Arlington County Nixes Streetcar Plans to Chagrin of Fairfax County

"Arlington County announced Tuesday that it is canceling the long-planned Columbia Pike and Crystal City streetcar projects in the face of strong and vocal opposition from county residents," according to Patricia Sullivan and Antonio Olivo. The decision came as a surprise to officials from Fairfax County. Fairfax County supervisor Penelope Gross (D-Mason) is quoted in the article, saying she was "terribly, terribly saddened and deeply disappointed," by the Arlington Board’s decision.

The streetcar plan had been in the works for 15 years, according to the article. "The $333 million Columbia Pike streetcar, and an adjoining $217 million Crystal City line, had been hailed by advocates as the linchpin of redevelopment efforts along the congested pike and in Bailey’s Crossroads in Fairfax County," write Sullivan and Olivio.