BeyondDC is livid. We read the report of yesterday’s meeting between local officials and the FTA over FTA’s likely eleventh hour rejection of funding for the Silver line, and are simply aghast at the unprofessionalism of the FTA. The issues cited as problems are not last-minute issues; they are opening day concerns that have no place being brought up this late in the process. We refuse to believe FTA officials are this incompetent, so the only remaining explanation is that they are lying to us. Either new instructions have come down from above or the Silver line was never on track for approval in the first place. Either way we deserve to know, and responsible heads deserve to roll.

Tysons Corner has approximately the same amount of office space as downtowns Baltimore, Richmond and Norfolk combined. In rejecting Federal funding for the Silver line, the FTA is not only ensuring that one of this country’s largest and most important economic centers remains totally unserved by rapid transit, it is also torpedoing the most important planning initiative in the region – that of urbanizing Tysons from an incoherent mess of traffic jams and parking lots into a walkable, sustainable downtown.

Blocking Metro access to Tysons is a crime, and BeyondDC wants satisfaction. At the very least the Feds owe us back the $140 million already spent on the project.