In the next decade, a new Metrorail line connecting downtown Washington, D.C., to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, Virginia, will open. This extension will pass through the suburban community of Reston, Virginia, where two stops will be located. Safe and adequate pedestrian and bicycle access to the stations will increase station use, reduce congestion in and out of the stations, and make transit a more attractive alternative. People living or working within the surrounding areas should be offered a choice of different modes for travel to and from a station, whether walking, biking, driving, or taking the bus. In addition to the provision of adequate facilities for each of those modes, those facilities must also be safe. The impression that intended routes for pedestrians are unsafe is often enough to deter people from walking. The pedestrian intersection safety index, recently developed for FHWA, was used to determine the suitability and safety for pedestrians of intersections surrounding proposed stations. These measures use readily available data to produce a quantitative rating of the safety of intersections. Recommendations for physical improvements were developed for 38 intersections within 1 mi of the station entrances. These projects were then prioritized for implementation on the basis of several factors, including safety measures. This process discovered some benefits and constraints associated with the implementation of the model. Furthermore, most of the intersections with poor safety ratings were also identified as unsafe locations by members of the community.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates Metrorail, Metrobus, and MetroAccess paratransit services in the Washington, D.C., region. By 2040, the region’s forecast projects an increase in population and jobs in the transit zone by 22% and 34%, respectively, and an increase in the remainder of the region by 36% and 46%, respectively. Much of that growth is planned where transit is already crowded, whereas many other areas that have high-quality transit continue to be underdeveloped. The result is an unbalanced use of the transit system. To handle the forecast growth, transit infrastructure could be built at high cost, but what if land use and other policies were applied regionally to make better use of the transit system and perhaps postpone the need for expansion? Scenarios modeled by WMATA and its consultants are summarized. The study developed and tested six policy scenarios for 2040 that would keep transit constant while varying land use and other policies. The results show that some real benefits could accrue to the Washington region if decisions about land use, pricing, and other policies were to be made within a regional context rather than the existing parochial approach that seeks to maximize jurisdictional benefits alone. Capacity improvements to the transit network would also be needed to address forecast transit crowding and Metrorail core capacity limitations. However, making changes to land use decisions while adding pricing strategies could provide the region with the necessary funds to make expansion possible.
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