Thursday, January 26, 2006; VA02

Portland's Streetcar Line

As a former resident of Arlington County now living in Portland, Ore., I was interested to see the comparisons made between the potential Columbia Pike streetcar line and our streetcar here in Portland ("Envisioning a Road to Renewal," The Alexandria-Arlington Extra, Jan. 12).

Though the article is correct in pointing out the incredible amount of development spurred by the Portland streetcar, it is misleading to say that the project was responsible for revitalizing the city center.

The development that has taken place along the line has essentially created a high-density neighborhood on acres of land near downtown that were occupied by a rail yard. This new neighborhood has thrived in part because of the streetcar but also because it is situated between Portland's bustling, nationally recognized downtown and the Nob Hill district, our version of Georgetown.

I don't doubt that Columbia Pike could benefit from public investment in a streetcar or light-rail line. However, revitalizing a suburban corridor with few thriving focal points will be quite a different task from building on what was essentially a blank canvas, ideally situated in the heart of one of the country's best-planned cities.

Barry Fuchs

Portland, Ore.

Kudos to the visionary thinkers who proposed the Columbia Pike trolley, but beware!

The nearest successful trolley example is the Maryland Transportation Authority's light-rail trains in Baltimore. They are real trolley cars, with the characteristic jerky train ride. Unlike Washington's Metro, they have overhead electrical power lines that are safer for pedestrians and allow track crossing.

They are accessible to disabled riders. How? They use the same ready-made dual feature long present in passenger trains: a step cover that is raised for pedestrians to step on or off the trolley and lowered to let people in wheelchairs on or off. This is not a new technology or expense. Step covers were used on Long Island Rail Road commuter trains decades ago when I lived in suburban New York.

What's to beware? MTA trolley cars work well with Baltimore's wide, multi-lane streets, which have ample room for the trolleys. There is room for passenger vehicles and pedestrians to move alongside each other without colliding.

Columbia Pike's narrower streets contain thousands of street-front stores that get thousands of zigzagging deliveries every day, and all the lane-blocking tractor-trailers making turns.

Something has to give in the Columbia Pike trolley plans. Will all those thousands of tax-paying stores survive without their street-front deliveries?

Donald E. White

Fairfax City

In the Jan. 12 Alexandria-Arlington Extra, Annie Gowen and Leef Smith wrote a piece, "Modest the Lady Is Not," about Alexandria City Council member Joyce Woodson's decision not to seek reelection. It is unfortunate that a major publication such as The Post would run this article under the moniker of journalism.

Aside from the mischaracterizations of Ms. Woodson's service, it should be noted that as a 30-plus-year resident of Alexandria, she has many prescient perspectives on issues that extend beyond the city's poor and low-income residents. Among her many accomplishments, she has initiated and achieved:

· Property tax relief for owners of moderately priced homes and increased relief for seniors and the disabled.

· The Alexandria Housing Development Corp., to preserve and create affordable housing opportunities.

· The Citizens Academy, for a more informed and involved citizenry.

· Funding for affordable housing developments for first-time home buyers.

· Roving citywide budget hearings, for greater citizen participation.

· Greater learning opportunities for youths.

· Living wages for child-care providers.

· The Smart Growth project with the Council of Governments.

· Closed-captioned City Council meetings.

The record shows that she has been a tireless advocate for all Alexandrians, not just those with fewer resources, less political power or little voice. Her legacy of service is that she ensured equity for all, so that the interests of newcomers and long-timers, renters and homeowners, and rich, poor and middle-class alike received equal consideration and voice.

She was not cowed by special interests, and she rendered meaningful policy proposals based on her years of experience as a business professional, resident, volunteer and leader. Much of her critical work has been found in her ability to interpret and apply good, sound and fair public policy.

She gave honest assessments of the political issues, was widely respected and was comfortably reelected, receiving the second-most votes in the last election. You could count on her urbane candor, independent thinking and discerning judgment in representing her constituents while making the right decisions at a time when political trends are gravitating toward group-think and fence-sitting in the face of small, narrowly focused, vociferous self-interests.

In the final analysis, Ms. Woodson departs on her own terms and on top of her game, leaving a tenure that burned brightly in intellectually honesty, instead of languishing in the staid malaise of complacency and longevity.

We have great hope and expectations for the next Alexandria City Council, coupled with the hope that Ms. Woodson will remain available to lend her expertise and wise counsel to the city to which she has devoted her life.

Paul and Patrice Linehan

Alexandria

Though straightening the Monroe Street bridge might be both desirable and necessary, it will do little to alleviate the traffic congestion on Route 1 in the Del Ray/Potomac Yard area ("A Long, Slow Road Ahead to Straighten Out Route 1," Jan. 19 Extra).

The current design of Route 1 from the Arlington County line to Old Town is inadequate to handle the number of vehicles now using it. The city has approved traffic-generating retail development in Potomac Yard, with more to come; however, the city has not made the capacity improvements that would allow resident and customer traffic to move effectively through the area.

The Monroe Street bridge may be a piece of that puzzle, but it is only the first one.

Andrew Horowitz

Alexandria