Hawes Spencer at the HooK notes the benefits of inter-modal transportation, getting to the various airports in Virginia/Maryland/DC and allows a tiny dream – what if we didn’t have to drive everywhere …
I used to look to Dulles as my first option, but no longer. Now I look at Charlottesville (CHO) first and then Richmond (RIC). 29 is a horror with seemingly a new stoplight every time I go to DC.
Planners call this inter-modal transportation, and it’s something that can allow people in small towns like Charlottesville to seamlessly make their way— typically via rail— to the better long-distance options found in bigger cities. Unfortunately, the promise of an inter-modal system has not been met by reality in this country.
We can’t do much about the reality in the US, but we could try to do something regionally that attempted to alleviate the need for a cars for everything. Maybe one day the region can do something together – other than plans and studies – than makes sense.
Step one could be buses that are cleaner and run more frequently. Baby steps, you know?
From an offline commenter:
My enthusiasm for flying CHO vaporised when United delayed and quickly canceled its evening flight out of Dulles; Having flown more than 20h internationally, I was forced to make my own travel arrangements. This has happened already to someone else I know in the last 6 months. I wish we had some statistics for flight cancellation in CHO due to non weather reasons.
Jim,
I just had to drop you a line about your blog. I love the variety of info you have here, especially this transportation post. I hope more real estate pros do this for their prospects and clients. There are so many ways to connect with people that aren’t directly business-related:) Cheers!
Jim,
Unlike National, which is a stone’s throw from DC and on the Yellow metro line, for now, Dulles is only accessible by road. Philly’s airport has light rail – as do many airports in Europe. While the numbers aren’t there to justify alternative methods for connecting our airport to the community, I will contact the Charlottesville Institute for Eventuality (CIE) and ask them to study the issue. Who is the CIE? You’ll just have to read my Blog…