Talk Of A Cool New Lite Rail Gets Hot And Heavy

It’s an idea that might seem far-fetched, but some forward-looking individuals in the Charlottesville area are hoping for their own mini-Metro for Albemarle County. Duane Snow, a member of the County Board of Supervisors brought the idea of bringing light rail to the region back into the limelight this past week. After the Board voted last April to endorse the idea of light rail connectivity in the region with a preliminary study and letter to Sen. Mark Warner, Snow has called for further study and claims to have campaigned for light rail this past year (“light rail” is essentially a watered-down, lower-capacity metro system).

The concept of intra-regional rail connectivity in Albemarle County isn’t all that new, as many have speculated the idea of a commuter rail line connecting the growing Crozet area to Charlottesville. Within the city limits, Charlottesville has been exploring the possibilities of streetcars or even light rail, especially a system connecting U.Va. to downtown. A rail line running up 29 North to the airport would certainly alleviate some of the congestion in the area. So let’s think about the possibilities of a “C-Ville Metro”: the line running from Crozet into Charlottesville could utilize existing rails, with stops near JPJ, Beta Bridge, the Corner, the Amtrak station, and downtown. Another line could run from downtown southwest towards the hospital and JPA, and yet another line could run north along 29 North to the various shopping destinations and the airport. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, the region’s transportation planning authority, has already conceptualized this system and more in a preliminary study.

So in a relatively small metropolitan area that already spends a lot of money on mass transit and has planned to increase this bus system, why do we need our own metro system as well? Snow perhaps inadvertently answered the question by stating that he’d rather ride a train than a bus. Maybe this is why he feels that way: studies have shown that bus travel is overwhelmingly the travel mode choice of the lower class, including Charlottesville’s own comprehensive plan, which notes that the majority of CTS riders have incomes below $30,000, and more than half of riders don’t own a car. I’ll give Mr. Snow the benefit of the doubt here though and hope that he’s just looking out for the residents of Crozet who want a way to get to work in Charlottesville or the U.Va. students who need a ride to the airport. For now though, getting around in Charlottesville is quite easy without a car.

There are other, more obvious reasons why a rail system isn’t something this area is likely to see very soon. For one, the insurance premiums and operating costs to run a light rail service on freight train lines will be sky-high, necessitating that there be a high demand for such a service. This is only really possible in areas of very high population density, which isn’t exactly the case outside of downtown Charlottesville. In Albemarle County, marked by urban sprawl epitomized by the 29 North corridor, spread-out communities have created a system in which 99% of the population uses a car – either alone or in a carpool – to get to work.

As neat as the idea of a “Charlottesville Metro” is, it’s a pretty safe bet that we’re a long way away from having one. While Mr. Snow claims that there is money in the County’s federal budget to explore such an option right now, taxpayers aren’t going to pony up for light rail anytime soon. Within the City of Charlottesville, alternative transportation options already exist, and outside in Albemarle County, land use patterns have created a sprawling, low-density system that isn’t fit for light rail. Until these trends change, these progressive thinkers can keep dreaming.