If you've read Joel Garreau's book Edge City, you'll be familar with Tysons Corner, VA -- a place that is the polar opposite of good city planning. It sort of mushroomed in the span of about 20 years from the late 60s to the late 80s. It's the 12th largest business district in the US as a matter of fact.
Flash foward to the 21st century and the realization that Tysons Corner needs to become a "real city" in order to continue to thrive and function. Thus planning for an extention of DC's metrorail from Falls Church to Dulles Airport (via Tysons Corner).
I've just gotten back from a meeeting of the Tysons Tunnel folks. An interesting crowd there. Lotsa business suits and chamber of commerce folks.
What is so funny is that these same folks are the ones who time and time again endorse the same old same old Republicans, Frank Wolf, Tom Davis, Jerry Kilgore, George Allen etc. All those pols who are pro-road and anti-smart growth!
The good news however is that even these chamber of commerce boneheads seem to have realized that their businesses cannot continue to thrive in our car dependent culture. Heck they seem to be wanting livable walkable communities.
Even better the engineers who spoke at the meeting made a compelling case that tunneling under Tysons Corner could be done for about the same costs as the disruptive above ground monstrosity that Governor Tim Kaine endorsed.
The insinuation at the meeting was that the consortium backing the above ground project got to write the proposal presented to the governor and the Federal Transit Agency. So they tilted everything to make the above ground option look like the only option that made sense. And what is the main company in that consortium? Bechtel! No I am not kidding. Really.
If you live in Virginia and care about saving Tysons Corner from a Bechtel boondoggle, please drop Tim Kaine, Tom Davis, Frank Wolf or Jim Moran a line in support of tunneling under Tysons Corner.
Update: Oh yeah -- write to Jim Webb and John Warner too!