Garvey, Vihstadt: County Throwing 'Good Money After Bad' in Awarding Contract to Manage Streetcar

(Editor's note: The following is a statement released Monday morning by Arlington County Board members Libby Garvey (D) and John Vihstadt (I), regarding the announcement last week that the county has awarded a contract to Parsons Transportation Group to manage the streetcar project.)

“The contract’s initial work, estimated at $7 million to $8 million, throws good money after bad and flies in the face of growing community sentiment against the streetcar, now projected to cost $358 million to build for the five mile Columbia Pike stretch and $227 million for the 2.4 mile Route 1/Crystal City segment,” said the two officials.

“Both John Vihstadt’s Independent special election victory to the County Board on April 8 with 57% of the vote and the growing chorus of Democratic elected officials calling for a public referendum on the streetcar (including State Delegate and Congressional candidate Patrick Hope, County Treasurer Frank O’Leary and Commissioner of Revenue Ingrid Morroy), unequivocally demonstrate sagging support for the costly and ill-advised project,” Garvey  remarked.

“Arlington voters deserve to know what other transit projects and community priorities will be sacrificed outright or delayed as a result of streetcar spending.  We can implement a form of bus rapid transit service in both corridors for a fraction of the streetcar’s cost, much more quickly, with much greater regional connectivity, more flexibility, less business disruption and displacement, at virtually the same capacity and with comparable economic development benefits,” Vihstadt concluded."