Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
After a "compromise" that ensured that the Dulles Airport Metro station will be only vaguely near the airport, one of the airport authority's geniuses board members has come up with a cunning plan to save even more money: eliminate the airport station altogether!
Our favorite part? The idea that you could run a "people mover" from the station on Rt. 28 to the airport terminal. After all, who wouldn't want to be stuck in traffic on 28 and see this in your rear view mirror?
Board member Robert Clarke Brown made the suggestion during a MWAA meeting Wednesday, suggesting that the nearby Route 28 station should instead become the Airport station, and the Route 28 station should be outfitted with a "people mover" system that would ferry riders to and from the airport.As they should be. To be fair, the airport's probably got a bunch of the metal people mover monstrosities lying around since they opened their own fancy below-ground subway, so maybe they're just trying to figure out a way to put them to use. And Brown probably didn't intend for them to be driven on actual roadways when he proposed his plan. So we have a modest suggestion of our own: Why not run the people movers along the W&OD trail, where people could disembark right in the midst of Reston Town Center or Herndon's downtown? Just imagine -- people could shop for frozen yogurt and firearms, all without having to get in their car! And we're sure the people movers' distinctive "sails" will give spandex-clad cyclists and joggers plenty of warning to get out of the way before they lumber by on the path.
"In my view, this would actually be superior transportation service for our passengers [compared to what is currently planned], because the people mover would take them to the terminal," says Brown.
When asked how much could be saved, the head of the Dulles Rail project, Pat Nowakowski, told the board this option could save around $70 million.
Board members, however, were immediately skeptical of the plan.
You're welcome.
Update: Our brilliant commenters have come up with a few suggestions of their own:
Heck, IAD is an airport, so why not FLY people there from National? They've got a "convenient" Metro stop.It's that kind of "outside the box" thinking that will get you a seat on the MWAA board.
I think they should just move the airport closer to the Weihle Ave station. They could turn the airport access road into a runway, since it won't be needed past Reston anymore.
The MWAA Board makes Dumb and Dumber seem like Genius and Genius-er!
ReplyDeleteHeck, IAD is an airport, so why not FLY people there from National? They've got a "convenient" Metro stop.
Even if you give them the benefit of the doubt, the idea of getting off the Metro and boarding a light rail sort of contraption to get to the terminal would be an enormous pain. If the goal isn't to eliminate transfers, why not just take the bus from West Falls Church and save several billion dollars?
ReplyDeleteI think they should just move the airport closer to the Weihle Ave station. They could turn the airport access road into a runway, since it won't be needed past Reston anymore.
ReplyDeleteGood point all.
ReplyDeleteBut what is really the issue is: why the crappy font Restonian?
Agreed. It's getting difficult to read the whitty banter.
ReplyDeleteThe comment font *is* terrible. Bad "web logging" software. Will try to fix it, but our army of offshore Estonian programmers may wind up changing it to cyrillic script in a fit of pique.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest the ever whimsical and fun Comic Sans?
ReplyDelete