You can find Creigh's full statement here.

"This latest development in the ongoing battle to bring transit rail service to Tysons Corner and Dulles is great news for Virginians from every corner of the Commonwealth. In this time of economic crisis, now is exactly the right time to invest in public infrastructure projects--especially projects that will relieve traffic congestion and foster continued economic growth.

"We will only move forward--together, as one Commonwealth--to address our economic and transportation woes through the same spirit of bipartisan cooperation that made this project possible. I commend the leadership of Governor Kaine and our congressional delegation. In the face of resistance from Administration officials in Washington they persevered, successfully making the case that this project is vital to the continued economic success of our Commonwealth.

but do it in a smart, environmentally friendly, smart-growth optimal way. This project doesn't quite get there yet, but I'm hopeful the new Congress (particularly Chairman Oberstar) and the Obama administration (I believe these people really "get it") will fix this thing and make it a world class project worthy of the nation's capital.

...without competitive bidding and a tunnel in Tysons, it's definitely sub-optimal to what it could have been. I hope that Congress will step in and correct these serious mistakes before this train starts barreling down the tracks (and we look back in 20 years and ask, "why did they build this the wrong way when they could have built it the right way?").

Furthermore, this 'piecemeal' analysis of our transportation needs seems really shortsighted, or 'penny-wise, pound-foolish' to me.

Wouldn't it make more sense to connect Loudoun County (and maybe even Dulles) to the current Metrorail system via a high-speed commuter rail, or do we really think people are going to abandon their cars for a 2 hour train ride into the city (it takes approx. 30 mins to get from Van Dorn to L'enfant Plaza, do the math for Loudoun County). And while I agree that connecting the Reston corridor to the Metrorail is something that should be considered, unless/until there is a matching above-ground light rail or adequate passenger bus system that fully integrates Reston Town Center and other locales into a transportation grid, it seems less than ideal to me.

Personally, I think that we need to re-envision the entire transit approach to the region, and then clearly about who is traveling into and out of Tysons before we start this mess.

Where is the leadership that can drive some responsible decision-making on these issues? Tysons and its surrounding environs are currently parts of all three NoVa CDs. All of the stakeholders for our transportation future need to be brought together to come up with a master plan for addressing the transportation needs of the various corridors in NoVa -- members of Congress, state legislators, state executives, county boards, and citizen activists -- so that we don't make any stupid decisions. The federal government will be turning over lots of cash for infrastructure building in the next few years, let's be ready and have a list of projects that would help NoVa grow more responsibly and effectively and in an environmentally sound way. Where is the leadership?

What is wrong with the DC metro is not what is happening in Virginia. The problem is the fact that the system as a whole, while it may have worked in previous decades, no longer keeps up with the demand. Extending metro lines only makes sense but when the area of coverage is too big, the system needs to adopt express train usage with limited stopping. Honestly, despite a few hiccups, the New York City Metro is the model to beat and they have a ridiculously huge advantage over DC in every way except comfort (DC having more seats available but let's face it that taking a metro is supposed to be quick transportation and not exactly an enjoyable ride).

I would be interested in expanding stops all over the District as well as Virginia and Maryland. Put in overlapping express lanes and then connect the outer limits by high-speed rail with room to expand.

The other thing about NYC that is so effective is the multiple redundancies in the system, and the various ways you can get from A to B. Now, of course the DC/VA/MD metro area doesn't have the density that Manhattan/Brooklyn do. But the fact that there is really only one way to get from King Street to Clarendon, and that it takes over 45 minutes to do so, is a fatal flaw in the system.

Metro is reasonably well designed only for the inner core of DC, and much of the city is not covered at all.

We need to examine how to make the overall system more effective, more redundant, and more flexible, so that cars really become optional (or hopefully unnecessary) for at least the inner urban core (including all of Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and inside the Beltway on the VA side).

I very much agree with your express train idea. We also need to make sure we understand exactly wherefrom and whereto the vast majority of commuters are coming/going before we try and design a system, and then figure out how to control growth density going forward.

Again, this is complicated, but not rocket science. Where is the leadership?