The reality of proposed cuts to our Metrorail and Metrobus service in the absence of a rescue package is now clear. It would be simply devastating – to our workers, our economy, our transportation network.
Congress needs to step up and this includes every Republican. We are one nation, one economy, with a huge share of our economy dependent on our cities and metropolitan regions.
If the cuts were to take place they would gut a system the DC region built over four decades and upon which our essential workers and economy depend. It would undermine decades of real estate investment, prompt flight of our next generation workforce, and have a disproportionate impact on the essential workers upon whom our food and health and services systems depend.
We shouldn’t let our two Governors and local elected officials off the hook either. We cannot afford to continue wasteful road expansion and sprawl, massive toll roads that benefit few, and boondoggles like the Maglev when we can’t afford to maintain and operate what we’ve already built.
We must be shifting funding from road expansion to save the transit system that is the backbone of our region’s economy.
Fix-it-first: maintain, rehabilitate, and operate our existing infrastructure first. Locate new development in walkable communities with both jobs and frequent transit.