very good or very bad idea depending on your current willpower situation.

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If you park near trees, open your hood occasionally and check for nests. The culprit is apparently soy-based wire insulation used in certain Honda models, which squirrels find appealing. Graham is now deploying peppermint oil spray and a strobe sensor device. The bill from the first incident was $1,200. The second was $700. Consider this your warning.

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In 2017, Fairfax County created the Reston Transportation Service District and began collecting a dedicated property tax surcharge from Reston homeowners, specifically to fund intersection improvements across the area. An advisory board was established, projects were identified and ranked, and a cost estimate of roughly $44 million was put together for eight priority intersections.

That was nine years ago.

This week, Fairfax County coverage in Reston Now reported that the advisory board is pushing to finally initiate analysis and funding movement on those same projects. The problem: construction costs have not waited. The original $44 million estimate for the eight intersections is now approximately $82 million. The broader transportation plan that surrounded those intersection projects was estimated at $2.26 billion in 2016 and could be approaching three or four billion dollars today. Jump to this segment.

Graham and Kathy walked through the ranked list of eight projects on screen, explaining what each intersection involves and where it sits geographically. The top priority is Reston Parkway and Blumont Way, just north of where Reston Parkway crosses Sunset Hills and the Dulles Toll Road. The fix involves restriping the northbound approach to add two left turn lanes, replacing the signal, correcting drainage, and improving ADA access. The estimated cost for this intersection alone has grown from $4 million to $7.4 million.

More striking than the price is what the county's own data says about this spot: it has the highest number of total crashes, the highest number of pedestrian-involved crashes, and the most severe incidents of all the intersections studied. Kathy mentioned a client who lived at the Stratford House across from this corner and regularly heard ambulances from her window. Anyone who has sat in that left turn lane during rush hour, watching the backup stretch toward Sunset Hills while drivers dart around in frustration, will recognize exactly what she means. Jump to this segment.

Other intersections on the list include Reston Parkway and New Dominion Parkway (where Not Your Average Joe's sits), Hunter Mill Road and Sunset Hills, and Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive. Some of the more eastern projects near Centerville Road touch the Herndon side of the service district.

The board chair, Adam Rubinstein, has been direct about the need to catch up and start spending what residents have been paying in. Whether that momentum holds through budget cycles and county politics remains to be seen.

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Toward the end of the episode, Graham pulled up a Fairfax County grid map showing planned, approved, and already-constructed roads in Reston's urban core. The most significant planned connections involve Library Avenue, the road that runs through the oldest part of Reston Town Center past Jackson's and Ted's Bulletin. That road is planned to extend southward all the way to Sunset Hills, and a longer-term conceptual connection would push it north through Reston Town Center North to Baron Cameron Avenue.

Most of this activity is concentrated in the urban core zones around the Silver Line, Reston Town Center, and the RTC Next development south of the W&OD. If you have been following Halley Rise or Isaac Newton Square, this grid map is worth a look.

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The traffic anxiety that comes up in the comments every time we cover a new Reston development is not abstract. Residents have been paying for these fixes for years and have seen nothing move. The cost doubling is frustrating, but the more important signal here is that the advisory board is finally applying pressure. Whether the county follows through before the numbers climb again is the question. The grid extension story is a longer arc, but it is the kind of planning detail that shapes which parts of Reston become more livable over time.

Follow along each week to keep up with the stories, debates, and local changes shaping Reston and Herndon. New episodes drop weekly.

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If you are trying to figure out how changes like these affect different neighborhoods in Reston or Herndon, feel free to reply. We spend a lot of time helping people think through not just homes, but also how an area feels, what is changing nearby, and which part of town fits them best.