A few weeks ago in class, some classmates and I made this firmly tongue-in-cheek PowerPoint in support of the Metro Way bus rapid transit system that will launch soon in Arlington-Alexandria’s Route 1 corridor.

Jokes and !!!!!!!s aside, one useful idea contained therein makes BRT a particularly compelling idea for this half-dedicated-ROW corridor: its extendibility. Metro Way not only has its dedicated ROWs within Crystal City & Potomac Yards, but also relatively free-flowing limited-access roads at its north end. Thus, limited-stop route extensions can connect Crystal City to numerous transit interchanges:
– North to the Pentagon bus interchange
– North along 110 to Rosslyn, which might make up for lost Blue Line service between Pentagon and Rosslyn
– North along Washington Blvd. to Clarendon, if demand warrants an Arlington crosstown express
– Southwest along Shirley Busway to Shirlington, perhaps through-routing with future Shirley Busway BRT service through Shirlington to Beauregard

In addition, extending the routes several blocks south from Braddock Road would bring BRT service to either Old Town/Market Square or King Street Metro — the latter a connecting point not just to DASH but also the Richmond Highway express bus.