Morning links: The axe starts to fall

by David Alpert • February 25, 2010 9:52 am

Photo from Wikimedia.

MWAA, the Fairfax disconnector: Dulles Toll Road tolls once partly paid for bus service; then MWAA took over the road, and is pulling the money away (perhaps partly to widen roads instead). That'll force eliminating 7 routes and Sunday service in the Dulles corridor, among other cuts and fare increases (Wesley M.)

Transit cuts will mean gridlock every day: John Kelly had a very frustrating commute after the snowstorm. That kind of traffic is what we can expect all the time if transit is substantially cut. (Post)

Arlingtonians will have to shovel too: Did you know Arlington property owners aren't required to shovel their sidewalks? After over a decade of trying, transit hero Chris Zimmerman finally won an Arlington County Board vote to institute a snow ordinance. There will be a hearing in March. (Sun Gazette via The Green Miles, Steve Offutt)

Klein not in sync with Rein's sprawl dreams: Froggie sent in a tip about Post profile of DDOT head Gabe Klein that, he said, "starts off accusing Klein of being anti-car." Who would have written that? I wondered; the Post transportation reporters are pretty good. All was revealed when I saw the byline: Lisa Rein.

OP vs. neighbors, reversed: The stereotypical zoning debate has an ANC vociferously "protecting" against development while the Office of Planning pushes for more. But sometimes it's reversed; OP says it can't support converting an alley building on Capitol Hill to two apartments, even though the ANC, neighbors, and CHRS support the idea because the zoning regulations don't.

A bicycle IS a transportation device: At least three people sent in this tip even though we've already posted it: Fairfax Supervisor John Cook (R) claimed "a bicycle is not a transportation device" during a recent debate over bike funding. FABB is pushing back.

In other news: Maryland will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, including DC; will that bring in even more hotel and event revenue to the District? (Post) ... They might need it, because total revenue may continue to drop from the economy (WBJ) ... Also, a recent cigarette tax hike backfired, reducing total revenue rather than increasing it. (City Paper)

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David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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Cigarette tax: I didn't read the article. However, from a public health perspective one of the goals of making cigarettes less accessible (more expensive) is to reduce consumption (especially among the young preventing addiction). Therefore I don't think reduced revenue from cigarette sales is a failure. Long term that kind of reduction will save local gov's a lot more from unneeded medicaid, unemployment, food stamps & lost income tax that result from the very well documented chronic diseases brought on by smoking then they could obtain from the sales tax .

by Bianchi on Feb 25, 2010 10:40 am • link • report

re Gabe Klein v Lisa Rein:
I don't know if Lisa has noticed, but DC is already built up, and is some of the most expensive real estate and worst traffic in the country. Where are you going to put all your mega-highways? How are you going to move 700K people who take transit via individual cars? Perhaps we should demolish the monuments on the mall and build a 6 lane highway going straight through Arlington cemetary to the doors of the Capitol. We can demolish the museums and put in parking garages instead (musuems are just elitist, anyway)

by SJE on Feb 25, 2010 10:41 am • link • report

"will that bring in even more hotel and event revenue to the District?"

Depends, the ceremony will have to be in the District, but there is no law prohibiting the celebration of the marriage in any state...

by RJ on Feb 25, 2010 10:45 am • link • report

Cigarette Tax: I think we've reached the point of peak cigarette tax revenue and it might be time to look elsewhere for an easy tax hit. Taxes on cigarettes have gotten so high and the institutional stigma of smoking is so large, nobody will want to smoke. Maybe it's time to start looking at taxing gas as the next easy path towards money.

Fairfax County: If these cuts pass, the Dulles corridor will suffer for sure. When I was most recently in Reston (on a Sunday!), it seemed like a good place to live for those wanting to be away enough from the DC but to have some conveniences, kind of like Fairfax's Kentlands. Cutting night/Sunday transit service there won't do any good.

by Jason on Feb 25, 2010 10:51 am • link • report

The Cigarette tax thing seems to have more to do with border effects than anything else. Given the close proximity of three jurisdictions, each with separate policies, it's hard to tease out any causes beyond just that.

by Alex B. on Feb 25, 2010 11:15 am • link • report

It seems the only think keeping the alley property from being redeveloped is the duplex layout. From what i've read, if they were to keep it a one family house, it would be approved with no issues.

by tonysmallframe on Feb 25, 2010 11:35 am • link • report

Re: John Cook:

How many people rode the Metro before it was built? How many people ride it now?

