Officials look at future of mass transit in county

By Cheryl Chumley

Published: July 2, 2008

When it comes to Metro service in Prince William, supervisors and county officials agree on one point: They want it.

Beyond that, opinions are split on how vigorously the transportation means should be pursued and how viable that option looks in the short term.

“The more the price of gasoline goes up, the more I think you’ll see the demand go up for mass transit,” said Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, at a recent Board of County Supervisors meeting that included a presentation on transportation planning for the coming years.

On the other hand, residents can desire and demand all they want, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the other challenges associated with bringing Metro to the county automatically disappear.
“I would love to have Metro here,” said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large. “But we do need to keep in mind the problems … I think we really need to keep our attention focused on the realistic solutions, and Metro’s not one of them.”

The plan has been considered on numerous occasions and by previous boards, and it’s not proven cost-effective, Stewart added.

Rick Canizales from the county’s transportation department said the costs to the county for Metro have been previously estimated at upwards of $100 million “to assume our share of the cost toward systemwide maintenance,” he said. Moreover, Prince William will have to bear at least part of the approximate $2 billion expense associated with building two lines and stations in Woodbridge.

Added to this is the challenge of “coordinating with Fairfax County to stretch lines to Lorton or Fort Belvoir,” as well as the complexities of amending the Metro agreement in place with “our neighbors to the north,” Canizales said.

All that puts the idea of Metro in Prince William decades into the future, Stewart said.

Still, Jenkins called for “thinking outside the box” and a concerted effort on the part of the county to lay the groundwork for the vision to become reality.

“I think gas prices will drive what Congress does,” he said. “If we proactively seek [grant] money, we’ll get it, just like we did on VRE.”

Transportation and mass transit discussions continued among supervisors and county staff at the June 25 day-long strategy session. Then, board members gave the go-ahead for long-term plans to include a move toward more VRE rail that would extend service through Nokesville and to Haymarket.

Ray Utz with the planning department also suggested supervisors soon consider road changes that would help boost the efficiency and lower congestion on commuting routes.

Metro, for the most part, was seen by strategy planning officials at this meeting as unrealistic.