Columbia Pike Transit Initiative (Arlington, Bailey's Crossroads: apartments, condos, townhomes)

[Darkseid]

This project, that has been on the table for years, seems to finally be getting a little steam. They will be having public meetings this spring about the options on what to do and where the stops will be.

If done correctly, this project should help to give a much needed lift to the Bailey's Crossroads area

Pike Transit Initiative - www.piketransit.com

[Smoke_Jaguar4]

Yes it will. I live nearby in Carlin Springs; the area is already starting to improve just on anticipation the line will be built. Once it's complete Columbia Pike will become another Urban Center similar to Crystal City and the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor.
My prediction: Success on the Pike will spur similar development on Lee Highway.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Smoke_Jaguar4

Yes it will. I live nearby in Carlin Springs; the area is already starting to improve just on anticipation the line will be built. Once it's complete Columbia Pike will become another Urban Center similar to Crystal City and the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor.
My prediction: Success on the Pike will spur similar development on Lee Highway.

Agreed, I have noticed the improvements going in along Columbia Pike and I think its great. That corridor, 29 through north arlington between glebe and washington, as well as Route 50 through 7 corners I think are underutilized. There is a huge population of residents already in those corridors who have pretty sizeable wallets, and would be interested in new luxury condos/apartments/townhomes not to mention mixed use retail options that dont look like strip malls.

I think the biggest issues have been the lack of transit and long corridors just scream add a Light rail system to me in the median!!! Residents love it, shop owners love it, restaurants love it, the only people who dont love it are people who use and abuse the roads on their way to something else and treat Merrifield, Arlington, and Vienna as if they are fly over regions. I dont know about you but I dont think making decisions on land use based on people who don't even live in that zoning region makes much sense.

Woot

[Darkseid]

The biggest hurdle will be convincing the public. The price tag will be around $250 million for the "street car option" over the upgrade of the buses option which is around $5 million for option one and around $50 million for the enhanced option. Either of those options will be far cheaper. The street cars will be about 5 minutes faster than buses. So, those who lack vision will see it as $200 million extra to save about 5 minutes. However, the street car option will mean billions of dollars in property value enhancements and other economic development.

Those that want to see this should be sure to educate themselves (http://piketransit.com/current_topics.2.php#q1 - broken link) and show up to the public hearings this spring

[Virginia Prime]

What I like most about this project is the foresight that the Columbia Pike corridor may be linked to an expanded D.C. streetcar system at some point in the future. In fact, I don't believe the full potential of the corridor will be realized until it can offer direct/nonstop streetcar access into District -- perhaps by utilizing Memorial Bridge. Regardless, Columbia Pike has cone a long way.

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Darkseid

The biggest hurdle will be convincing the public. The price tag will be around $250 million for the "street car option" over the upgrade of the buses option which is around $5 million for option one and around $50 million for the enhanced option. Either of those options will be far cheaper. The street cars will be about 5 minutes faster than buses. So, those who lack vision will see it as $200 million extra to save about 5 minutes. However, the street car option will mean billions of dollars in property value enhancements and other economic development.

Those that want to see this should be sure to educate themselves (http://piketransit.com/current_topics.2.php#q1 - broken link) and show up to the public hearings this spring

I might write an article about Columbia Pike for my website, I totally agree that this could be just as important of a project as the silver line to Tysons at the end of the day. If anyone doubts that, look what LRT did to an uncoordinated downtown charlotte. Darkseid if you want to write the article about it let me know, otherwise I'll probably add it to the March list. We have a new system that allows people who want to write articles in their own neighborhoods on the site now. Fairfax User News

[johnsonkk]

$250 million for a light rail along one street? Seriously? Light rails are not faring well in denver nor the twin cities. The tickets continue to rise and then charge for parking. It's about ridership. Lets say it cost $10 million and it's already built. Will there be thousands of riders that dump the metro buses (lost money for them)? they need to fix the timing on the stop lights first along with the brutal potholes.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

$250 million for a light rail along one street? Seriously? Light rails are not faring well in denver nor the twin cities. The tickets continue to rise and then charge for parking. It's about ridership. Lets say it cost $10 million and it's already built. Will there be thousands of riders that dump the metro buses (lost money for them)? they need to fix the timing on the stop lights first along with the brutal potholes.

Actually LRT has done very well in Denver , there even expanding the system as we speak. Same with Salt Lake City , Streetcars generate TOD / Developments , buses do not. They also get higher ridership , theres a stigma against buses in the US. There also cheaper to run and last longer then buses by at least 20 years...which an average bus lasts anywhere between 15-20 years. Streetcar or LRT tracks when street running run on Concrete beds.... There will be no parking lots along this line , people will be encouraged to walk , which is generally the case with streetcars. This really isn't a LRT but a Streetcar and a base system which is always the most expensive , expanding outwards will be cheaper once this line is up and running. An Average Streetcar extension of 10 miles costs 50 Million $$...

[Darkseid]

Originally Posted by tysonsengineer

Darkseid if you want to write the article about it let me know, otherwise I'll probably add it to the March list. We have a new system that allows people who want to write articles in their own neighborhoods on the site now. Fairfax User News

Thanks for the offer TE, but while I don't think I would do a very good job writing an article

[tysonsengineer]

Originally Posted by Darkseid

Thanks for the offer TE, but while I don't think I would do a very good job writing an article

No problem, then I will likely write it up.

As far as the value of these systems, you couldn't be more wrong johnsonkk, they are far more sustainable than bus or rail systems. The key with it is that it can be implemented in a region which already has density to support it. Additionally, unlike buses, LRT actually spurs new development and retail which has empirically proven to increase tax revenue from these often congested corridors. Lastly, the commute time benefit might not specifically seem like a whole lot when one of these goes in, but by taking 5000 to 10000 people off a the roads you make the corridors as a whole work better as well so that the roads also see this improvement in traffic flow. In most cases a road can go from perfect flow conditions to a failing level of service with simply 5-10% more demand, so removing 15% of the demand on Columbia Pike would help a ton.

Also, unlike heavy rail, more people are likely to use LRT on interday trips (huge benefit to the sustainability of the LRT) as these systems typically wrong along the same corridors which have residential and existing retail/grocery uses such as Columbia Pike, Route 29, Route 7 as these corridors were the original growth centers of the region.