ALEXANDRIA, Va. — There could be a new way to get to work by using the Potomac River, but the City of Alexandria has very serious concerns about its involvement in the proposed ferry service.
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission is looking at a plan that would initiate ferry service up and down the Potomac River to service places such as Southeast and Southwest in D.C., Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Old Town Alexandria, Prince William County and Southern Maryland.
The plan identified Alexandria as a key point in the entire system because of its size and because it offered the greatest time saved for commuters.
However, Alexandria officials are concerned that commuters will just use city streets as parking lots to go work across the river at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
“We aren’t anybody’s parking lot,” Alexandria City Councilmember Del Pepper said during Wednesday’s city council meeting. “That ought to be what we say.”
She and Councilmember Paul Smedburg expressed serious concerns they have with Alexandria’s role in the project, citing the current lack of parking and infrastructure. They are worried that having a ferry terminal in Old Town would just make a bad situation worse.
“It was not well thought out,” Smedburg told the council.
The plan would see many users take other forms of mass transit to get to the terminal.
“People would take shuttle buses to the Metro or VRE (Virginia Railway Express) and then get off at King Street and then there would be a shuttle bus — I mean, come on. What, they’re going to make eight stops to get to their final destination?” Smedburg said.
He doesn’t see how this plan would work well for the City of Alexandria, and neither does Mayor William Euille.
“The City’s position is that it supports in concept utilizing the Potomac River as a regional transportation corridor; however, the City of Alexandria wants to be on record expressing serious concerns regarding an element of the proposed project,” said Euille in a letter to the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
He, too, is concerned that the city cannot handle any more cars on its streets and says it is not Alexandria’s problem.
“Old Town Alexandria should not serve as the Joint Base Anacostia Bolling’s parking lot because the federal government did not adequately plan for its own parking needs when it expanded its work force on that site.”
And Smedburg has a similar sentiment.
“Prince William [County] wants to have this ferry system, let them have it.”
