Washington DC Imagines Itself Without Transit

The agency has been working on a study that evaluates the impact of rail and subway lines on surrounding businesses and property prices, while also modeling what the region would look like if its transit services never existed. They found that the increased road congestion would be likely to splinter the region as people regressed into localized economies and stopped crossing city or county boundaries.

The study also forecasted the effect of expanding Washington's road and freeway network to compensate for a lack of transit. This would require adding 15 mores lanes to the beltway, and providing 166 blocks of five story parking garages downtown.