What D.C. Neighborhoods Could Use a Metro Station?

The D.C. Metro system is perilously close to capacity, with supply of trains and stations already not meeting demand. Total trips are down slightly this year, but population growth projections as well as growing trends in area residents preferring mass transit to owning and driving their own cars, has spurred the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority to plan expanding the Metro system. A new 49 page strategic plan calls for building new tunnels through the city, a new tunnel under the Potomac River, and a pedestrian walkways between Metro Center and Gallery Place, and Farragut West and Farragut North, and a new station for the Pentagon.

Combine this expansion with the Silver Line and street cars, it's an exciting time for D.C. mass transit. So H Street and Tyson's Corner get their new transit assets, but what about other areas of D.C.? Particularly, what high density residential areas aren't currently served by Metro?

The D.C. Data Catalogue has existing landuse data on every block in the city. By projecting medium and high density residential areas, we can use ArcMap's measuring tool to see what neighborhoods are situated a mile or more from existing Metro stations. 

How about a Gold Line starting in Mclean (a future silver line station), continue northeast to Glover Park and connect to Van Ness on the Red Line, then serving Brightwood, before turning South and connecting to Georgia Ave, a new Crestwood Station, and continue on down to the New York Avenue station.

On its way Southeast, this Gold Line could also service the burgeoning H Street corridor with its connections to the proposed streetcar, before crossing the river and serving multiple neighborhoods in Southeast. The city is more connected, congestion declines, Mayor Gray's "One City" vision realized...

One can dream...