Whereas, such a proposed change could reduce rush hour commuting times for some riders such as Orange Line riders to downtown District of Columbia, and may reduce travel times for some Blue Line riders to downtown District of Columbia stops east of Metro Center, and

Whereas, such a proposed change could increase rush hour commuting times for other riders such as current Blue riders to downtown District of Columbia west of Metro Center and to stops along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor, and Orange Line riders to the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport, and

Whereas, the proposal raises many complex questions such as the capacity of various Metro stations and segments of the Blue and Orange lines, and the adequacy of overall north-south bus and transit service and street capacity in Arlington; and

Whereas, the Pentagon City area, Potomac Yards, and Columbia Pike corridor are undergoing redevelopment with anticipated increases in population, employment and transportation demand that may affect the future desirability of the proposal; and

Whereas, the Civic Federation has concerns about the proposal to convert some Blue Line trains to Yellow Line trains during rush hour periods,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Arlington County Civic Federation

requests that Metro staff prepare and make public a careful study of the impact of the proposal, including travel times and car crowding on both Blue and Orange Line trains, data on current and projected ridership patterns based on expected population growth in the Blue and Orange Line corridors, the capacity of the Rosslyn tunnel and L'Enfant Plaza station to handle anticipated loads without delays, and the possible use of other transit services to meet transportation needs of affected riders, and

requests that Metro committees and staff not take further action before completing the ridership study and conducting a complete community process including public hearings.

This page was last revised on: January 7, 2007.