In a welcome show of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans have come together to patron HJ 98, which would authorize a joint subcommittee to study the establishment of Bus Rapid Transit corridors in Northern Virginia.
While the chief patron is Del. Vivian Watts, D-Annandale, other patrons include conservative Republicans such as Delegates Bob Marshall, R-Manassas and Tim Hugo, R-Centerville, and Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax. States the resolution:
In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall look into the cost, efficacy, and relationship to the regional transportation network of establishing bus rapid transit corridors in the Northern Virginia Transportation District, including the need for and issues related to establishing dedicated lanes, location of stations, accessibility and station parking, ridership projections related to levels of service, cost-benefit analysis with other transit options, and other relevant considerations.
I don’t know if this comes as a response to the demise of the Rail-to-Dulles project, but it’s good to see that Northern Virginia legislators are showing signs of moving on rather than trying to fight a battle that’s already been lost.
My only concern is that BRT should not be considered in a vacuum. It should be viewed in a larger context that includes human settlement patterns and congestion pricing. The subcommittee needs to ask itself, do certain densities and streetscapes lend themselves to supporting BRT better than others? Also, to what extent would congestion pricing in heavily traveled corridors and districts encourage people to ride the buses?
One last question: Why limit the study to Northern Virginia? Isn’t BRT a potential option for the Hampton Roads and Richmond regions as well?
With those provisos, the study sounds like an excellent idea. (Hat tip: Too Many Taxes.)
(Cutline: Bus Rapid Transit in Bogata, Colombia. Photo credit: the Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog.)