Happy 50th birthday Beltway!

The Beltway had a birthday this weekend!  Its final leg was completed 50 years ago, on August 17th, 1964.  If it were a human, it would be middle aged.  And, though it has its youthful moments (I'm looking at you aggressive drivers), it moves more like a 50 year old than an 18 year old.  

In fact, those drivers who never met a bumper they didn't want to twerk aside, the biggest annoyance driving the beltway is the inability to get anywhere near the speed limit.

Although I avoid the beltway like the plague, I can't escape using it on occasion.  So I worry about how the metro area will deal with the Beltway's senior years (I'm sure AARP has already extended a membership offer).  Two challenges are especially apparent.  

1. It needs serious repair work, especially in Maryland.  Things aren't perfect on the Virginia side, but the road is in better condition there because the state was forced to make substantial improvements when it re-engineered the infamous mixing bowl, where the Beltway meets Interstates 395 and 95.  It also made repairs when it installed the so called Rich-People-Get-To-Drive-Faster-than-You-and-Me-LanesHot Lanes.  Virginia also has less mileage to maintain than Maryland.  Only 22.1 of the Beltway's 63.8 miles (35%) are located in Virginia.  The remaining 41.7 miles (65%) are in Maryland.  Right now, there's no big plan to make the substantial repairs that are needed, so gird yourself for crappier road conditions, and deterioration over time.   

2.  Getting people off the beltway.    Everyone agrees the beltway needs to regain some of its efficiency at moving people around the metro area.  But, new lanes alone won't take care of the problem.  The metro area is growing too fast for that.  At most, new lanes would slow the growth of congestion down.  So, the real goal for transportation planners is to find a way to get people into buses, metro trains, and other forms of public transportation.

Unfortunately, public transportation isn't very good for people who live in the suburbs and want to get to another suburban location.  That's why the beltway is so clogged.  Our public transportation is still based on the hub spoke model where going from suburb to city is easy but going from suburb to suburb is either impossible, or requires a circuitious route through the city.

The Purple Line will help, but it won't be enough.  Only when transportation funding keeps up with the growth will any real relief happen.  And, there doesn't seem to be much political will, or forthcoming dollars, to make that happen.

All you have to do is look at the new plan for redevelopment in White Oak, an area north of the beltway on the eastern edge of Montgomery County.  The area is in desperate need of redevelopment, but the county is going to allow a 'set aside' so development can go ahead without the usual requirement that transportation upgrades occur simultaneously.   

Can I work from home please?