PWC had the opportunity for Metro YEARS ago when it was MUCH cheaper…but the Democratic controlled BoS shot THAT down because they wanted PWC to be a “bed-room” community.

Stop building houses and instead start building high wage businesses would also be a good start. These McMansions that have been going up all these past 10 years have REALLY put a drain on the area. Unfortunately, BOTH parties seem to be beholden to the Real Estate Developers/community and won’t stop what they see as “revenue” builders (read tax payers).

Some of the posts above have touched on the solution(s) to our commuting problems:

1) The federal government needs to disperse. In this age of instant communications, video-teleconferencing, etc., there is no need to have federal offices concentrated in D.C. Dispersion is a cheap answer to security. Every 2nd lieutenant knows that.

2) Buses. More buses and more buses. And neighborhood parking lots at bus stops.

3) HOV-3 reinstituted on I-66, and enforced. Commuter parking lots to facillitate slug lines.

4) A recent quip by Delegate Nichols actually has more truth than humor to it. Sidewalks on (parellel to) I-66 and I-95. Facillitate bikes, motor scooters, and even foot traffic as alternatives to cars.

These solutions are low-dollar, hence unattractive to politicians who won’t get their kickbacks from contractors. But they’ll work.

A week or so later I took my kids and friend to DC to see the Air and Space Museum and Natural History Museum. I parked at a garage near the Navy Memorial that I like to use (because it has restrooms that are clean). Parking in the garage cost $20 for all day parking. It took about a hour to drive one way and park

Metro’s great in the city, but it stinks if you’re outside the city center. The stops are too far apart, it takes too long to get where you’re going, and, if you’re traveling with more than 3 people, it’s cheaper to drive.

PWC should be investing in expanding VRE to Gainesville and Haymarket, high speed bus, and high speed rail to Richmond. We should be looking to build roads to take people from the west end of the county to Chantilly and Reston. We should be looking to develop flexible office space at Innovation and in other areas around the county so that we can attract larger businesses and government agencies to come out here.

Ditto! I fully agree that DC, Arlington, and Alexandria are pretty much maxed out when it comes to transportation capacity. The notion of adding a Metro station at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars when we already have a VRE station here is silly. The money would be better spent moving jobs out here. Besides no one is really discussing direct mass transit options to other job growth areas such as Tysons Corner or the Dulles Corrider. Gee, for me to get to work from Woodbridge to Herndon using mass transit, I would have to take the VRE into Springfield, then transfer to Metro and take the Blue & Orange lines to West Falls Church, take a bus to Tysons and catch my firm’s shuttle to Herndon. Or I can drive there myself in about 45-60 minutes.

One bad development I have noticed that no one is really been talking about is that DoD commands have been given permission to delay their moves under the BRAC to 2014 vice 2011. If they kept to the original schedule, many of the jobs in Arlington and Alexandria would already be heading in thei direction. At least the move of the FBI’s Washington Field Office was a step in the right direction.

They announced that metro would go there, and in advance of the first rail being laid the place exploded with high-rise apartments and the existing infrastructure was utterly swamped in short order. There’s still no Metro there, and the place has become a transportation disaster. Announce that metro is coming to Woodbridge, and in five years there will be high-density residential development all over the place, no metro, and absolute chaos on the roads.

Instead, if the jobs were in Woodbridge and people wouldn’t have to drive on 95/495 to get to work, there wouldn’t be nearly the gridlock we see on those interstates. Instead of trying to get Metro in 20-30 years and having proposed stations act like huge bug lights for residential development for decades, we can bring the jobs out to Prince William and actually solve the problem, instead of creating new ones.

startover said on 2 Oct 2009 at 4:23 pm”But most of all Bring those Government Jobs here.”

A metro transit system only really works moving people within a district, not in and out. The added lane on 66 we got in the 90’s only bought us at best 2 years relief which was quickly offset by expansive development.

The roots cause it trying decade after decade to funnel more and more people in and out of the D.C. area, all the while doing this primarily on 5 or 6 roads originally designed to bring goods in and out of the Alexandria waterfront over 150 years ago.

The PW Connector is a nice ride, you sit in a comfortable seat and drive past the really nice things to see in DC, it would be more affordable to expand the fleet of buses and provide more local bus transit to where you live. I rode the blue line for years from Fairfax County and it’s already maxed out. It costs a fortune to ride Metro.

Also, what every Blue line rider knows, Metro runs two Orange Line trains for every Blue line at rush hour.

The metro expansion to Dulles was based on servicing the airports, but they can work that around so it doesn’t interfere with commuters already on the line.

Thats a problem without even looking at cost. Anyone who is telling you metro can just be expanded is delusional, a liar, or ignorant. Perhaps all three.

This pie in the sky that these Democrats want to keep promising,they know it won’t work. It will take every Cent we have left and then what??

Somethings is just throwing money out the window,just like the Ferry idea. It is not good or right for the people.

To put all of our solutions in one basket is not the thing to do.

Enhance the Rail,the buses and roads to make it easier for the commuter to get to work. But most of all Bring those Government Jobs here. We have alot to offer.

If D.C. keeps going their way,we will not want our Government Buildings in D.C.

Bring the Buildings to the people.