‘Now Panic and Freak Out!’
courtesy of ’emilydickinsonridesabmx’

Arlington County Commissioner and WMATA Board Member Chris Zimmerman has an editorial in today’s Post that begins: “You may now panic.“

Generally, that’s not a good sign.

Zimmerman’s point is clear: Metro’s current funding plans run out soon, and there are no firm commitment from any of the member jurisdictions to match the $11.4B that Metro needs to function for the next decade. Zimmerman is looking for a commitment from each of the region’s jurisdictions to fill the gap, and is also turning to the Federal Government, suggesting that their voting rights on the Board are also a responsibility to add funding for the system, and that a regional tax be enacted to provide more secure funding for Metro.

Zimmerman’s not wrong, but it’s hard to see how Northern Virginia could enact a tax to pay for Metro when they can’t do this for anything else in their budget, so it’s a hard sell for me to hear his remarks when they’re ignorant of how we get the broadest of strokes in place.

We’ll be asking Metro’s Interim GM Richard Sarles questions tonight about Zimmerman’s editorial, as well as about maintenance schedules, getting back to normal, and other topics. Got something you think we should ask? Tell us in the comments.

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.