It doesn't take a genius to realize that even after spending billions on road projects in Northern Virginia that traffic is often still at a standstill on both major and secondary roads. Throw in a rainstorm, snow or an accident and commuters can spend hours just sitting and waiting.
With the hot lane construction and the new Tyson Corner rail project the landscape continues to change along our roadways. Yet at the same time the Potomac River with access points from DC south into Virginia sits virtual unused. Cities like Seattle, Chicago and NY support water transportation as a way to get past traffic and reach areas that are not well serviced by other forms of public transportation.
Once again politicians and county planners in Prince William County (VA) are going to take another run at testing the idea of a water taxi. In November 2007 I posted "The Future in a 58 minute Ferry Ride" about the last attempt in Prince William County to test the idea of running water taxi along the Potomac River to DC.
Since that time the Harbor Station project has faltered and of course the three year mark for "reality" has been extended well into the future.
The next attempt to test the water ferry idea takes place tomorrow with a run from the Occoquan Harbor Marina to DC. The cost of the test excursions is estimated at $225,000 and is funded by the federal government funds. The cost of building the ferry stations along the Potomac River is estimated to be around 600 million dollars and could be funded with economic stimulus money.
The idea of a water ferry to take cars off our clogged roads is one that needs more support from citizens in our area. Though we don't want the river to become as backed up as the Springfield Interchange during rush hour we also don't need to ignore the possibility that we are under utilizing a local resource that might just be a viable alternative.
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