I-395 in Arlington. Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.

The Post follows up with more quotes from Virginia officials and Army spokespeople about their transit-unfriendly move to western Alexandria. The Army says they want 40% of workers to carpool or take transit, but don’t justify how they will make that happen and why it won’t still be a disaster.

The Army’s transportation consultant, Jim Curren, “estimated that 1,500 cars would be added to area roadways around rush times.” If 40% of people took transit, out of 6,400, that would still be 3,840 cars; if the 40% all carpooled, it would be 5,120 cars. Many of the workers already drive, so clearly they’re not all new. But 40% seems extremely optimistic based on shuttle buses to King Street.

And what of the 1,500 new cars, assuming it’s really only 1,00? The owners of the Mark Center will spend $10 million to “improve” intersections and widen area roads. The Army also claims the I-395 HOT lanes will make everything okay; of course, Virginia was already planning to have lots of people using the HOT lanes before the Army’s decision. Thus, we’re taking the standard suburban solution—more car capacity—coupled with a little hand-waving, to justify a bad decision.

And can anyone make sense of this paragraph?

Nearly 20 percent of the workers who would be heading to Alexandria live in Prince William County, Fredericksburg or Stafford County, according to Army statistics, and most of the 6,400 being moved now commute to Metro-accessible office buildings in Arlington. As a result, Curren said, many of the workers will have similar commutes, not longer ones.

The way I read that, the paragraph says, “20% of workers live closer to the new location than the old one. And the old location is near Metro. So … everything will be okay. Huh?

Tip: Chuck Coleman.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.