Rail, river, roads: Officials weigh alternative transportation

Courtesy photo-American-Maglev Technology Inc proposes a monorail system to help ease BRAC-related traffic.

Fort Belvoir officials are looking at virtually everything - including monorail and water taxi service - as they prepare for an increase in traffic expected in a little more than three years as a result of Base Realignment and Closure.

"There's hardly any potential mitigation of transportation issues that's off the table," Fort Belvoir Public Affairs director Don Carr said. "Everything that has the potential to get cars off the road is worth looking at. Everybody is wide open to considering any idea that has the potential to pull cars off the road."

BRAC will bring an additional 19,300 people and a corresponding uptick in motor vehicular traffic to the installation by September 2011. While some road upgrades, such as the completion of the Fairfax County Parkway, have been fully funded and are moving ahead, funding for other improvements to Interstate 95 and other roads that serve the installation remains uncertain.

"The congestion that is out there on the roads certainly impacts the DoD work force on Fort Belvoir as much as anyone else," said Carr.
On the rails

With that in mind, American Maglev Technology Inc. is proposing a monorail system that would connect Fort Belvoir and the Engineer Proving Ground, where about 8,500 jobs of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will relocate as a result of BRAC.

"The project is a privately financed transit system to connect the Springfield-Franconia Metro Station with the Engineer Proving Ground and the Fort Belvoir campus," explained Tony J. Morris, the Marietta, Ga.-based company's chief executive officer. "The transit shuttle vehicles will operate on five-minute headways and will make
the 3.5-mile trip in approximately 5 minutes."

Morris estimates that it will take around $76 million to construct the system, which would break-even at 10,000 riders per day at $2 per trip.
"The proposal provides near seamless connectivity to Fort Belvoir to both Metro and the Virginia Railway Express. The system has the capacity to reduce car visits to Belvoir, resulting in long delays, traffic backups, and additional security inspections and essential roadway infrastructure improvements, to accommodate the influx of new BRAC-related base jobs and the associated capital improvements costs," he said.

Talks are continuing between company and Belvoir officials about the proposal, Carr said.

On the water

Meanwhile, Alexandria-based Potomac Riverboat Company visited the installation in February, when company representatives looked at potential docking sites for a water taxi service. The route would run between Charles County, Md., and the installation's shoreline on the Potomac River, said company president Willem Polak.
"The immediate benefit will be to connect military personnel working at two DoD sites by water, thus providing relief from the hour plus drive on good days for those working and living in the communities supporting these sites," he explained. "Our focus is connecting Charles County and Fairfax County commuters, using the river, with emphasis on, but not limited to, our military personnel."

Polak said docking sites have not been secured in either Charles County or on Fort Belvoir.

"(We) have looked at over a dozen locations," said Polak. "Water depth and proximity to DoD sites are paramount concerns."

Potomac Riverboat Company recently signed a deal to operate water taxis in the National Harbor development in Prince George's County, Md., he continued.
"This water taxi, different from our service to and from National Harbor, will be primarily a car ferry," Polak said.

Potomac Riverboat continues to work on its presentation to installation officials, said Carr.

"There would still be the requirement of getting people from the dock to their final destination," he said.

Carr stressed that no decisions have been reached on either the monorail or water taxi proposal.

On the roads

Additionally, officials from Clark Realty have met with Zipcar representatives to discuss using their service on Fort Belvoir.

"While we are only in early discussions with Zipcar, a hybrid shared-vehicle service has potential to provide another transportation solution for both families and workers at Fort Belvoir. This could be a sustainable amenity that complements the new urbanism development of the town center," said Casey Nolan, project director.
Clark Realty is part of a public/private joint venture with Pinnacle, a realty investment management company, and the Department of the Army, to redevelop outdated housing and build new homes on Fort Belvoir. The partnership, Clark Pinnacle, manages the homes as part of the Army's Residential Communities Initiative.

Zipcar is a national, membership-based car-sharing company with more than 7,000 vehicles, which provides automobile rental to its members, who are billed by the hour or day.

According to the Zipcar Web site, the company was founded in 1999 by Robin Chase and Antje Danielson based on a concept they had seen in Berlin while on vacation: instead of owning their own vehicles, people drove cars that were parked around the city and were charged by the hour.

The founders claim their concept enhances personal and business travel while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and the costs and hassles associated with rental cars and privately owned vehicles.

The first Zipcars were rented in June 2000. On October 31, Zipcar merged with rival Flexcar.