Whether a gondola happens anytime soon, options still exist for better connecting Georgetown to the Rosslyn Metro station
Georgetown is known to have some “public transit gaps,” most notably the lack of a Metro station. To fix this, the Georgetown Business Improvement District’s 2028 transportation plan included the cross-Potomac gondola as a possible solution, creating a connection to Rosslyn’s Metro station. While a Georgetown BID and Rosslyn BID-funded study found the project feasible last year, the Arlington County Board voted in February not to fund the gondola over the Potomac River.
Yet, the Georgetown-Rosslyn connection is not without its transportation options today. The DC Circulator, Metrobus, and biking all provide access to each of the neighborhoods.
So how can these options already in place be made to sound as attractive as something as splashy and new-sounding as a gondola? A survey of how these options connect might reveal why the trip over the Key Bridge is generally regarded as difficult and offer lessons in better wayfinding and information.
Key Bridge, left, connecting Rosslyn and Georgetown. The Metro station is the red dot. Source: Open Street Map.
Buses
The D.C. Circulator and the 38B Metrobus already cross Key Bridge on their east-west routes. The Circulator picks up a block from the Rosslyn Metro station, while the 38B goes directly to the bus bays outside of the station entrance.
For Georgetown staff and students, the Georgetown University Transport Shuttle connects Georgetown University to Moore St. in Rosslyn. One of the rationales for the gondola was improving traffic between the university and the Metro system.
On Georgetown’s M Street, there are Circulator and Metrobus stops within blocks of the bridge and can take riders quickly to Rosslyn.
Coming from the Metro station, there are indications that inter-agency mode switches are more difficult to identify. There is a sign with an arrow to the GUTS, but there is no GUTS sign at the stop, which is on the same corner as the Circulator’s stop. Also, near the Metro station there is no mention of the Circulator. So how is one supposed to find the GUTS or Circulator coming out of the Metro?
There is a screen mounted on the Metro main exits, displaying live information on the buses entering the bays. This only applies to the Metrobuses and Arlington Rapid Transit buses, though.
Bus ridership
The Key Bridge buses are generally not running at full capacity. Looking at Table 1’s metrics, from last year’s gondola feasibility study, there is still plenty of bus space for riders looking to make the connection to the Rosslyn Metro.
Making the transportation options already in place better and ensuring commuters and visitors already know about them would be a would be a more-quickly implemented starting point than a gondola.
Table 1: Existing Travel Trends between Rosslyn and Georgetown. Source: Georgetown Gondola Feasibility Study
Biking and walking
Coming from the District, there is no signage on Georgetown’s sidewalks that the Rosslyn Metro station is just across the river. Even in Francis Scott Key Memorial Park, in front of the bridge, there are no maps or resources of any kind. Biking or walking across, a map posted in front of the Marriott Rosslyn, only visible after one has already crossed to Arlington.
In Rosslyn, the Key Bridge sidewalk connects to two trails, the east-west Custis and the north-south Mt. Vernon Trail. A map of the “Arlington Loop” is posted next to the bike counter. In Georgetown, bicyclists heading east-west are spit out onto M Street, which is fast, frequently congested, and lacks any bike facilities.
There are even Capital Bikeshare stations on both sides of the bridge within blocks, though no indication of how to reach them. Bikeshare signage at the Metro station is similarly nonexistent. There is a map of Rosslyn, but the map has no indication of the bikeshare station on it.
Improvements
A Rosslyn street improvement plan is currently being implemented, which will improve bicycle and pedestrian access to the Key Bridge from Rosslyn. The Lynn Street Esplanade project will make the North Lynn & Lee Highway intersection safer, expand space on the nearby Custis Trail, and make the blocks connecting to Key Bridge more welcoming to pedestrians.
Small improvements could also be made: improved signage, or providing easily accessible resources at the end or along the bridge (a map stand on the D.C. side, for example).
Information about the D.C. Circulator and GUTS could be included on the screens outside the Metro Station, as well as the status of the bikeshare docks. The screens could also be placed in a more visible area, near the Metro fare gates. There is also more to do in educating visitors about how Capital Bikeshare works: where the key dispensaries are, how to pay, what the overage charges are, etc.
The more initiatives done to educate the public about the availability of bus transit, bikeshare, and walking connections, the more likely visitors and commuters alike will be to try them in crossing the Key Bridge.
Photo: The entrance to Key Bridge as seen from Lynn Street in Rosslyn, Arlington. The GUTS bus is visible traveling southbound (at left). (Sam Kittner/www.kittner.com for Mobility Lab).