Opinion

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARL.now.

By Eric Harold

When I emerge from the natural oasis of the Four Mile Run creek bed, I am greeted by an Ethiopian family teaching their son to ride his bike on the Arlington Mill Plaza. Following the spirited African rhythms enjoyed by a group of friends gathering near the bridge, I catch the tempting scents of the Bolivian food truck readying for the lunch crowd. I am reminded why, many years ago, my wife and I quickly fell in love with Columbia Pike — a vital and vibrant corridor with good local businesses, active neighborhood associations and energetic mixed-income communities. Still, we recognized this high potential area was struggling to develop as a valued Metro corridor.

After 20 years, thousands of hours of planning meetings, and many county initiatives later, the Pike appears to be thriving. We had envisioned three legs of a stool that would solidly support Columbia Pike in the future: a streamlined development process, a Pike neighborhoods’ plan with a goal of preserving over 6,000 affordable housing units, and a blueprint for greatly improving the transit system to support expected growth.

So are we where we wanted to be 20 years ago?

While some development has happened, the transportation “leg of the stool” has wobbled. Four years ago, the County Board abruptly canceled the long-planned streetcar, endangering and undermining progress in other areas. Pike neighborhoods were told that transportation investments would continue. What we received was a mediocre transit plan, delayed construction of the transit stations, and no attention to much-needed utility undergrounding.

To be clear, the current growth and development on Columbia Pike was spurred on with the implementation of the Form Based Code, an alternative development process that offered streamlined reviews and approvals for developments that supported our community’s vision and needs, as described in the Code and associated plans. As a result, we are seeing redevelopment of properties along the Pike that is bringing new residents along with some affordable housing and new amenities. We are seeing the development creep west on the Pike, as well.

But with this development comes some significant challenges. New development brings new residents, many with children attending already overcrowded schools. Businesses that were “early adopters” to the Pike, like P. Brennan’s, have shuttered. Storefronts remain empty at key locations along Columbia Pike, while new developments like Centro Arlington and 4707 Columbia Pike will bring more retail spaces to fill.

As we look forward to the next 20 years, the Columbia Pike communities need the County’s focused effort and planning to ensure continued growth along the corridor while addressing the significant weaknesses in the current plan implementation.

What should happen now?

• Update Transit Plan now: Fast and efficient completion of the current projects outlines in the Multimodal Street Improvements plan will send a clear signal that Columbia Pike remains a critical area of growth for the county. More important, however, should be revising the Transit Plan for Columbia Pike, to include updating capacity projections based on current development and growth patterns.
• Increase daytime population: Current development has been entirely mixed-use residential and commercial. Commercial vacancies remain high while businesses struggle, primarily due to very low daytime population. The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) and the County need to provide incentives that will bring offices and other services to the Pike.If we are going to be true to maintaining Columbia Pike as a diverse community, we need to provide spaces and encourage services to support low-income and disadvantaged populations. Clinics, job training services, and other community assistance can fill vacant spaces and increase daytime traffic. Providing incubator spaces, shared work locations, and other office/business development can help improve the mix of development. Combined, this has the potential to make the Columbia Pike corridor a true live-work destination while maintaining the vibrant, mixed-income communities we love.

• Improve planning with/for Arlington Public Schools: The Career Center property, just a block off Columbia Pike and now in the middle of conceptual planning for new school/community uses and space, is a prime example of the need for better integrated planning between APS and the County. Creative use of spaces along the Pike has the potential to help APS manage student population growth.

Columbia Pike has come a long way in the 20 years that I have lived here. The time is now for the county to aggressively help reinvigorate our plans and processes so that Columbia Pike remains the vital and vibrant community we love.

Eric Harold resides in Barcroft with his wife and four children. He served as president of his civic association, served for 13 years on the Environment and Energy Conservation Commission (E2C2), and now serves on the APS Advisory Council on School Facilities and Capital Projects (FAC).

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARLnow.com.

By Kelley Coyner

Less than a year ago the city of Arlington, Texas, became the first municipal government to deploy an automated transportation service — a cute shuttle named Milo. In a couple of weeks, Arlington, Texas will move ahead with an autonomous vehicle (AV) taxi.

Meanwhile in Arlington, Virginia, we are beginning to look at how to launch similar services. The technology is moving forward quickly, especially for lower speed AVs that mix well with pedestrians and bicyclists. What should we be thinking about this technological game changer?

Money talks: First focus on economic development, job loss and creation, and revenue loss

Our Arlington and its neighbors — including their transportation agencies — need to look at the impacts of AVs (what some people call “self-driving” vehicles) on their revenue. Greater fuel efficiency and shifts to electric vehicles will accelerate the downward spiral of gas tax revenues. Changed ownership models also may undercut personal property tax and rental-car tax revenues. Decreased demand for parking may cut into parking revenues and an anticipated decline in traffic violations will reduce revenue from fines. Secondary impacts include the potential for decreased revenue from transit and toll fares.

