I know it's not my money, but it makes no sense to doom a $2 billion expansion of the "subway" system

Portland streetcar.

Today's Post has a follow-up article to the article I mentioned yesterday about planning for the Dulles Transit Corridor. The headline says it all, "Cost Dooms Metro Plan For Tunnel At Tysons." It strikes me that the compromises being made to "save" money will cost a lot more in reduced ridership, reduced usefulness, and increased car ridership.

HOWEVER, I will say that transit in the Tysons Corner area needs to be looked at in two fundamentally different ways:

(1) transit to Tysons Corner and to Dulles Airport from places outside of the immediate vicinity ("inter" or through transit); and

(2) transit in and around the Tysons Corner area.

Portland Streetcar photos from Railway Preservation.

This is the more focused type of analysis that DC has adopted, and why the city is putting significant resources into (re)creating streetcars to enhance getting around the city, to enhance transit options for getting around the city, at a financial and social cost much reduced compared to the expansion of heavy rail subway service.

Perhaps I would junk the proposed Tysons area WMATA stations except for one or two, and build a separate streetcar system modelled after that in good old Portland, Oregon.

Trains and elevated transit in Chicago. Smugmug train photo from Bob.

Proposed Metrorail line above Route 7 in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Inter- and intra- transit needs are different. Having a great streetcar system, perhaps with free transfer from the subway, would meet the already constrained provisions of intra-Tysons transit without reducing overall ridership.

As much as I love subways, it could be that the least expensive, most useful transit system would be to do BRT (bus rapid transit) to the airport and put the money into providing more transit investment for getting around Fairfax County. But there are other downsides to BRT in terms of ridership expansion.

(This blog entry is dedicated to Dan M., who doesn't like my parochial pro-DC #$%^&* Fairfax attitude... but then, we have to deal with Tom Davis and the lack of a commuter tax.)

Overview of Tysons Corner. Washington Post photo by Tracy Woodward.

Index Keywords: transit