More bad news in the Washington Post today about efforts to put the new Metro line in Tyson’s Corner through a tunnel instead of above ground.
It is so proven, time and time again, what the results are of keeping transit above ground: it does nothing to change the urban fabric. Northern Virginia, in fact, is a widely-cited case study in the difference the Orange Line has had in its below-ground (Arlington) and above ground (Fairfax) portions.
Local leaders know this and are trying desperately to make the change. But because the bulk of the funding is coming from the federal government, and because certain federal govenernment regulations make this change somehow impossible, it is not going to happen.
Which raises the question: why is this a federal decision? Transit in Virginia has nothing to do with the rest of the country, but the intrusion of national authority into the process is going to result in a tragic outcome.
Devolution used to be a concept with more public support than it has now. Excessive central authority makes for inefficiency and poor decision-making, as shown in this example. It also detaches citizens from government, making for much of the apathy and disillusionment we have towards civic life in our country. Some day we must change this.
Update: there is new hope for the tunnel. We’ll see if anything happens. This still doesn’t change how the federal involement makes the whole process ineffective.
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