To the editor:
In all the planning for the summer shutdown of six Metro stations, Alexandria transportation staff have overlooked the fastest trips to the Pentagon Metro on the DASH AT3 & AT4 buses.
The Parkfairfax and North Ridge neighborhoods are sure to become a one-square mile commuter parking lot as residents from Del Ray, Rosemont, Old Town, the West End and Fairfax County drive to street parking along the AT3 & AT4 bus routes.
Already, 30 to 50 commuter vehicles per day park in Parkfairfax, and the drivers step on these buses. It’s a convenient way to avoid Metro garages and shuttle buses in the morning, and in the evening, arrive at your car 20 minutes after leaving the Pentagon Metro station.
DASH CEO/GM Josh Baker needs to add buses to these two routes or suffer the wrath of morning riders left behind by standing-room-only buses skipping the last stops on Gunston Road and Martha Custis Drive.
Alexandria Police may be called on to keep the peace between commuters and homeowners upset that interlopers are parking in the North Ridge neighborhood, next to their driveways.
Unfortunately, Baker has been focused on a hair-brained “Transit Vision Plan” scheme routing the AT3 & AT4 buses through Shirlington, before proceeding to the Pentagon HOV lanes. The Alexandria Transit Co. Board must tell Baker to put aside the crayons and provide solutions to the critical needs that public transit riders will face.
One would think years of successful numbers would matter when planning DASH routes to the Pentagon Metro station.
-Maria T. Wildes, Parkfairfax
