Title: SUBURBAN FIXED RAIL TRANSIT PLANNING IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Abstract: Unlike years ago, the majority of residents in metropolitan areas today both live and work in low-density suburban settings. In the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the once typical pattern of suburb-to-city commuting has become atypical, superseded by a more dominant pattern of suburb-to-suburb travel. Recognizing the mismatch between the area's existing hub-and-spoke Metrorail system and the rising prominence of suburb-to-suburb travel, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation initiated a study to test the feasibility of a circumferential rail transit system paralleling the Capital Beltway in Northern Virginia. Such a system would connect the spokes of the existing radial Metrorail lines serving the D.C. metro area. Faced with the challenge of studying and planning rail transit service in the Capital Beltway corridor, the study team has sifted through myriad transit technology and alignment alternatives to arrive at the best option. Underlying important questions related to the type of technology and the physical location of the alignment, however, is the more fundamental question of what objective(s) a suburban rail transit system should aim to achieve. At one extreme, the introduction of fixed rail transit into a low-density suburban setting might be viewed as a boon to existing communities, linking neighborhoods to other parts of the region and offering the potential to serve as a catalyst for more concentrated, urban growth. At the other extreme, suburban transit might be considered as a more functional collection and distribution system. In this model, the transit system's primary aim would be to serve as a fast, efficient linkage between other points in the local transportation network. Because of the very different spatial and technical requirements related to these two suburban transit philosophies, including station location, station spacing, operating characteristics, and station amenities, it is difficult to plan a suburban fixed rail transit system that would serve well as both a community development-oriented system and a collection and distribution system. In this paper, the authors relate their experience on the Capital Beltway Corridor Rail Feasibility Study to demonstrate their approach to studying suburban fixed rail transit. They discuss their findings and shed light on lessons learned along the way.
Publication Year: 2002
Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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