That transportation option was the electric trolley. More than 100 years later, Arlington’s leaders are moving forward with a $200 million streetcar project that will stop in some of the same places as its long-forgotten predecessor.
Aurora Highlands Civic Association president Michael Dowell recently wrote about the area’s transportation history in the group’s monthly newsletter.
The Columbia Pike Transit Initiative is planning a series of public meetings do discuss the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar.
One of the meeting will be held at the Walter Reed Community Center at 2909 16th Street South, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 18. The other meeting will be held in Falls Church on Monday, Nov. 15.
The smart growth-oriented county board is thus stuck in a bit of a paradox. While it funds redevelopment and a new streetcar line, it’s also talking about spending to preserve affordable housing on the Pike.
The Pike certainly has its flaws — crime, lack of bike access, some undesirable land use — but it also has unique qualities that make it a great place to live — diversity, character-filled restaurants and shops, a strong sense of local identity.
The five-mile-long Crystal City/Potomac Yard transit way is expected to run from Pentagon City to Alexandria’s Braddock Road Station, with most of the stops concentrated in Crystal City and Potomac Yard.
The project will create a dedicated bus route with stops throughout Crystal City. Eventually, a street car line may be installed in the transit way.
As the D.C. City Council wrestles with funding for its planned streetcar system, one of the first visible signs of progress on Arlington’s planned Columbia Pike streetcar project will be appearing soon.
Late next month, a contractor is scheduled to start utility relocation work on Columbia Pike between South Wakefield Street and Four Mile Run Drive. While the $2.3 million project is ostensibly meant to improve aesthetics and infrastructure along the Pike by shifting above-ground utility lines below ground, it will also relocate existing underground utilities in anticipation of the planned streetcar line.
