Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Arlington’s Auto Busters

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Here are some numbers that I find quite compelling. Arlington County may not rank among Virginia’s fastest growing jurisdictions, but its population is growing smartly — some seven percent since 2000. Population now exceeds 200,000, giving the county a population density of nearly 8,000 per square mile — more than three times that of Fairfax County.

Given the intensifying traffic congestion everywhere else in Virginia, things ought to be getting pretty bad in Arlington, too… right?

According to numbers cited by Bob Burke in today’s Road to Ruin article, “Auto Busters,” growth in traffic volume has flattened out over the decade, averaging less than half a percent a year. Writes Burke:

Traffic volume on some of Arlinton’s arterial streets actually dropped between 1996 and 2006, according to county data. Lee Highway in Rosslyn, for example, saw a 14 percent decline in traffic. Wilson Boulevard at Clarendon is down nearly 16 percent.

What makes the difference? Five Metro stations, smart land use around the stations, and control over local streets and roads. Devolution of responsibility for secondary roads may not be a complete solution for traffic congestion, but it is assuredly part of the solution. Every fast-growth county in Virginia should send a delegation to Arlington County to observe the Best Practices in traffic management in action.

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8 responses to “Arlington’s Auto Busters”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    “What makes the difference? Five Metro stations, smart land use around the stations, and control over local streets and roads.”

    Yup….but don’t forget what a monthly parking space costs you….I am sure that also factors into people’s decisions.

  2. Groveton Avatar
    Groveton

    Wow – a double header on Bacon’s Rebellion:

    1. A positive post about a jurisdiction in Northern Virginia.

    2. An admission that taking responsibility away from the state government is the way to success.

    Arlington is a well run county although it’s taken 30 years of hard work to get from what it used to be to what it is now.

    More than anything else I believe that Arlington’s willingness to “put a lid” on the developers has been its key to success. When I hear Northern Virginia developers talk about Arlington they always complain. They call Arlington things like “The People’s Republic of Arlington”.

    Good for Arlington.

    On the road maintenance front – it’s Arlington and Henrico. Maintaining their own roads instead of letting the grossly incompetent state of Virginia do it. Again, a good call on their part.

    Local government works while state government fails.

    Now, if we can just get the state out of our pockets here in Northern Virginia we can proceed with more local initiatives and fewer regional rip-offs from Richmond.

  3. E M Risse Avatar
    E M Risse

    Arlington County has done a lot right.

    It could do far more.

    If it were to work to create a Balance of jobs and housing it would be on the road to creating two Balanced Communities Greater South Arlington and Greater North Arlington in the territory that mainly falls in the 18th century borders of the Vriginia portion of the Federal District of Columnbia.

    EMR

  4. Ray Hyde Avatar
    Ray Hyde

    Maybe one reason the traffic is down is beause a greater proportion of Arlington residets than ever are driving OUT of the county to work in other jurisdictions.

    As it is, Burkes comments and numbers don’t jive with the subjective observations of my brother who lives there, or his local merchants. As it is, I sometimes park in Ballston because the Vienna metro parking is full.

    Arlington will probably never have to build another road, so they can easily afford to be in the maintenance only road business, especially considering their tax levels. To see what some people think about what Arlington government is and isn’t doing right read the Growls blog.

  5. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    “Arlington will probably never have to build another road”

    which is another way of saying that they have reached the point where they realize that building more roads would be so expensive and so destructive of the already built environment that they need employ strategies other than more road building to provide adequate mobility.

    Other places could recognize this eventual inevitbility BEFORE they reach this same point.

    Wrong?

  6. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Number of workers commuting into Arlington: 97,474
    Number of workers commuting out of Arlington: 74,363 (42,263 to Washington, D.C.)

    u.s. census, 2000

  7. E M Risse Avatar
    E M Risse

    Anon 9:14

    Thank you for the data.

    It is 7 years old this week but reinforces our point.

    The folks commuting out live in high end houses and hold high end jobs in the Federal Distric and elsewhere.

    Some of thos communting in hold lower end jobs and cannot afford to live in Arlington.

    A Balance of jobs and housing, a key part of a Balance of J / H / S / R / A, requires not just the same number of workers but housing that is affordable and accessible.

    Since Greater South Arlington and Greater North Arlington are served by multiple METRO lines some “commuting” is not a bad thing but it requires a Balance of all METRO station-area which no one has yet been willing to acknowledge, much less analyze and address.

    EMR

  8. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    I think it is useful to delve much further into the world of commuting because I think it is literally a driving force in settlement patterns.

    In short – it’s the job – the availability of it – that, in turn, determines the outcome of settlement patterns – and – commuting.

    But more to the point – I presume that someone who drives to work – even if it is a short distance and even if it is within a Balanced Region – that it still is a commute.

    But if that guy drives one mile further – outside of his balanced community – how is that commute substantially different?

    In other words, what determines the “clear edge” and once established, can the “edge” move..
    expand, shrink… and if so.. how and why.

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