In this day and age of modern technology, we have come to expect information at our fingertips. Mobile phones can browse the web for the latest game scores. WiFi hotspots allow us to do day-trading in the park. You can read a digital version of a newspaper from across the globe minutes after the hardcopy version has been printed. Information is literally “at our fingertips” nearly all of the time.
I would like to give you some information to ponder. Arlington County is comprised of approximately twenty six square miles. On January 1st, 2007, its population was estimated at 202,800, this reflects a 7% growth from the year 2000. And as I walk around the county, I see more and more cranes which indicates more and more growth.
Arlington is among the most densely populated jurisdictions in the country with a population density of about 7,860 persons per square mile. Year 2000 reports have 31,703 residents of other jurisdictions working in Arlington with 7,106 Arlington residents working in other jurisdictions. Arlington has more private office space than downtown Boston, Dallas, Denver, or Los Angeles.
Let’s do some simple math.
202,800(population) – 7,106(residents working outside of County) = 195,694
195,694+ 31,703(non Arlington residents working in County) = 227,397
227,397 = Not enough parking places
This is why Customer Information Services are so important. We need to have the proper, up-to-date information at our fingertips so that we can make an informed decision on how and when we should travel to our destinations.
Arlington County provides this information to our Riding Public in an attempt to empower them with the information they need to fight the daily battle that we call the work commute. Additionally, Arlington is always looking for better, faster ways to get the right information to the right people.
You can find a plethora of information about transportation at the Commputer Pages, the Commuter Stores, and the Mobile Commuter Store. Busfinders display the estimated time of arrival of Art buses and can be found at nearly 50 stops throughout the County. NextBus displays the estimated time of arrival of Metro Buses on the 9A, 9E, and PikeRide lines at the Pentagon. 38B has displays along the Rosslyn Ballston corridor. A web display can be viewed at http://wmata.nextbus.com/wmata. Nextbus also features SMS messaging.
With the proper prior planning, we can all help prevent poor performance. By using the proper information, we can defeat the enemy called traffic congestion!
By Kird Dand, Arlington County Transit Team
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