The Columbia Pike Trolley will run between the Pentagon in Arlington & Skyline Business park in Fairfax county. It’s not far– and that’s the controversy– should Virginia spend its precious transportation money on a short light rail route when it should be looking at expanding metro beyond the beltway?

For me- the answer is YES! Why? because

• The Pentagon is a major metro hub– it will connect a lot of people who work in Skyline to metro;
• Columbia Pike is a major commuter route without any metro access. South Arlington has been neglected for too long;
• Arlington County has major revilization plans for the Columbia Pike corridor– this residential & business density is only going to increase.
• It’s a low cost option to building a new metro line. If you look at a metro map– this area is sorely under-served. I think it should continue down Columbia Pike through Annandale to Fairfax City. All these areas have no metro access– and would reduce traffic! Imagine that!

I’ll be watching this one. It’s taken more than 20 years to get a metro line out to Dulles airport– and that project is only just starting. Let’s see if it takes another 20 years to get this.

An anniversary of sorts. One that is special here in Washington, DC and especially in Arlington. Iâ