Public meeting on metro extension to Woodbridge (Richmond, Charlottesville: apartments, affordable houses)

[brooklynborndad]

Connolly and elected leaders to discuss Metro extension to Woodbridge - Dr. Gridlock - The Washington Post

IIUC this is in the context both of growth in PWC and the likelihood of some transit extension to Ft Belvoir, which could then be extended further to Woodbridge at some point.

There have been discussions of a number of different options for Ft Belvoir - Blue line extenstion from Springfield in the rail ROW, yellow line extension from Huntington (which would be underground and thus much more expensive, but conceivably could lead to the redevelopment of the Richmond Highway corridor), Light Rail on Rte 1, or major expansion of VRE service (which would require investments in rail capacity on a line with freight and Amtrak traffic). Any of the above could be extended to Woodbridge. Other options would be adding HOT lanes down 95, adding BRT (perhaps in conjunction with HOT lanes) or adding passenger ferry service on the Potomac from Woodbridge.

note also - any further extension of metro rail (or even further feeder LRT) raises the issue of congestion in the core - after the silver line is done both the rosslyn-Foggy bottom tunnel, and the Yellow line bridge, iiuc, will be approaching capacity at rush hour, as will the major transfer stations in DC - Metro Center, Gallery Place, and L'Enfant Plaza. At some point further investment in the core will be needed if we are to keep adding extensions in the suburbs.

[DarkWolf]

i think any Metro Extensions is stupid , but LRT should be pushed for NOVA and more regional Rail like VRE expansions. Streetcars and BRT should also be looked at.

[Caladium]

I like the idea of service to that area, but the Silver Line has left me feeling burnt out on wanting to build any more metro extensions. Plus, you make a good point about congestion in the core. Maybe LRT would be better?

[FindingZen]

I'm not opposed to the idea of a Metro extension although the concerns about congestion - not to mention cost - are understandable.

In other similar threads, I've suggested that the REX (Richmond Highway Express) should offer full express routes between Huntington Metro and Fort Belvoir. Maybe this could be expanded to include the Woodbridge VRE station.

As crowded and narrow as Route 1/Richmond Highway is currently, notwithstanding proposals to widen it, I think it would be hard to squeeze in dedicated lanes to bus rapid transit let alone light rail transit...not that I don't support more transit alternatives in general.

[dkf747]

If congestion in the core is a concern then it's the Yellow line that needs to be extended. It doesn't go through the tunnel that will be used by Blue, Orange and Silver lines. I like the idea of trying to improve the Rt. 1 corridor as well.

[Megadell]

All I know is, SOMETHING needs to be done about the Traffic. Woodbridge is pretty much one giant suburb, and most of the people here commute to work further north or in Dc. A lot of military people around here too, people who want relatively affordable houses and not apartments.

And the public transportation here SUCKS. If you don't have a car, don't expect to go anywhere. Half the time the roads don't even have sidewalks which should tell you how practical it is to walk, to much sprawl.

[elias9193]

The cost of extending Metro to PWC imo is not worth it, then the ongoing Financial commitments to a very flawed system is another issue all by its self.
BRT down route 1 definitely makes a lot more sense because you would hit Ft Belvoir and you could connect it to the Springfield Metro station at a fraction of the cost.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I like the idea of service to that area, but the Silver Line has left me feeling burnt out on wanting to build any more metro extensions. Plus, you make a good point about congestion in the core. Maybe LRT would be better?

LRT will still feed riders onto metrorail.

[stpickrell]

The Feds could offer to pay for expansion out to Fort Belvoir, maybe not all the way to Woodbridge.

Bus rapid transit will occur on the HOV lanes of 395 I'm guessing. Slugging does form a de facto mode of public transit.

I think past Gainesville the VRE rail line goes single-track. In theory one could bring VRE out to Linden but not sure of the cost -- VRE's actually getting good usage isn't it? I'm not sure how easy it is to expand VRE south of Fredericksburg.

Another potential source for more VRE is out through Orange and Charlottesville, although I don't know if that lines runs through anything useful in southern Fauquier.

The Blue Line extension would definitely add more traffic to the core than the Silver Line, as the Silver Line passes through two of the top 5 job centers in this area outside of DC proper before you even have to hit a transfer station.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by dkf747

If congestion in the core is a concern then it's the Yellow line that needs to be extended. It doesn't go through the tunnel that will be used by Blue, Orange and Silver lines. I like the idea of trying to improve the Rt. 1 corridor as well.

the current plan is that when the silver line is done, many blue line trains would be routed acorss the Yellow line bridge, to balance the orange line tunnel and the yellow line bridge. So at that point both will be nearing capacity. The only way to add more transit passengers into DC (and while transit serving Ft Belvoir would be helpful because it let people commute to FB, it would certainly draw new transit passengers to DC, and would need them to make the cost benefit work) is to add another rail tunnel across the potomac (and to add facilities to relieve the main transfer points) OR to put them on the less utilized railroad bridge - but that means addressing capacity issues on the line.