Laying Out a Path To Renewal

The idea of using trolleys on Columbia Pike has been kicked around for years, but with revitalization efforts in high gear, officials with the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization and the county decided it was time to see whether the idea would fly with planners.

Last week the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's planning and development committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposal to its full board. If approved, the plan will be forwarded to the Arlington County Board and Fairfax Board of Supervisors. The boards could take up the issue as early as March, deciding whether they want to pursue preliminary engineering and financing options.

Planners say that financing could come from a variety of sources, including an incremental increase in the tax rate for property along the corridor, a parking revenue bond, rental car tax or federal transportation funds.

"The trick is to pay for it," said the revitalization panel's DeCamp. "But I'm convinced it can be done."

Under the proposal, the trolleys -- which could be powered either from overhead electrical wires or underground conduits -- would be integrated into the Metro Farecard system and would have a "train-like" feel, officials said.

The same kind of streetcars being used in Portland have already been purchased for use in Southeast Washington, where city planners have approved a 2.7-mile light-rail line to Bolling Air Force Base.

In addition, a study has looked at running trolleys on Route 1 through Crystal City. Another plan envisions streetcars running on Route 7 between the King Street Metro station to Tysons Corner.

"The idea is to create a third leg of transit," said Tim Lynch, executive director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization. "Metro would serve as the spokes, and the trolley would be a surface system that would become part of the wheel working in conjunction with the buses."

If approved, the trolleys would take over many of the daytime bus routes that run along Columbia Pike. During the evening rush hour, the trolleys would be supplemented by buses, carrying passengers west into Fairfax County.

Officials say the streetcars would nearly double the current mass transit capacity along the roadway, attracting an estimated 20,000 riders daily.

Although the plan is an ambitious one, planners say it is a relatively inexpensive venture in comparison with the mammoth undertaking of building Metrorail systems.

Still, cost is a concern to some bus riders who see the current system of buses as efficient.