Columbia Pike Streetcar Town Hall Gets Heated

At times, it seems like people who support the planned streetcar for Columbia Pike and those who oppose it are speaking two different languages.

Hundreds representing both sides showed up Wednesday night for what turned out to be a fairly heated town hall at Kenmore Middle School.

Four of the five Arlington County Board members explained the processes and decisions that have taken place over the last decade and have gotten the county to this point. To them, the discussion has been going on, scores of people have participated, and the streetcar remains the best long-term strategic investment to run along the Pike.

To board member Libby Garvey, who opposes the streetcar and seems less concerned about any political consequences of her position as the fight draws on, now's the time to start the discussion about whether a bus rapid transit system is the better alternative. She contends it would be.

"Where we are now is deciding what vehicle to use," she said as the night closed. "I hope I planted some seeds of doubt in the minds of some of you."

1950s All Over Again?

The $250 million streetcar system would connect Pentagon City with Bailey's Crossroads — in theory, moving people to jobs and shopping destinations while holding back the number of cars on the street. It's been the subject of more than 100 meetings over the past several years, won approval from Arlington and Fairfax County officials and a portion is awaiting federal funding.

Supporters on the county board liken the process to what Arlington went through more than half a century ago, when residents were divided on making substantial long-term investments in Metro.

County Manager Barbara Donnellan said she believed Arlington is "at the beginning of our next great step" to fulfilling its vision of so-called smart growth, which concentrates high-density housing along transit corridors.

Concerns about the project have run the gamut of local government complaints, from transparency to gentrification, the affect on small businesses and the affect of everyone who will travel the Pike. Columbia Pike already has the highest bus ridership in Virginia.

Uphill Battle

Garvey, who is just a few months into her first full term as a board member, believes a substantial number of people remain unaware of the streetcar project across the county. "We're all busy," she told Patch, recounting how she would hear mentions of the streetcar over the years but never paid it much attention until she was elected.

And so Garvey is of the camp that believes spending about $50 million instead on a bus rapid transit system is the better alternative. She's been fighting an uphill battle, but often got the loudest applause Wednesday night. She believes that either way, affordable housing along the Pike will continue to be threatened and that small businesses will struggle. But by going with a cheaper transit alternative, she said, the county would have more money at its disposal to subsidize affordable housing and help small businesses.

People chanted "Vote! Vote! Vote!" when one resident called for a referendum. A few boos followed when board member Mary Hynes said such a ballot measure would only be possible if bond money was paying for the streetcar project. It's not. Federal funds and Fairfax County dollars feed into the project, and Arlington is using money collected from a business tax that by law must be used to fund transportation.

Garvey pointed out that money is fungible. Board Vice Chairman Jay Fisette told her it was not, that the law prescribed narrow ways in which certain funds had to be used. Fisette had to make the argument on two fronts, as those not familiar with the county's budgeting process try to make sense of how such an expensive project can move forward when spending cuts could take police officers from the streets and nurses out of schools.

Elected officials supporting the streetcar looked notably frustrated whenever Garvey spoke, with Tejada several times angrily shaking his head.

Some of the comments were particularly venomous.

Board member Chris Zimmerman was asked to explain why he did consulting work for a subsidiary of a firm that has done work for the county, including some on the streetcar project. Zimmerman said he chose to disclose his work — which amounted to $510 billed for a job that lasted two days — to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest.

"My commitment to the ethics of this job is of something that is of great importance to me," he said.

Ending With a Bang

Despite the lopsided arguments made on stage at Kenmore's auditorium, the applause seemed louder when Garvey would dissent.

Members of Arlington Streetcar Now, which supports the project, and Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit, which opposes it, waved signs and applauded when board members made their points.

Minutes before the 9 p.m. closing, Columbia Pike resident Josh Ruebner began yelling at the board members, saying they should let everyone be heard. "You are out of line, sir!" one woman said as she tried to hold him back.

"I thought this was a sham," Ruebner later told Patch. "They never let people who are opposed to gentrification speak… because they have to stage-manage this faux democracy."

Several residents stayed afterward to thank the board members for their leadership on what's turning out to be an increasingly difficult issue. "I came in skeptical but now I think the streetcar is a no-brainer," one woman told Tejada after shaking his hand.

"That's the most important comment of the night," he said as she walked away. The chairman told another woman that he wouldn't have supported the streetcar plan without the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan in place to protect affordable housing.

"I hope that those that disagree with how we're moving forward… we don't have to be disagreeable," Tejada told Patch. "Some people like theater. I'm kind of a rabble-rouser myself, you know? Show me your side. I just hope we'll remain level-headed."

More:

Streetcar Supporter: I Was Skeptical At First