June 29, 2012

Walter Tejada is still thinking about a streetcar along Columbia Pike, he told me today. He said he is quite sure the streetcar would be the right fit along the Route 1 corridor between Pentagon City and Potomac Yard on the border with Alexandria, but of Columbia Pike, he is not fully convinced.

"I will keep an open mind to decision time," he said.

The main difference between the two: affordable housing. Affordable housing has already left much of the Route 1 corridor, so a streetcar and its effects on housing prices would do less damage.

However the Arlington County Board vice chair is less convinced of the plans for "transit-oriented development" along the Pike where a large percentage of the county's affordable housing remains. Transit oriented development aims to bring retail, office and residential development along major transit lines such as the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors.

"Transit-oriented development has been cruel" to low income people in Arlington, Tejada said in an interview this morning. The county's track record at saving affordable housing while pursuing development along the major transit lines has been weak, he said.

In the first decade of this century, the market-rate affordable housing stock ("MARKS" in planning lingo) dropped by about 13,000 units, or 70 percent. These are different than Committed Affordable Units ("CAFs"), which are units built to be low-income housing for the long-term.

The Pike houses about 6,000 MARKS, half are affordable at 60 percent of Area Median Income, and half at 80 percent, according to county documents. In the housing materials that went with her proposed county budget for the fiscal year starting Sunday, Barbara Donnellan wrote, "Arlington continues to experience losses in its market rate affordable housing units, due to redevelopment and increased rents."

The county has created a plan they hope will save 4,500 affordable units along the Pike.

I asked Tejada about this today because yesterday at the Capital Improvement Program work session with county staff, Tejada grilled Dennis Leach just a bit. Leach is the county’s deputy director of transportation and development.

Proponents of the streetcar system have used the term "economic development" along the Pike. A streetcar will bring development.

That term was missing from Leach's discussion of the streetcar. Economic revitalization of the Pike is implied, given that the "the overall performance [of a streetcar] is superior to bus-only projects."

Tejada brought up the idea of economic development again just a few minutes later. It was as if he wanted to make sure no one forgot that new construction means fewer MARKS.

At their meeting on July 21 or 24 the Arlington County Board will take up the question of their "locally preferred alternative." This is the time when the board will decide whether to support streetcars, articulated buses, or nothing. The Fairfax County board will do the same at their July meeting.

The streetcar option costs about $250 million total, with Arlington taking on the bulk of that: $198 million. Of that, the county hopes $75 million will come from the federal government, about $35 million from the state. The rest would be paid for from the Transportation Capital Fund, a special tax on businesses.

Comments (17)

Comment Feed

I agree with Mark

I think the street car should have its own lane and that Columbia pike should be reduced to one lane in each direction. How often does someone almost hit you while swerving around someone turning...happens to me multiple times per trip. It's just a matter of time until one of those speeders hits me (or you). Why not slow down traffic on the pike and make it a nicer place to live? Columbia pike isn't route 50 or 395, why do we allow drivers to pretend it is?

kevin 330 days ago

So what!!

I am not a fan of the Arlington county obsession with affordable housing. I am not embarrassed by this and will not apologize for it. The fact of the matter is this. If you cant afford to live in Arlington then move!! There is plenty of affordable housing in PG county and some of it near transit. Further as a home owner on the Pike I want more development and the streetcar. The only part of the plan I am not crazy about is that the streetcar does not have a dedicated lane.

Mark 349 days ago

So what!!

Mark 349 days ago

Phoney "Affordable Housing"

There's only going to be a handful of affordable apartments (less than $1100 a month for a 1-bedroom) available at Arlington Mill, which the County owns. Anyone who says that there will be thousands of affordable apartments on a redeveloped Pike is not being truthful.

Agree, streetcar is by the out-of-state developers, for the out-of-state developers.

Ted 349 days ago

ime for a Moratorium on Pike Development

Pike streetcar system is by the out-of-state developers, for the out-of-state developers. Put a streetcar system in their SOV-SUV oriented suburbs. Keep their streetcars out of my Pike neighborhood.

John T 351 days ago

Pro-streetcar

A cynic, Oscar Wilde said, is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. This is eerily similar to debates in the 70s about whether to support a metro line. Arlington's economic prosperity now is owed in large part to the decisions those board members made. Economic development is coming to the Pike regardless of whether the street car is built. Rents are high, housing costs are high, and the number of people moving to this area who want to be close to DC is continuing to grow. That means more infrastructure, more schools, more county expenditures. The streetcar is intended to shape the way this growth occurs and make Columbia Pike development less haphazard and more integrated. Remember, the streetcar is not just for Columbia Pike -- it is part of a connection from Fairfax to the pentagon and down to Alexandria. It promises a major new, desirable transportation option that will provide both economic development and housing choice to the region. If you are concerned about affordable housing, then that can be addressed by sound affordable housing policies not by clinging to old garden apartments that will eventually be torn down one way or another. And not by opposing a viable exciting mass transit option for the region.

