CHARLOTTESVILLE may have been rated the best place to live in America, and the University may be one of the best public universities, but let's face it: This place ain't perfect. While one can hardly quibble with the high quality of life, the relatively low cost of living and the peace and tranquility, much of this stems from the fact that the University was built in the middle of nowhere.
With all due respect to Mr. Jefferson, his vision of an agrarian utopia just doesn't cut it amidst the 21st Century hustle and bustle. People have places to go, things to do and folks to see. That is why it is so important that the proposed expansion of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter train into town becomes a reality.
Charlottesville has just enough of a population that it is not the boonies, yet not enough of a population to sustain any form of mass transit link with the outside world. Thus, residents of the community are left to rely on Amtrak, which on any given day runs but one train to major destinations such as Washington, DC. To boot, the schedule is incompatible with most business travel and the fares are exorbitant. The only other alternatives for those unwilling or unable to drive their own cars are to take a Greyhound, rent a car or fly on a jittery little propeller plane that costs an arm and a leg. As for scheduling a return trip on the Amtrak or an airline within the same day -- forget about it.
Since U.Va. students, faculty and staff comprise a large percentage of Charlottesville's population, the proposed VRE line is mostly for our benefit, and the University should get aboard the project as it has gotten aboard other infrastructure upgrades.
For purely selfish reasons, I could have used a commuter train these past few summers while working in Washington -- a primary job market for U.Va. students. Instead, I have had to maintain two residences at no small cost. My situation is by no means unique. For those University students not lucky enough to have family in the area, a summer job or internship in DC can become prohibitively expensive -- so much so that we are at a competitive disadvantage to students attending schools closer to the city. Even for the many students who are from Northern Virginia, a commuter train would greatly facilitate trips home, especially for first years who cannot have cars at the University.
Going beyond the student population, the University would also benefit from the increased interaction faculty would have with the outside world. A commuter train would not only facilitate resident faculty in their research and academic conferences, but it would also attract more top-notch adjunct faculty who are currently deterred by the long trip to the University.
So what's the holdup? For starters, there is the nontrivial matter of cost. If VRE thought it was worth its while to serve Charlottesville, it probably would already have done so. One suspects the University population, while in great need of commuter train service, is not in such dire need that it could gather the critical mass of riders needed to cover the costs.
According to former Charlottesville Vice Mayor Meredith Richards, who is spearheading the VRE proposal, studies have yet to be done to determine its financial feasibility. It may well be the case that the Charlottesville line would require substantial state and federal spending. Even Richards herself admitted in a telephone interview, "I would anticipate that there would be an ongoing subsidy for this service." She estimated that the project would require an initial investment of $2 million and annual recurring costs of $1.6 million, before accounting for ticket sales.
Regardless of whether the proposed VRE line will be self-sufficient, its benefits to U.Va. alone should justify opening the University checkbook. To put the numbers into perspective, the University is spending $4.1 million alone on the North Grounds Connector -- a half-mile big dig that will supposedly ease the traffic between the 250 Bypass and the new $130 million basketball court. If the University can spend that kind of money on the athletic program, surely it can help fund a transit project that will dramatically improve the quality of life for all students. As the proposed VRE line may well be used by game fans, it should also be treated as a natural complement to the new facilities.
Between a wireless computer network that works sporadically, a Harris Teeter and a new Target (pronounced "Tar-jé"), U.Va. has all the trappings of a modern community, save for a commuter rail. Moving forward, we must go back by building that basic infrastructure essential to any world-class university.
Eric Wang is a Cavalier Daily columnist. He can be reached at ewang@cavalierdaily.com.
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