Steve Burns
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) As the region grapples over how best to give Metro the money it says it needs, the debate may have become much more urgent following the news that Amazon is giving serious consideration to putting its coveted second headquarters in the D.C. area.
Three sites were named as finalists by Amazon last week: Montgomery County, the District, and Northern Virginia. Metro figures to play a role in all three proposals, spanning multiple sites.
As Amazon contemplates its next move, so too are leaders in Richmond, Annapolis, and the District on where Metro’s new money will come from and which, if any, strings need to be attached. All three jurisdictions have floated their own plans, from dedicated taxes in Northern Virginia, to a new sales tax in the District, to funds from the transportation trust fund in Maryland.
“It really has to be this legislative session,” said Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “We’re seeing great momentum in all three jurisdictions.”
Schwartz said the Amazon news also serves to show the region what it’s up against.
“All but four or five of the 20 finalists have very strong transit networks, so I think having a very strong transit network is an imperative for Amazon, making it an imperative that we re-invest in Metro,” he said.
Metro has asked for an additional $500 million per year, and it wants that money to come from a reliable, bondable source so it can borrow even more money. Along with the funding proposals, other plans have come forward calling for oversight and governing changes, including replacing Metro’s current Board of Directors with a leaner “Reform Board” tasked with making difficult decisions that will guide Metro into the future.
Regardless, Amazon is clearly angling to put itself in the middle of a place that looks attractive to young, tech-savvy workers, Schwartz said.
“They know that the young tech industry workforce is very much interested in urban settings and transit, biking and walking,” Schwartz said. “That’s the market in terms of the employee base that they want. We need to provide that good urban setting, with very strong Metrorail and other transit access.”
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