Arlington Goes Its Own Way in Lawsuit over HOV Lanes (Env'l Justice Argument)

[MountainLaurel]

After 3 p.m. on any given day, the traffic along Glebe Road between interstates 395 and 95 in Arlington County is voluminous. Cars slow, stop and snake around crowded intersections. Overheated vehicles cause tempers to boil over. Amid the exhaust fumes and gridlock, one thing is clear: No one is happy driving here.

Arlington leaders say plans for three high-occupancy toll lanes on the nearby highways will make traffic worse on Glebe and other roads. But it's not just a transportation problem, they say in a federal lawsuit; it's also a civil rights issue.

The suit, filed in August, asks a judge to order a more stringent environmental study of the toll-lane project. Among the chief concerns it cites is the potential effect of air pollution on the health of low-income and minority residents clustered near the highways in areas such as Shirlington. More vehicles on offramps would mean more vehicles in residential neighborhoods, officials argue.

In the often political world of transportation projects, the suit's use of the Civil Rights Act has sparked a torrent of criticism from lawmakers and government officials who say issues of race and class have no place in highway planning.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204406.html

After decades of the poor getting screwed in transportation decisions made in the D.C. area, this argument is rather refreshing.