As long as you are engaging in pipe dreams, why not contemplate extending the Red Line to Olney with stations in Aspen Hill and Norbeck, and the Green Line to Laurel.

by Vadranor on May 27, 2008 1:59 pm  

Glad to hear that WMATA is thinking about the big picture and taking input from interested citizens. You deserve a pre-paid Smart Trip card!

by Matt L on May 27, 2008 2:22 pm  

I keep your map on my bullet board at work.

Regarding station names, I remember reading in the Great Society Subway something about a philosophy held during the system's design that stations should avoid being named for the streets they service, instead focusing on the areas. When I'm on a train, I'll occasionally daydream about what some of the street-named stations might be called instead (e.g., King Street becomes Alexandria, Braddock Road becomes Del Ray, etc.).

by JC on May 27, 2008 2:23 pm  

that's great man. way to be making a difference!

by Toby Murdock on May 27, 2008 2:28 pm  

What's the deal with the random street car / light rail lines? I've never hear of one proposed to run down Barracks Row.

by John on May 28, 2008 8:04 am  

John: it's from the old DC Transit Future presentation which got scaled back. Here's a version that includes those lines. I made it from a slightly different version online that I can't find now, which didn't include having the Anacostia line go all the way up to Benning Road, though I should probably put it in for the future.

Vadranor: We should only extend the lines out to suburbs if those suburbs are willing to zone for density comparable at least to something like Bethesda. Otherwise, it's a lot of money just to encourage more sprawly development, and you can never build enough parking for all the park-and-ride demand at the cheap parking prices commuters expect.

We need to couple expansion with having substantial housing and jobs near the Metro so our transit dollars generate transit-oriented economic growth. I'd rather do that closer to existing city cores, if possible.

by David Alpert on May 28, 2008 8:21 am  

Can you provide a larger version of that map you made for WMATA on this site? It is quite small on their site. I find it encouraging that people like you are having some level of impact in helping people in position see the big picture. Thanks.

by NikolasM on May 28, 2008 10:53 am  

NikolasM: Sure, done.

by David Alpert on May 28, 2008 11:10 am  

This map is a really great representation of what Metro should look like in the future, but I think that they shouldn't rely so heavily on light-rail and focus more on expanding the heavy-rail that we all know and love. And what would also be a great idea is a fill-in station at East Potomac Park, to provide easy-access there. That area is very pedestrian-unfriendly with it's highways and lack of sidewalks, it needs ot be revamped. Badly.

by Kevin S.B. on Nov 24, 2008 2:17 pm  

Barracks row streetcar makes a lot of sense actually. Easy N/S path along which there used to be a streetcar.

by skinny on Jul 23, 2009 3:47 pm  

Great map as always David. What are your current thoughts about the following scenario: swing the Blue line down from Springfield-Franconia to go down I-95 along the railroad tracks and have two stations at (a.) the Engineer Proving Grounds/National Army Museum and (b.) at Lorton Town Center by the VRE station. Heck, while we're at it, maybe swing one down to Woodbridge too. The EPG station could have shuttle buses for Fort Belvoir running continually throughout the work day. With BRAC coming to fruition in 2011 and the relocation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency HQ as well as the expected contractor spin-off the traffic in that area is really expected to intensify. On top of that Lorton's development has exploded in the 10+ years since the prison closed and the need for public transit has grown with it. Of course most people's priority for Metro's expansion is justifiably on Dulles right now and that's certainly been contentious enough. However it seems that those working in and around the expanded base would also be well served by a comparatively much shorter and less expensive Metro expansion here. Though the economy and population is not as large as western Fairfax County/eastern Loudoun County and there is an obvious need to connect Dulles to rail isn't southeastern Fairfax County the other outer suburban area of Northern Virginia expected to experience major economic growth in the near future?

by Mike O. on Oct 25, 2009 12:00 pm