Vanquishing the Density Demon

In an in-depth article (Vanquishing the Density Demon, August 13, 2007) this morning by Jim Bacon, of Bacon's Rebellion - The Op/Ed Page for Virginia's New Economy - we learn that Arlington County's efforts are an example for growing without making traffic congestion worse. Says Mr. Bacon:

"There's no reason that higher density has to mean worse traffic congestion. In the face of population growth and commercial development, Arlington County has kept its streets gridlock-free...Arlington is the leading jurisdiction in Virginia -- and a pace-setter nationally -- in creating innovative alternatives to the auto-centric society. It has come as close as anyone to finding the formula for reconciling population growth, commercial development and quality of life."

Mr. Bacon interviewed County officials, did some extensive touring and with the help of some traffic statistics paints a vivid picture of how this has come to be. One part of the story that we are particularly happy to see is that Mr. Bacon recognized the importance of TDM as a critical part of Arlington's success.

"To understand how Arlington has vanquished the density demon, it is necessary to look at three distinct but interrelated sets of policies: 1) Creating transportation options, 2) enforcing appropriate land use policies, and 3) marketing the one-car lifestyle to citizens."

Regarding # 3 he goes on to say that:

"Infrastructure and land use are critical, but there's one more essential step: marketing. Americans are so accustomed to relying on their automobiles, they need some hand-holding to learn how to use the subway and bus. That's where Chris Hamilton's commuter services come in. Arlington County aggressively markets the transit alternatives. Besides supporting the three commuter stores, Arlington maintains an elaborate wesite, a call center and an outreach program with major employers."

Transportation and land-use development fans should enjoy the article.

NOTE: Addressing the Irrational Fear of Density, August 13, 2007 is Mr. Bacon's companion piece on the blog. Also highly recommended.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Comments

[sher]

this well may be, but then how do you address the taxed metrorail system? there has been so much development along the orange line corridor over the past 10+ years (all to ensure that people can commute via public transport) that it is a sheer struggle to commute downtown via metro some days. i was once a HUGE supporter of public transport; now, i am not so sure. it simply cannot support the ridership anymore, and i don't see anything coming down the pike to improve things.

(...and of course, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of how taxed other county services must become thanks to the never-ending condo development along the orange line... not to mention the disintegration of the neighborhood feel along clarendon blvd (for instance, the development has shooed out several vietnamese businesses/restaurants).