Thursday, March 3, 2011

RPUS: DC is screwed...

...because public transportation is becoming less of an economic development priority, and the city isn't going to be able to keep up with the surrounding suburbs as they boom due to strengthened transportation infrastructure, according to Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space. DC's got to focus on transit if it's going to successfully compete in the future.

"The Silver Line might cost $30 billion, but the economic development impact from being able to refashion and redevelop land use there will be 10x, 20x, or 30x that amount--or more!

"Frankly, in terms of maintaining DC's competitiveness as a place to locate business in the region, the discussion by some of the developers on the panel with regard to the repositioning of this part of the region as transit oriented really chilled me.

"It made very clear to me that --as I write often--in terms of maintaining DC's economic competitiveness and various competitive advantages in the context of the regional economy, expansion of the subway system within the city ought to be the city's #1 economic development policy.

1. That means the separated blue line.
2. It probably means the idea of the separated yellow line
3. And even a cross-city connector in upper northwest.

"The fact that the value of transit was minimized by the Vincent Gray Transition Team both in the transportation paper and the economic development paper is equally chilling. Pretty much, the transportation report ignored the value of transit to DC's economy and quality of life."

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