Garvey, Vihstadt Urge State Transportation Board to Fund Bus Rapid Transit, Not the Streetcar

Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey on Thursday urged members of Virginia’s Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to drop any funding of the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar project.

Along with colleague John Vihstadt, Garvey strongly opposes the streetcar project and wants state funding to be denied.

Republican Vihstadt is running as an Independent against Democrat Alan Howze for the county board, after winning in a special election. The election is Nov. 4.

Here’s more about Vihstadt and Garvey’s opposition to the Columbia Pike streetcar project and their backing of a Bus Rapid Transit system, from a news release:

Commonwealth Secretary of Transportation Aubrey Layne pledged “up to $65 million” in additional state transportation funds to the Columbia Pike streetcar project for Arlington and Fairfax Counties in a July 10, 2014, letter to local officials.

“John and I strongly support a world class transportation solution for Columbia Pike,” Garvey told CTB members at a meeting in Fairfax County. “But that solution is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) – not the streetcar which is currently in your plan. In fact, we believe BRT is a good solution for the entire region.”

BRT, Garvey added, is the right transit upgrade for the Pike for many reasons, including these:

· Congestion relief: When there is no dedicated lane, as there

cannot be on Columbia Pike, a fixed rail system makes congestion worse.

· Speed and flexibility: Buses can travel anywhere there is a road. Streetcars can only go where expensive tracks and wires have been built.

· Regional connectivity: Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax have all launched or planned BRT lines. BRT service on Columbia Pike could create the start of an interconnected, efficient BRT regional transit network.

· Capacity: While promoters say streetcars are bigger and can carry more people, BRT has much greater capacity than streetcars because BRT is faster, enabling more trips per vehicle, and because the BRT vehicles themselves, from manufacturers like Mercedes and Volvo, can carry similar numbers of riders as streetcar vehicles.

· Economic development: Independent studies show that dollar for dollar BRT is a better investment for economic development than streetcars. Garvey told CTB members: “Our own Shirlington … is a wonderful example of enormous economic development in a place where the only transit is buses.”

· Hazards: Streetcars pose a far greater hazard to bicyclists and pedestrians and to passengers.

Summing up, Garvey noted that “every indication is that the vast majority of Arlingtonians do not want a streetcar. … This has been clear to John and me from public forums, letters, e-mails and John’s own election in April with 57% of the vote. He is the first non-Democrat to win an election to the Arlington County Board in 15 years. The streetcar was the main issue in that campaign.”

Garvey concluded, “John and I ask you to please remove the streetcar from your plan and to fund BRT instead. This would be good for Arlington, the region and for Virginia.”

PHOTO of John Vihstadt courtesy of Vihstadt campaign