Arlington Streetcar supporters: Election results won’t change momentum of project

Arlington County:

“Supporters of the Columbia Pike streetcar say the April 8 County Board special election will not derail their efforts. And they have the math on their side. Arlington Streetcar Now, which supports the planned five-mile line connecting Pentagon City west to Skyline, said it hopes new County Board member John Vihstadt will keep an open mind on the proposal. During the campaign, Vihstadt said his preference was for an upgraded bus network throughout the Columbia Pike corridor.

Vihstadt’s election ‘does not change any of the facts that have led the Arlington County Board to conclude on numerous occasions that the streetcar system is needed,’ Arlington Streetcar Now said in a statement the day after the election. ‘We hope . . . that he reviews with an open mind the voluminous data showing that the streetcar system would do far more to promote the community’s vision than the enhanced bus service that he has favored,’ the group said.

Getting Vihstadt to hop on board the streetcar plan likely will be a hard sell. The special election appears to have taken the form of a proxy referendum on big-ticket spending projects, with the Columbia Pike streetcar proposal front and center.”

~Writes Scott McCaffrey of Inside Nova

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