Please Support the Columbia Pike Streetcar, Wednesday, March 27

I received the following email earlier today from the Virginia Sierra Club and thought it was worth passing along. I’m strongly supportive of this streetcar project, and urge everyone to show your support as well. Thanks.

Dear Arlington Sierra Club Members and Supporters,

Please plan on attending an Arlington County Board Town Hall Meeting next Wednesday night to show support for the Columbia Pike Streetcar.  The opponents of the streetcar project will be there in force.  We need to turn out as many supporters as possible.

For ten years Arlington County has been working to build a streetcar as the key element for the sustainable revitalization and redevelopment of the Columbia Pike corridor.  The Mt. Vernon Group of the Sierra Club has actively supported the streetcar plan since 2007 primarily because streetcars reduce automobile use more than any other means of mass transit.  Streetcars may also run on electricity derived from renewable energy sources, a priority for Club activism, rather than natural gas used by the proposed bus alternative.  That makes streetcars a better long-term solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources.

But recently there has been strident opposition, making false or inaccurate claims that may yet threaten the project and the future of the revitalization of the Pike area.

How you can help:

You can help just by showing up and wearing a Streetcar Now.org sticker (available at the meeting).  You can also help by asking a question about the streetcar at the meeting so the accurate information is heard.

Neighborhood Streetcar Town Hall

Wednesday night March 27, 6:45 PM to 9:00 PM, Kenmore Middle School Auditorium, 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington.  Board members will discuss the vision and community process that led to the Board's decision to build streetcar lines along Columbia Pike and the Route 1 corridor, between Crystal City and Pentagon City, answer questions, and talk about next steps. 

The Sierra Club is working with Arlington Streetcar Now, a group of local citizens supporting the streetcar.  Please visit their website for more information and declare your support for the streetcar.  Also please RSVP for the March 27 meeting at:   http://streetcarnow.org/rsvp/streetcar-town-hall.aspx

For background information on why the Sierra Club supports the streetcar please see the article in the Spring Edition of the Mt. Vernon Sierran.

Thank you,

David