Tysons "Winners and Losers"

By: Lowell
Published On: 6/20/2007 3:56:21 PM

Just in case you missed it, the Examiner had its list of "winners and losers" in the Metro to Dulles "100 year mistake." 

Not surprisingly, the "winners" include "Big Dig" Bechtel, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), SAIC (the reporter's commentary on that one is harsh!), something called the Macerich Trust (a "California-based real estate investment trust" which "paid $2.3 billion for Tysons Corner Mall"), West Group (check out the commentary on that one as well - ouch!) and the Lerner Group.

"Losers" include pretty much the rest of us:

1. "Route 7 commuters," who will face added traffic.
2. "Commuters who don?t work at Tysons," who "will get virtually no congestion relief even as the higher densities put more cars on local roads."
3. "Dulles Toll Road motorists," who "will wind up paying about 80 percent of the total cost of a $5 billion transit project they do not use."
4. "Blue and Orange lines riders," for whom "already overcrowded Orange Line trains are expected to be sardine cans before they get to the Arlington stops."
5. "Fairfax County taxpayers," who "will not only have to pay $110 million more in annual operating expenses for Dulles Rail, but they?re also liable for any cost overruns."

In sum: according to this analysis, "winners" from Metro to Dulles (sans tunnel) include wealthy property owners and development interests.  "Losers" include pretty much the rest of us poor saps who live here in Northern Virginia.  Heckuva job, everybody.  Heckuva job!


Comments



huh? (blue dawg - 6/20/2007 4:04:40 PM)
I don't get this arguement that having metro out to dulles without a tunnel is going to be bad thing and that its the be all end all of life.  Would I prefer a tunnel?  Yes.  Do I want the stop to happen near my house in Reston (Wiehle Ave) more than a tunnel?  yes.  Maybe I'm missing something, but it feels like the arguement of its going to make riding worse for other people, for us to have metro seems a bit elitist.

Also I don't buy the arguement that the aerial option is going to make traffic worse on Rt. 7 than if there was a tunnel.

Go ahead and yell at me now.



No yelling, just a question. (Lowell - 6/20/2007 4:06:32 PM)
Did you read that entire article in the Examiner?  It's truly devastating.


I'm with the Dawg (TheGreenMiles - 6/20/2007 4:18:19 PM)
I agree with Blue Dawg.  I'm a commuter who doesn't work in Tysons (my office is in Reston).  With the new Metro extension, I'll be able to ride straight from my apartment in Ballston to my office in Reston at Wiehle Ave.  How does that make me a "loser"?

And where is our region's environment in the list of winners?  DC is a nonattainment area for fine particulates and ground-level ozone.  Getting commuters out of their cars and onto trains can only help that.



What percentage of DC area commuters (Lowell - 6/20/2007 4:34:36 PM)
will get "out of their cars and onto trains" because of this project?  Are we talking 10,000?  20,000?  Out of what, several million?  I'm very skeptical that Metro to Dulles will fix DC's air pollution problems, especially given that the curretn 103-mile, 83-station system hasn't accomplished that goal.  Look, I love Metro, but it's not a cure-all.  And, as the article points out:

Planners admit that only 12 percent of the current 100,000 or so daily Tysons commuters will ride Dulles Rail. Even so, it?s being used to justify a building boom that will add thousands of condos, offices and retail stores to the Washington region?s second-largest job center. All those extra people will add to the county?s worsening congestion while this mammoth project sucks up almost every available transportation dollar in Northern Virginia for decades.

Whoops!



The bottom line (novamiddleman - 6/20/2007 5:03:04 PM)
This is why this project is insane

To be generous let's say 100,000 people will use the line each day

So 5,200,000,000 / 100,000 = 52,000 per person

Could the government please write me a check and to be nice it can only be for half that 26,000



want to take a guess how much that will cost you (novamiddleman - 6/20/2007 4:50:00 PM)
Lets start the bidding at 5 bucks each way


Actually, $5 is fine (TheGreenMiles - 6/20/2007 4:59:08 PM)
Novamiddleman, I know $5 sounds like a lot, but how much do you think it costs me in gas, tolls, and car costs to drive from Ballston to Reston and back each day right now?


huh (voter4change - 6/20/2007 10:23:39 PM)
Citizens for 3 years have tried to get the message out.....the rail will not reduce congestion.  Even WMATA's data analysis states this conclusion.

The rail project is a land use development project not a transportation project.  If it were not so, then there would have been 2 stops in Tysons that would be located in the boundary of TC.

A rail stop generates higher density.  Higher density generates additional vehicle trips. 

Trust me,  I don't think many of us could afford to live in Tysons Corner.  So are we not subsidizing the wealthy land owners?  Who benefits....Connolly with big dollars flowing into his campaign war chest?  Am I the only person who finds this to be offensive?



Margi Vanderhye comments on the Fairfax BOS (Lowell - 6/20/2007 4:07:55 PM)
Contact:  Stephen Davis
  Campaign Manager
  703.448.8018

VANDERHYE RESPONDS TO FAIRFAX BOARD VOTE ON DULLES RAIL

McLean, Va., June 20, 2007 ? Margaret ?Margi? Vanderhye, issued the following statement in response to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors vote on the Dulles Rail Project:

?I am disappointed that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors felt the need to proceed with the vote on funding the elevated option for Rail to Dulles as it passes through Tyson?s Corner without better and more certain cost estimates.

?The cost for overruns will likely be borne by the taxpayers, many of them in the 34th district.  All parties to the negotiations ? public and private ? have a responsibility to all of us to determine the price of this project with a far greater certainty than the current possible $300 million difference.

?I still believe the tunnel is a viable and financially sound option and in the best interests of the region, particularly the Tyson?s Corner area.  I too am eager to see Rail to Dulles become a reality soon rather than later.  But achieving a vibrant, urban center at Tyson?s must also be a goal.  Currently, there is little if any communication about how that goal can be realistically achieved with the aerial design.

?In the wake of the recent decision, the public deserves better answers about the price of this project and the ?vision? that will make it workable for Tyson?s and northern Virginia.  The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has labored long and hard over many months and years to make rail to Dulles a reality.  Let?s do everything we can to make sure the public is informed and enthusiastic about this priority project as well.?

You tell 'em, Margi! :)



Why did Gov. Kaine praise the vote? (Todd Smyth - 6/20/2007 4:34:14 PM)
"In a statement Monday, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine praised the Fairfax supervisors for their decision, calling the project "long-awaited and critically important.""

Fairfax County supervisors approve Dulles rail extension
http://www.dailypres...



This press release is wrong (Todd Smyth - 6/20/2007 8:06:53 PM)
I really like Margi but the tunnel through Tysons was never at issue in the vote on Monday.  Only a possible extension under 495 was possibly at stake and that is still not completely gone.  The tunnel through Tysons is still part of the official plan.  The press and reporting on this has been horrible.


Is It True? (Lee Diamond - 6/20/2007 6:23:24 PM)
Is it true that a member of the Board of Supervisors works for SAIC?  I am pretty sure it is not Dana Kauffman.


Just read the article (novamiddleman - 6/20/2007 7:04:12 PM)
The Connolly SAIC connections are sick.  They got two metro stops right next door to each other.  Connolly added the one metro in 2003.


I presume this is a rhetorical question? (Lowell - 6/20/2007 8:59:57 PM)
Read the article and it will all become clear...