I’m a big defender of the DC Metro system.  Sometimes I think it’s because I came from a city with a pathetic public transport system (hi, Atlanta!), and other times I think it’s because I can’t stand the sound of one more twit from New York talking about how great the system is back home. But mostly I defend it because it’s a system that does a pretty good job – given its resources – of serving as circulation system for DC and its surrounding communities. They’ve got a really difficult funding situation, though – they essentially have to go begging four masters on a regular basis (the Fed, DC, MD, and VA gov’ts) and suffer all the risks and political vagaries that go with that. So, when faced with the rare chance to put their hands on some serious capital project spending power? They flub it:
Unfortunately, when WMATA sat down to talk about what kind of projects they had that fit the criteria for economic stimulus, they only came up with $529 million worth of stuff. That’s better than being dishonest and trying to get their hands on billions of dollars worth of money to go waste.
But it also reflects a failure of vision, planning, and leadership. A well-run agency ought not become so cowed by the narrow horizons of conventional political wisdom that it’s left with this little to ask for when the situation changes.
Oh, I could think of something . . .