A possible future transit system for DC and Baltimore by David Alpert.

One year ago, I posted a 2009 wish list for transit projects in the region.

In 2008, we reflected on the successes and failures of the first generation of transit-oriented development and revitalization of historic walkable urban places in the region. 2008 also drove home the dangers of car-dependent development, as historicallly high gasoline prices put fiscal strain on many American households. A profound financial collapse and recession accelerated the depletion of the federal highway trust fund.

In contrast, 2009 was about bringing dreams and visions to reality. During the year, the political will for a number of important projects became explicit despite the bad economy. It was a year of action rather than dreaming. The challenge for 2010 will be to simultaneously keep focused on making sure the projects reach groundbreaking, and to continue dreaming and planning visions for a greater future.

What has happened with the current projects from last year’s list?

Silver Line: During the last days of the Bush Administration, the FTA approved its $900 million contribution to the Silver Line. Current USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood signed the formal agreement to disburse the monies in March 2009.

A major goal of the Silver Line is to provide a mulligan on Tysons Corner, recreating it into a string of human-scale walkable urban neighborhoods similar to the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. While the Fairfax County task force’s recommendations are very promising, the county planning board’s recommendations include some misguided concepts like further widening VA-7. One can hope that they avoid such pitfalls and follow the wildly successful example of the Rosslyn-Ballson Corridor in neighboring Arlington County.

Purple Line: On January 27, 2009, the Montgomery County Council endorsed light rail as the mode of the locally preferred alternative, following Prince George’s County’s lead. Governor O’Malley announced his endorsement on August 4. The project is currently in the engineering phase as they address many details that are relevant to successfully completing the project. Both counties have drafted comprehensive plans for redeveloping Langley Park from a 1960’s era edge city into a human-scale walkable urban town. (See Dave Murphy’s excellent post about the topic for greater detail.)

DC streetcars: Construction finally began on the Anacostia segment, and tracks are appearing for a future line on H Street. DDOT announced a comprehensive citywide vision for streetcars. The streetcar system will be an excellent complement to the existing Metro and bus systems, providing localized economic development, neighborhood-to neighborhood connections, and neighborhood-to-Metro connections.

Baltimore Red Line: Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley formally announced his endorsement of this project at the same time he announced his position on the Purple Line. In a more perfect world, this line would be heavy rail. Actually, in a more perfect world, Baltimore would have a complete Metro to rival ours.

As things stand, the Red Line is a step in the right direction. It will provide their region’s first east-west intracity rail infrastructure since the streetcars were ripped out in 1960. The line will also connect to both the existing Light Rail and Metro Subway, which oddly don’t have any intersecting stations. As we have learned from our experience with the Metro, each new line in a system brings in a more than a linear increase in passengers. Not only are more people in close proximity to a station, the system is also more convenient to all since it goes more places.

Columbia Pike streetcar: Virginia’s Columbia Pike streetcar has moved into the environmental documentation and preliminary engineering phase.

Infill Metro station at Potomac Yards: While plans have progressed significantly, Alexandria remains short on money to fully fund the roughly $240 million project. Because of the fiscal reality, the project is currently stalled.

Alexandria also had to scale back its ambitions for station placement, settling for a station along the current line on the opposite side of the railroad tracks from planned development instead of something in the heart of the new neighborhood.