How incredibly ignorant. I cycle mostly for recreation, but I do it for transportation whenever I can and would do so a whole lot more if roads and buildings were more accommodating. Foust is right on the money. The reason that more people aren't using their bikes for transportation is because they don't feel safe. Invite bicycles and they will come! Those who use low cycling statistics to justify a lack of investment in bicycle infrastructure are kidding themselves.

by Matthias on Feb 25, 2010 11:41 am • link • report

RE: Arlington Shoveling:
Councilwoman Favola says that she doesn't understand the need for haste. How about pedestrians being hit and killed where sidewalks are covered by snow?

Where I live at Glebe and Carlin Springs in Ballston, the gas station has had piles of snow since the big one and people have been forced well into the intersection, often screened from the view of drivers by the piles.

It's worth mentioning that the county and the state note the high level of traffic at this intersection, (and others) but yet essentially force the great numbers of pedestrians to risk their lives. I'm trying to be calm before I write our Council, I've been pretty livid about this for some time.

by Boots on Feb 25, 2010 11:42 am • link • report

Matthias:
As if to underline your point, yesterday a cyclist was hit and seriously injured in Fairfax when riding on a road WITH a cycle lane, and then the EMS who came to his help were themselves hit by an SUV. Is it any wonder that cycling is not popular?

by SJE on Feb 25, 2010 12:21 pm • link • report

Re: Fairfax Connector Service Cuts

Bus service reductions in the Dulles corridor are, of course, not a welcome development. Although seven routes are planned for elimination, one new service will begin, Route 580, which will run from the Reston east park-and-ride to the West Falls Church metro station. Service will be frequent, with headways of only 15 minutes.

In addition, the Dulles Corridor Metrorail project is funding new express bus service between Loudoun County and Tysons Corner. The second of two public input sessions regarding this service took place this week. Fares will be $3.00 per ride; operations should ramp up soon.

In these trying economic times, tough transportation choices are, unfortunately, a fact of frugal governance. But as the new Tysons express bus service illustrates, the sky is not falling, at least not yet.

Link: Info about the Tysons-Loudoun express bus service

http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=3051

by Anonymous on Feb 25, 2010 1:17 pm • link • report

Re: Cigarette tax - Somewhere, Carol Schwartz is laughing since she had predicted this sort of basic economics lesson quite some time ago.

Re: Post article on Klein - Not the best written article, but anyone that argues Klein (and Tregonning, for that matter) aren't anti-car is simply being ridiculous. Klein is quoted in the article as saying he wants to change drivers' behaviors. How? By getting them to stop using their cars. I guess under the Orwellian-style language used on this website, that's really Klein being pro-car.

by Fritz on Feb 25, 2010 1:47 pm • link • report

@tonysmallframe: It's the residential use, not the two units that is the problem. If the lot had street frontage, or fronted on an alley with the necessary width, a two-unit dwelling would be allowed by-right in R-4.

Quoting:

"Zoning Regulations set a high bar for the conversion of an alley lot building to a residential use, particularly for a building on an alley lot with connections to the street that are less than thirty feet wide. Typically, OP has not been able to support such conversions due to the following regulation: Â§ 2507.3 Â…Nonresidential structures located on these alleys shall not be converted, altered, remodeled, restored, or repaired for human habitation, regardless of cost."

It seems to me people ought to have a beef with the underlying (and in my view severely outdated) regulation, not with the OP. Of course BZA is free to ignore the OP's opinion, which it frequently does. The regulation dates from the period when alley dwellings were viewed as ipso facto squalid, unsanitary, sub-standard and undesirable. Times have changed and alleys represent a considerable potential for affordable housing options. But DC makes it very difficult.

by Paul on Feb 25, 2010 2:51 pm • link • report

I suspect that OP actually thinks the alley dwellings would be a peachy idea, but (rightly) is trying to actually follow the laws rather than just doing whatever they happen to want to do.

by David Alpert on Feb 25, 2010 3:16 pm • link • report

OP also has an interest in making sure the variance process is not abused through de facto rezoning one parcel at a time. That's why the report goes into the variance tests in some detail.

by Paul on Feb 25, 2010 3:28 pm • link • report

Re: Fairfax Connector Service Cuts

The toll road and buses are already packed as it is with the more-frequent current levels of bus service Â… I'd hate to see how it will look with the new, limited service on the 580. And traffic within Reston will get worse without the express feeder service to the park and ride lot. The lot overflows as it is, and there's not a whole lot of parking left in the overflow lot.

