I don't own a car and am therefore transit dependent. I bike, bus and Metro everywhere I go. My transit experience would improve if more people followed my example by getting out of their cars and onto transit.

I drive, walk, take the bus, and take metrorail, depending on the day, week, and where I need to go. I would like to scoot but have not done so often. My bus route is typically the Art 72, but I’ve also used almost every bus route in Arlington. I believe each mode is accessible, but have experienced a skipped bus route once in the past year, which was frustrating, though did not deter me from using the route again. I have found Metrorail to be more reliable these last three years, which is good, since I am now an alternate Metro Board Member.

The missed route is the key thing we need to avoid as it did have an impact on my perspective regarding our bus. The protected bike lanes have made a difference for me in how I look at that mode. I believe both bike routes and sidewalks need continued investments. I also think greater simplicity in use of metro credits for ART would help. On other routes and through the County greater frequency of buses would also help.

I proudly have not owned a car in the six years I have lived in Arlington. I get around Arlington in every possible transit mode every week. I walk to Courthouse metro and take Metro or ART buses to work depending on when I arrive at Courthouse Metro. I scooter to the library, doctor’s office, gym, and grocery store. I also bike when I feel like getting a bit more exercise. I think we are making progress on our goal of fitting public transit into a community that was largely built around the car and suburban sprawl. I think the best strategy to improve transit in Arlington is to better connect the major transit and development corridors (Columbia Pike, Langston Boulevard, Rosslyn-Ballston) with buses. I advocated for dedicated bus lanes during the Langston Boulevard Redevelopment plan, but it was ultimately removed. I think in lieu of a dedicated bus lane, increased frequency would help.

There really isn’t much that would make me more likely to take sustainable modes of transit- I believe I have already maxed out. I was a top 2% rider of Metro in 2025 and hope I can hit the top 1% in 2026.

I support the plan’s principles and see it as a significant step forward. As we consider it for adoption, I will want to dig more into the details, but the draft integrates concepts that until now have not been integrated and I support it.

I believe the County Board should set policy and stick with seeing through the policies we set. Staff is generally professional and committed to the policies we set, but I do think sustained engagement is necessary. An example is Carlin Springs Road South, which I promised to make measurable progress on when I ran in 2022. It took more direction and engagement than I believe it should have to make progress on it. We have obtained easements and made significant progress. There is more to do, as evidenced by the study currently under weigh. A similar question should be asked, for example about the Langston/Spout Run intersection. I acknowledge these are specific projects and do not think we should micromanage, but I do think sustained engagement on safety can be justified in these cases.

Overall, safety has improved, I believe, as evidenced by Vision Zero presentation this past month at the County Board meeting. Frequency and reliability can continue to improve—we will need to invest wisely in the networks from bus, bike, walking, and metrorail to help make that occur. Permanent capital funding for Metro is key, and I have worked on DMV Moves to help that happen.

I support the prioritization of walkability and multimodal transportation options. I think increased walkability will help create more third spaces in Arlington where people can hang out and enjoy themselves. I think it will also reduce accidents, traffic congestion, pollution, and parking needs in the community.

I don’t want to micromanage anyone. I think Arlington County generally employs talented staff; I would not want to micromanage them. I see myself as more of someone who could weed out bad ideas or push for more data or better analysis when needed. I think I have the SME background to do so. I worked in Capital Planning with WMATA for 5 years and in my day job organize a large corporate client’s employee shuttle program. My focus when it comes to transportation projects, as someone who takes transit everywhere, is to make sure that all transit projects and spending actually improve transportation services. For example, I would not have funded the Ballston Metro entrance expansion because it does not increase the capacity of Metro service, the frequency of Metro railcars, or the quality of the ride. We could have used that money to increase the efficiency of ART bus service, built more bike lanes, upgrade our real-time bus tracking system, or any number of other investments.

This is a loaded question based on the false premise that trees and trails are mutually exclusive. Widening the W&OD Trail between East Falls Church and Carlin Springs Road is unnecessary due to the fact that another parallel trail runs along that entire stretch of Four Mile Run. All the County has to do is add signage to divert walkers and joggers to Four Mile Run Trail to alleviate congestion on the W&OD Trail, something it has so far refused to do.

In its all or nothing push for trail widening, the bike lobby has not only turned a blind eye to alternatives, it has also overlooked the fact that paving a trail immediately adjacent to a stream may actually have more detrimental impacts than paving a road some distance away. Evidence of that phenomenon occurred during the July 8, 2019 DC area flood event. Runoff from I-66 flooded an entire Arlington neighborhood north of the interstate. Yet an equal if not greater amount of damage occurred along the existing W&OD bike trail, when Four Mile Run breached its banks—taking with it tons of infrastructure from two County parks—including part of the trail--and pouring thousands of gallons of polluted water into the Potomac River.

The bike lobby's narrative on the Washington Boulevard Trail is incomplete. That trail was originally planned to run on the shoulder of Route 27 the whole way. The County later changed the plan without notice to fit a 10-foot wide trail through a wooded area adjacent to Route 27, which invited community opposition, because it required clearcutting a lot of trees. The current trail is a compromise that spared the trees. I can't understand opposition to this compromise on environmental grounds, since the alternative would have produced a trail denuded of trees.

Regarding loop trails, the existing Arlington Loop Trail spans 16 miles consisting of the Custis, Mount Vernon, Four Mile Run and W&OD Trails. I support completing the Washington Blvd. Trail to create an inner loop in a highly congested area around Arlington Cemetery and will promote that project if elected. Completing an outer loop north of Langston Blvd. will be more of a challenge due to the hilly topography.

Yes, I support investing in Arlington’s paved trail network. The W&OD trail getting killed was very unfortunate and I am committed to working to address the safety challenges and bringing that back. I believe new leadership at NOVA Parks makes that more possible and I have worked on it. Much more to do and the delay and work ahead are real, but I am committed to working on that.

Overall, I believe in trail investments even if they case of tree loss. Typically, the tree loss can be evaluated to be limited. Further, the benefits of trails is a critical priority and thoughtful understanding of both the short term, and the long term should lead us to invest in our trails.

I support maintaining and upgrading the existing trail network. I support maintaining our existing parks as well because they are a joy that everyone can, and does, use. 99% of all Arlington residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park per the Trust for Public Lands Survey (https://www.tpl.org/city/arlington-virginia). I would like to say yes to expanding trails, but I don’t know if that is feasible in the next several years due to both budget constraints and Arlington County’s own tree canopy goals. There are several forces reducing our existing tree canopy coverage already:

1) Small, single-family homes getting demolished and replaced with much larger single family homes (occasionally called McMansions)

2) Missing middle zoning that allows for the construction of duplexes or fourplexes which can build to the property line

3) Expansion of sidewalks in many communities that are requesting them

We have inherited a car-centric Arlington and reclaiming green space for trails competes with almost all of Arlington’s other goals. When it comes to creating the Inner and Outer Loops, I would need to see if the County’s current trend of tree canopy coverage allows us to complete all our priorities or only some.

Lastly, my responsibility as County Board Member would always be to the people of Arlington, but I want to provide some additional consideration as we think about green spaces generally. If we do not build housing in Arlington, where we can build dense multi-use communities, the required urban sprawl in Prince William County and Fairfax County will pave over more trees than we could ever save in Arlington. Single family homes are the least efficient of all possible building types on a per-resident-basis, whereas dense, tall buildings are the most efficient. If we want to save as much green space as possible in our region, we need to invest in dense housing where it makes sense as much as we can.