FED GOVERNMENT APPROVES RAIL TO GERRY

The WaPo is reporting a 10 a.m. conference call today where Rail to Dulles will be approved by the federal government.  Or at least phase one- from Wiehle Ave. to Falls Church on the new Silver line.

A few thoughts:

First- Gerry Connolly has pushed successfully to increase densities around the new Metro stations.  While this makes sense from a Smart Growth perspective in general- it is worth noting that the project's own studies show that the density will bring more people into Tysons than the Metroline is expected to carry.  In other words, beyond the traffic nightmare of construction- traffic in Tysons will get worse because there will be MORE cars- not less after this project is completed.  That's not to bash the project totally, because it will be good economic development, but this is NOT a traffic reliving project, it is a land use project.  The Post needs to start reporting this.

Second, the big loser here is Southern Fairfax County.  Metro is subsidized partially by local governments based on the mileage of the system within their juristiction.  The new Silver line will run through Fairfax from Falls Church to Reston (and eventually out to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County).  So Fairfax taxpayers in Springfield, Lorton, Fairfax Station, Mt. Vernon, Franconia, Clifton and Burke will be helping to pay for this service every single year in local taxes- but will probably never use it.  Why?  The new Silver line is very poorly planned for location for Southern Fairfax.  Residents here will have to either fight an awful commute north to a Metro station on the Orange line (For me in Burke which is closest of anywhere in South Fairfax- it takes almost an hour to get to Vienna Metro in the morning)... or they will have to use the Blue Line.  The Blue Line, of course, doesn't meet the Orange Line until Rosslyn (35 minutes from Franconia-Springfield station) and then they will need to take the Orange line to Falls Church (20 minutes) before boarding the Silver line for another 15-20 minutes to Tysons.  In other words- nothing faster than just driving to Tysons- meaning very few in South County will ever use this line during rush hour.  Those living in Huntington (yellow line) will need to change to Blue at the Pentagon, then change to Orange at Rosslyn, then change to Silver at Falls Church- so even worse for those living in Mt. Vernon.

Third- Arlington County residents should rise up in anger.  The addition of a 3rd line through the Rosslyn tunnel means that every line will have less frequent trains now.  Where was the Arlington Delegation while this plan was being vetted????

Finally- let's not forget that Gerry is benefiting from this from his other job- working for SAIC, known for its involvement in the Iraq War. As the WaPo said last year in the article titled "Connolly's Two Roles Provoke Questions":

"Connolly has been an outspoken advocate for the proposed Metro extension to Dulles International Airport, a project with benefits for Fairfax but also one that could place an underground station almost directly in front of SAIC's offices, significantly increasing the property value."

And, by the way, that station for SAIC was added into the plan right about the same time they hired a new Vice President... named Gerry Connolly. 

(Part 34)

Comments

"In other words- nothing faster than just driving to Tysons- meaning very few in South County will ever use this line during rush hour"

Metro in Northern Fairfax isn't intended to serve south County. The Blue Line doesn't help anyone at all in Northern Fairfax, but that didn't make that project any less worthwhile when it was built. The Silver Line will greatly help those it is intended to.

Second, SAIC is a huge Tysons employer, and merits its own Metro stop, or one nearby. Finally, SAIC is a government contractor, just like many in the county. Of course it has some involvement in the operations surrounding the Iraq War, which is, of course, a major government function at this time.

This whole post is a nice attempt at spin, but not quite nice enough to mask the real accomplishments here.

[Not Larry Sabato]

It's funny that no one thought SAIC needed its own Metro stop until Gerry started working there...

Then I guess they weren't thinking clearly before Gerry started working there. SAIC is the fourth largest employer in Fairfax Country, headquartered in Tysons. It is located directly next to the headquarters of Booz Allen Hamilton, Fairfax's third largest employer. It makes sense. Between them, they have thousands of employees who commute to their Tysons offices daily (almost 10,000).

[Not Larry Sabato]

It's nice Gerry's employment helped the county make such an excellent decision then.

(end snark).

Be as snarky as you want, it was a reasonable, practical, and necessary decision.

It's a hard life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4abvxtpa08

And while you're being mindlessly snarky, you've totally missed the story of the day, PWC substantially softening its immigrant policy. Nice blinders, NLS.

[Kenton]

Arlington should be ticked not because the train frequency would go down (it's likely that total trains between East Falls Church and Rosslyn will *increase*, at the expense of Vienna-EFC and the entire Blue Line) but because every train headed their way becomes a sardine can.

The real losers are, like Ben pointed out, Blue commuters. Fewer slots through the Rosslyn tunnel means that some Blue line trains will be diverted across to the Yellow/Green bridge--shafting Prince George's County to boot.

You only have three lines through DC--the Red, Blue/Orange and Yellow/Green. Jamming a new line through without digging a new trunk line means fewer trains for everyone except the Red Line.

Ben is reaching so far on this one that my arms are getting tired. It's tough to carry the weight of all Ben's BS.

Ben is reaching so far on this one that my arms are getting tired. It's tough to carry the weight of all Ben's BS.

[Not Ben]

Rail to Dulles would always benefit northern FFX more than southern FFX for matters of mere geography. If the airport was in Woodbridge instead of Dulles, it would be the other way around. I don't see how this makes the Silver Line a bad idea.

[Alice]

There is no online edition of it, but the DuPont Current reports that the Leesburg line will eventually go under a third tunnel which will have a Georgetown stop. It seems that this has been on the drawing boards for years.

People in the south county will benefit from the cleaner air as some people move from cars to rail. They will also benefit from the continued vitality of the Tysons area and the taxes it generates. You don't have to live or work their to have an interest in its continued success.

Leslie's 1999 campaign literature bragged about her work as member of congress to get the option to expand metro.

[GeorgetownStudent]

It probably would not make that much sense for people in southern Fairfax to take the new line to Tysons. However, you do not have to switch lines as often as you mentioned under Metro's proposal for the Silver Line. It is supposed to go all the way to Stadium-Armory so you could technically just switch to it at Rosslyn instead of having to wait until East Falls Church.

It's obvious why Ben is trying to desperately make this an issue for the southern part of the county ... it's part of the 11th CD.

"So Fairfax taxpayers in Springfield, Lorton, Fairfax Station, Mt. Vernon, Franconia, Clifton and Burke ..."

How convenient to cite those areas.

Um, Ben, as someone said above, Dulles is in the northern part of the county and so is Tysons. Get over it.

[Not Jack Herrity]

Ben, there are plenty of perfectly good arguments against the Dulles Rail line, but yours are some of the weakest I've ever seen.

Who cares about Southern Fairfax in rail planning? The densities in Burke are nowhere near enough to support rail. Why don't we take the line through Great Falls while we are at it?

NJH