Solutions to NoVA's Transportation Crisis? (Arlington, Fairfax: apartment complex, daycare, construction)

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by dlumpen

It atrocious how dangerous it is to walk, and this is certainly reflected in the accident rates high immigration areas. Safety would be a start.

I go for a walk every single day, and do not find it dangerous at all. I live in Herndon, which is considered a high immigration area.

[springfieldva]

[quote=JakilaTheHun;11312102]

I actually wish they'd create another new line running down through the Columbia Pike thru Annandale into Springfield. I think they plan on building a streetcar instead, right? I don't oppose that, but I think building a whole Metro line thru there would be better and would promote more upward development in that region. For some reason, people still haven't learned the whole "if you build it, they will come" mantra in transportation. If you build highways, development inevitably pops up. The same is true with mass transit stations (it's even more true, in fact).

A streetcar in Annandale/Springfield? Do you know where to get more info on that?

[athousandlogins]

I love the dedicated bus lane idea in theory, but you can see what happens already in this thread. In the few places they have effective "bus lanes" in this area, people see the bus go by while they're sitting in traffic and they get irritated and jealous...but they don't take the bus the next day.

Getting people out of their cars is so, so hard, even when you make the alternatives more attractive. It is tempting for supporters of public transportation to believe that people would behave differently if they just had access to more options and better information, but generally that's not how it works. People often drive because they want to. They prefer it.

And most of us are in the position that Scran-Barre is in. As bad as the drive is, public transportation still takes longer and is less comfortable.

All of this isn't to say we should just throw up our hands and give up. When driving has more downsides than upsides, people tend to give public transportation a second look - as they did during the high gas prices in mid-2008. But it's a huge cultural shift that won't be made just by adding more bus routes, as much as I personally would like to see them.

How about electric trolleys?

[dlumpen]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I go for a walk every single day, and do not find it dangerous at all. I live in Herndon, which is considered a high immigration area.

Just certain areas, such as Merrifield. They don't want to walk to the traffic light so cross four lanes incl at night. High ped mortality rate in some immigrant areas. Definitely more could be done to improve paths. Many have gaps in places. My favorite is over Rt 66. They could have placed the bike path on one side of the bridge where there are no hazards. Instead, the put the bike path on the other side which is an entrance from an HOV lane. Cars don't want to stop for them, so there are lots of close calls.

[normie]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

And most of us are in the position that Scran-Barre is in. As bad as the drive is, public transportation still takes longer and is less comfortable.

Good point. We all like ragging on Scran about not taking the bus (mostly because he's the one bringing up the topic) but before we get high and mighty, the bottom line is most of us end up making the same decisions he does.

I'm torn on the subject. Ideally, I'm pro mass transit. But as time goes by, I realize there are so many times taking a bus or a train sound like a good idea but it isn't practical. I use mass transit when I have lots of extra time on my hands, but not if I need to get somewhere in a hurry. It's not practical for travelling at night if you're an older women like me.

A few months ago I took metro out to meet some friends in Maryland. It happened to be the same day of the big train wreck. I wasn't in the wreck, but I was one of the people who had an extremely hard time getting home that day.

It made me rethink my position on mass transportation. I'm still voting for it, but I'm no longer the enthusiast I once was. My grandson finally had to drive to Maryland to pick me up. From now on I'm not taking the train to Maryland, I'm driving.

[dlumpen]

Originally Posted by normie

Good point. We all like ragging on Scran about not taking the bus (mostly because he's the one bringing up the topic) but before we get high and mighty, the bottom line is most of us end up making the same decisions he does.

I'm torn on the subject. Ideally, I'm pro mass transit. But as time goes by, I realize there are so many times taking a bus or a train sound like a good idea but it isn't practical. I use mass transit when I have lots of extra time on my hands, but not if I need to get somewhere in a hurry. It's not practical for travelling at night if you're an older women like me.

A few months ago I took metro out to meet some friends in Maryland. It happened to be the same day of the big train wreck. I wasn't in the wreck, but I was one of the people who had an extremely hard time getting home that day.

It made me rethink my position on mass transportation. I'm still voting for it, but I'm no longer the enthusiast I once was. My grandson finally had to drive to Maryland to pick me up. From now on I'm not taking the train to Maryland, I'm driving.

Somewhere there's built in that ScranBarre is supposed to sacrifice, even while they build more and more (when it's economically feasible).

[JakilaTheHun]

[quote=springfieldva;11312339]

Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun

A streetcar in Annandale/Springfield? Do you know where to get more info on that?

It wouldn't run to Springfield. I'm not even sure if it'll run to Annandale. It's just supposed to run down the Columbia Pike. However, if I were to decide on the proper course of action, I think a Metro rail line running down the Columbia Pike thru Annandale and then terminating in Springfield would be ideal.

I can't remember the actual plan very well; it's been awhile since I read about it, but you could try googling terms like "Columbia Pike", "streetcar", "Arlington", and you might find something on it.

[pcity]

Yeah, the streetcar won't quite make it to Annandale. It'll terminate at Skyline (Bailey's Crossroads area).

[anonymous703]

Originally Posted by normie

A few months ago I took metro out to meet some friends in Maryland. It happened to be the same day of the big train wreck. I wasn't in the wreck, but I was one of the people who had an extremely hard time getting home that day.

It made me rethink my position on mass transportation. I'm still voting for it, but I'm no longer the enthusiast I once was. My grandson finally had to drive to Maryland to pick me up. From now on I'm not taking the train to Maryland, I'm driving.

May I ask, if you were in, or stuck behind, a 20-car pile-up on the beltway, would you stop using the beltway?

I don't use transit to get to work. My office is on the north side of Dulles Airport, and there's simply nothing convenient that runs from RTC out that way. The saving grace is that I have a 10 minute commute to work

But I do use transit to get into the city on the weekends. For now, parking at the metro lots is still free on the weekends, and I hate trying to deal with parking in the city.

ScranBarre, can't you adjust your work schedule to coincide with the bus schedule?

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by anonymous703

May I ask, if you were in, or stuck behind, a 20-car pile-up on the beltway, would you stop using the beltway?

I know I would! I try to avoid using the beltway as it is, if I was in a 20-car pileup that would settle the matter.