Understand equity

AVs can dramatically improve opportunities for blind, older and younger riders — if we consider those travelers in the planning and design. You need only try to find your Lyft or Uber in Clarendon to appreciate that we need to pay attention to the last 50 feet from home or restaurant to your ride. Also, let’s make sure that shared vehicles are universally designed starting with wheelchair access. Meanwhile nationally, job and wage losses could hit transit and taxi drivers, delivery drivers, truckers, bus operators and Lyft/Uber drivers disproportionately, so training programs will need to come into play.

Figure out what you want your place to be like

Over the years, Arlington, Virginia, has given thought and taken action on the intersection between transportation and land use. How might AVs change all this yet again? How might they change our affordable and workforce housing? Is there a new paradigm for transit-rich hubs that also include shared-AV drop-off areas, electric charging stations, and rich networks of walking and bike paths?

What to worry about: Favor safety gains and protect against cyber dangers

There are indeed real reasons to be worried about the vulnerability of automated vehicles to cyber-attack. The answer is to address that risk, not to let it highjack automated technologies that protect occupants and people in the path of the AVs, such as pedestrians, bicyclists and people at bus stops.

That said, I am flabbergasted when anyone is dismissive about the potential of saving a portion of 37,000 lives that are currently lost to human-caused crashes each year. Most traffic accidents are attributable to human error. To be sure we need to take steps to operate AVs safely. Experts such as researchers at Rand note that the sooner we start adopting automated technologies, the more lives will be saved.

Define your principles and set measurable objectives to reach them

Beyond those first four paths I think cities should take, there are still many ways to maximize the safety and environmental benefits while guarding against increased congestion, sprawl, job loss and the further weakening of public transit. Arlington should start by understanding how AVs can help and hurt us and then set a course that allows us to experiment safely with AVs.

We should avoid esoteric debates about obscure hypotheticals, and instead, focus on understanding the implications of an automated mobility. Then pull out all the stops to safely channel the technology revolution on the street where you live.

Kelley Coyner is CEO and Founder of Mobility e3. A Senior Fellow at George Mason University, she advises cities on how to analyze the pluses and minuses of autonomous vehicles. She lives with her family in central Arlington.

Progressive Voice is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organizations or ARLnow.com.

By Cheryl Moore

In August, I travelled to Dilley, Texas, to volunteer for a week with immigrants who are seeking asylum. The South Texas Family Residential Center, 80 miles south of San Antonio, houses 2,400 women and children, most from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, who were apprehended by border patrol agents when trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t speak Spanish very well, but when I heard from an attorney friend about this opportunity, I felt compelled to go. With so many stories in the news about family separation, detention and the cruel treatment of immigrants at the border, this was my chance to “do something,” even if I didn’t know exactly what I would be doing. I wanted to be a witness to what is happening to immigrants coming to the U.S. amidst this unwelcoming political climate.

Along with other volunteers with the Dilley Pro Bono Project, my mission was to help women prepare for their Credible Fear Interview (CFI) with asylum officers. Receiving a “positive” after their interview means they are freed from detention (after paying a bond or submitting to wearing an ankle monitor) and can begin the long process of seeking asylum, as is their legal right under U.S. law.

It was not an easy week. We worked 12-hour days, filled with non-stop activity, noise and, often, tears.

For much of the week, I helped women fill out basic forms. As I showed them where to write their name, date of birth and other details, I learned part of their story. The answers to questions on the forms also offered clues about wrenching decisions some of the women had had to make when deciding to leave their country.

Some mothers asked, “Do I only put the name and birthday of the child who is here with me?” Clearly, many had had to leave another child behind. As a mother myself, I couldn’t imagine making that choice.

Other volunteers spent the week helping women prepare for their CFI by asking them to recount the testimony they would tell the asylum officer. Why did they leave their country? What persecution did they face there? What might happen if they went back home?

The extreme danger and violence our clients described was appalling — gangs, rape, death threats, kidnapping, extortion. We learned more about the culture and government of the countries that these women were fleeing, and about the extreme poverty and inequity that contribute to crime and lawlessness. It was clear that these women were escaping from systems that would never protect them. They were victims, not criminals; yet they were in a detention center.

With many CFI interviews looming toward the end of the week, I was asked to do some CFI preps on my own, working with an interpreter by telephone. Thanks to the in-depth training we received and wise counsel from the Dilley Pro Bono Project legal staff, I was able help two clients. It is not often that I feel I’m holding someone’s fate in my hands, but I did that day.

After I returned home, their faces swam before my eyes as I tried to go to sleep at night. Fortunately, I was able to check on their status and it appears that they both have been released from detention, and presumably are now with family or friends as they proceed through the asylum-seeking process.

While I may have helped some women start a new chapter in their lives, I will never know how their stories unfold. As with all mission work, the difference is in me. The women I met are part of my story now.

Back in Arlington, I will never look at the woman from Central America standing next to me in the supermarket line without contemplating her story. I will wonder what happened to make her leave her birthplace, and I will pray it wasn’t as bad as some of the stories I heard in that Texas detention center.

Above all, my week at the detention center reminded me that immigrant detention and family separation are more than just policy issues. They are human issues.

Cheryl Moore has lived in Arlington for 35 years. She has been a volunteer for Arlington Public Schools, her church, civic association, the Arlington Community Chorus, and many nonprofit organizations serving the Northern Virginia community. She continues to work on her Spanish language skills.