Arlington Voter 351 days ago

Streetcar-Vehicle Accidents

The County will have to purchase and operate another fire department heavy rescue vehicle at a cost of $1 million for the vehicle and $500,000 per year to operate the vehicle because streetcar -vehicle accidents often cause massive damage to motor vehicles and leave people trapped inside the vehicle.

Barb 351 days ago

Go With Vegas Articulated Buses

If tourists and residents alike love the Las Vegas articulated buses why would not Arlington tourists and residents?

Ted 351 days ago

What "Affordable" Housing

There is not going to be ANY affordable housing for less than $1100 / month - in 2012 dollars - for a single bedroom apartment, if a streetcar system is constructed on the Pike.

Many who want a streetcar system are property owners who will sell out for re-development and move out of the County.

What Affordable Housing? 351 days ago

streetcar

Estimates given at the transit initiative meeting are that the streetcar would cost 215 million to install vs 15-20m for additional Metrobuses. Not only is the cost we should be worried about but we've been told that bicycles will not be allowed on the Pike after installation AND that rents WILL increase as a result. One other important factor is that this initiative assumes it will get funding from the state and the feds. You know what happens when you assume.

I truly wonder if those of you proponents have ever used public transportation. I bike, walk and bus the Pike to work on the Pike and feel that tearing up my home and work community for the next several years is something we should put to a countywide referendum. Why shouldn't we vote on this issue?

flacafina 352 days ago

The Streetcar and Affordable Housing Go Together

The single biggest reason to choose the streetcar over an articulated bus (or even the Vegas Bus) system is that a railed system has been shown multiple times to increase economic development and help build a better sense of community. Robust and prosperous economic development and a high sense of community are two of the essential ingredients to affordable housing projects, as discussed in this review of public housing projects (http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/public-housing-building-communities-vs.html). As a property owner AND an advocate for disadvantaged populations, I support the streetcar as a key infrastructure investment 100%.

Meg 352 days ago

Just one of the many reasons the trolley is a bad idea

This is just one of many reasons why the trolley is a bad idea and a horrible return on investment at $50 million a mile. It does nothing a bus cannot do, while having limitations a bus doesn't. For instance, when Columbia Pike was closed last night because of a fatal accident, a bus could reroute and go around. It seems they have this "Field of Dreams" mentality that if they build a trolley, the developers will come. What's keeping people away from the Pike are things like the prostitution stings at the Days Inn and seedy title loan sharks as business neighbors, not the lack of a trolley. If it does bring development, then Tejada is right as property values will go up and so will the cost of buying and renting. You can only artificially suppress that so much, as developers will only accept so much regulation and tax payers shouldn't have to subsidize it.

TMP 352 days ago

Pike Property Owners for the Streetcar

I don't think it takes only one vote to torpedo the streetcar. Plus, I have faith CZ will make this happen. The rest of the nay -sayers can go find another slum to live in. The Pike is no longer your haven.

Stephen 352 days ago

Property Owners

Perhaps Tejada has forgotten that there are many on and around Columbia Pike that actually own condos or single family homes. Attempting to prevent infrastructure improvements in order to keep property values low for renters is insane. If the county is so concerned about affordable housing, take the millions that set aside for it and put affordable housing around the entire county, instead of trying to concentrating it on the Pike.

Vic 352 days ago

Arrordable Housing?

There isn't going to be any affordable housing on the Pike. Unless you count $1100 / month single bedroom apartments as 'affordable'. Maybe Tejada took a look at the Las Vegas articulated buses on the Web, would cost Arlington taxpayers $150 million less than the trolly folly and still be attractive to tourists and residents.

Ken 353 days ago

Yes! Finally!

I am so thrilled to read this. The trolley seems like a bad enough idea today, but I am certain that it is the wrong path for Arlington to take to help the Pike thrive for the future. I am hopeful that Tejada will be a leader to help us past this very bad idea.

Laura C. 355 days ago

Tejada's ridiculous stance on the Columbia Pike Streetcar

The answer to affordable housing is to keep an area with inferior infrastructure? That's insulting. If Tejada wants to make a difference on affordable housing that is one thing, but to intentionally degrade a community to make it less desirable is disgusting.

Tom F. 355 days ago