The elimination of late-night service on the 505 is particularly painful. Though it is understandable in tough economic times, having a link to Metro on late nights, especially on weekends, is something that helps draw additional customers to area businesses. To see such a destination as Reston Town Center without a link to late-night Metro service is a shame.

If they could come up with money for new express service from Loudoun, the latest destination for sprawl, I don't see why the closer-in residents of Reston should get neglected.

by Omar on Feb 25, 2010 9:59 pm • link • report

Re: Fairfax connector, Dulles Toll Road, MWAA

I don't know much about MWAA, but I tend to focus on the bad stuff - their stupid taxi monopoly (drives me nuts), taking money away from transit.

Who controls MWAA? Do they do anything good?

I realize they are building the Silver Line, but is that something they have helped get going, or just a reflection of their ability to build things with competence (no small thing that).

by DavidDuck on Feb 26, 2010 7:20 am • link • report

Fritz, how is changing behavior anti-car? You seem to put it there by default.

The simple reality is that the pro-car/anti-car dichotomy is a false one, particularly in an urban environment. I'd argue measures like performance parking actually aim to make it easier to drive and park in the city - but perhaps more expensive to do so. That's the inherent trade-off in a dense place - you can't make things both easy and cheap when it comes to a space-intensive mode of transport like cars.

Similarly, promoting walking and transit enables far more people to use the streets - which in turn has strong congestion reduction benefits, which also benefit drivers.

In reality, the pro-car mindset has turned out to be quite anti-car in terms of results. I don't think anyone who drives on the Beltway in rush hour, jammed in slow moving traffic would think that such performance is pro-car, but it's the clear result of a transport policy that focuses on one mode alone.

Again, urban transportation is far more complex than the pro-anti car dichotomy would lead you to believe, and Mr. Klein understands that.

by Alex B. on Feb 26, 2010 9:02 am • link • report

Re: @DavidDuck I don't know much about MWAA, but I tend to focus on the bad stuff - their stupid taxi monopoly (drives me nuts), taking money away from transit. Who controls MWAA? Do they do anything good? I realize they are building the Silver Line, but is that something they have helped get going, or just a reflection of their ability to build things with competence (no small thing that).

The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) is an independent, financially powerful organization that operates both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. Established during the Reagan administration to end federal control of Washington's airports, the MWAA is self-supporting and receives no monies from taxpayers.

From the MWAA website:

"What is the Airports Authority?
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is an independent body created by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. It has been approved by the U.S. Congress to operate and maintain Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. The Authority is a public body, corporate and politic and is independent of all other bodies. It is not an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia or the District of Columbia, nor is it a federal agency."

To continue, because MWAA is an independent body it functions more like a quasi-corporation than a government entity. For example, there is a Board of Directors, but this Board is not accountable to any governmental institution, federal or state. The Authority is regulated by laws that were enacted when the MWAA was established, and by its regulatory charter. There's a lot of historical information on the MWAA website, so check that out if you're interested in learning more.

MWAA is extremely financially well off because the airports it operates have steadily grown and prospered since the 1980s. In recent years, Dulles has developed into a major international gateway and is a United Airlines' hub. And Reagan National remains popular due to it close proximity to downtown DC. The Authority earns aircraft landing revenue each and every time a flight lands. They also collect substantial rents from gate and concession leases. In a general sense, the busier the airport, the greater the revenue stream. In addition, the bigger the aircraft that land, the greater the landing fee.

So how did the MWAA get involved with building WMATA's new Silver Line? There is no one definitive reason, but the Authority has always had an discernable interest in getting a rail link to Dulles. In fact, when Dulles airport was conceived, there was talk of a transit connection to DC. But that idea never came to fruition, that is, until recent times, at long last. When financing troubles threatened to derail the Silver Line, the state of Virginia turned to the MWAA, which eventually agreed to take on the project. As part of the deal, the Authority acquired control of the Dulles corridor toll road.

I hope this info has been of interest. Please note that I have no connection whatsoever to the MWAA nor to the aviation industry.

by Anonymous on Feb 26, 2010 5:28 pm • link • report

Great, no more Saturday night or Sunday trips for me. So glad I'm leaving Reston in a few months.

by Joshua Davis on Feb 28, 2010 10:01 pm • link • report

I suspect that control of the toll road was transferred to MWAA because if they raised tolls to help pay for Metrorail, there's a lot less accountability to angry constituents. The cutbacks in bus service on top of toll increases are an unwelcome surprise.

by Omar on Feb 28, 2010 10:05 pm • link • report