Arlington’s transportation system, with its broad array of options, is assuring that the County is a highly desirable business location and will remain so. At a time when high gas prices are dampening the real estate market in the auto-dependent outer suburbs, Arlington’s advantage is only improving.
In a mid 2007 survey, Arlington business leaders attested to the value of our highly diverse transportation system and services, even before gas prices topped the $4 mark. At that time, when gas was just over $3 per gallon, 88% of top business leaders who responded to the survey ranked Arlington County as a good place to locate a business. No doubt today the rating would be even higher.
Many factors figure into their ranking of a business location in a generic sense, and transportation tops the list. When looking specifically at Arlington, our transportation system topped the list of Arlington-specific reasons the County is a good business location (40% of respondents). Other factors, including location (31%), proximity to DC (20%), and amenities 17%) were also important; but our business leaders clearly discern that our diverse, sustainable transportation options are essential to providing good access to all of these by their employees, tenants, and customers.
The survey also makes it clear that business leaders value the comprehensive choices provided by our system: rail and bus transit, roads, HOV lanes, bike facilities, and walkways. What is especially gratifying is that they also recognize the value of SERVICES that help people know about these options, how to use them, and incentives available to do so. And, they recommend putting hard dollars into these non-road facilities and services. When asked how they would allocate Arlington County’s transportation dollars, they recommended a surprising 46% in non-road facilities and services:
27%: Infrastructure – bus, bike paths, walkways, etc.
19%: Transportation services – Information-based support services that help you maximize transit use, bicycling, walking, carpooling, and so forth.
Arlington has long charted a course that is different from the typical pattern of community development in America. All three legs of the stool are needed to make this work:1) roads, 2) infrastructure for other modes, and 3) support services such as provided by Arlington County Commuter Services. It is nice to see data showing that our business leadership is in concert with the public transportation policy needed to keep us competitive for the future. No doubt challenging times are ahead, but Arlington is well-positioned to deal with them. There is also good news right now for the thousands who commute into Arlington: our money-saving services can help them ease the pain of long and expensive commutes.
Howard Jennings is Manager of Research and Development for Arlington Transportation Partners of ACCS. Depending on the day, he teleworks, or walks or rides the bus to Metrorail to get to work.
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