To the Editor:
It seems that incidents on the Metro System are on the rise, and most of them can be attributed to little to no dedicated maintenance and a poorly funded operation over the past 40 years.
Now we hear that some segments of the Metro network will be shut down at various times to make these much needed repairs. This is at the same time that our city staff and the Potomac Yard Metro group are feverishly pushing a new Metro Station for Potomac Yard, even though the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is already in place and operating. Therefore, there is really no reason a Metro Station in Potomac Yard is even needed. It certainly won’t be the only means of transportation to the District, and it is not one that the current residents would even use.
At this juncture, too many loose ends still exist. First, the funding stream is questionable and contentious. Initially, the developer promised to sink $70 million into the project, but has since reneged on that pledge. Next, the city established two special residential tax districts, one for 10 cents per $100 of real estate value and the other for 20 cents per $100.
If this project is so economically important to the entire city (as former mayors Euille and Donnely have espoused), then every taxpayer in the city should chip in. In addition, the decisions to destroy the Potomac Greens Parkway and to take various properties through eminent domain are being lambasted at every planning session by the current residents living in Potomac Greens.
The Alexandria City Council is planning to build the Potomac Yard Metro Station despite all of the red flags such as the Metro System problems as a whole, the Potomac Yard Metro Station funding stream, the redundancy of the BRT, and the concerns within our own community. This is a recipe for disaster.
No station should even be entertained for this location until the Metro System is righted, the funding stream is assured, the concerns of the residents are addressed, and the impact of the BRT is considered. To do anything less is fiscally and morally irresponsible.
Townsend A. “Van” Van Fleet
Alexandria