Two reports on light transit systems similar to those being considered for H Street NE in the District and along Columbia Pike in Northern Virginia say introduction of the rail lines triggered an increase in crime in the areas in which they wereinstalled.
One Maryland Mass Transit Administration study, conducted on a rail line from Baltimore to its suburbs from 1991-94, found a 237 percent increase in reported shoplifting at a shopping center along the route, reports of disappearances of personal property, and one incident of violent crime in which a woman was stabbed.
A second report, also released in 1995, was conducted by the San Diego Association of Governments on the light rail service in that city’s eastern suburbs. It found crime increased within the two or three blocks surrounding the stations and that trolley stations “attracted crimes that would have occurred elsewhere if the trolley line had not been built.”
The District, Fairfax and Arlington are all considering installing trolleys to attract pedestrians and spur economic development. District officials hope trolleys along H Street will bring new businesses and introduce people to the neighborhood, while Virginia officials are seeking to decrease auto traffic along Columbia Pike.
Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, chair of the University of California-Los Angeles’ Urban Planning Department, said that similar studies she’s conducted determined that light rail systems could create the opportunity for crime, although their presence does not necessarily lead to crime increases.
“You’re creating opportunities,” she said.
Loukaitou-Sideris recommended that planners avoid creating dark parking lots and corridors, and said all platforms and walkways must be well-lit.
Leonard Wolfenstein, a transportation planner with the Fairfax Country Transportation Department, said safety will be kept in mind as the trolleys are designed.
“You design your spaces to be safe and to be lit,” he said. “You design it to operate safely and you design vehicles and station facilities to be safe.”
Mike Sherman, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for the H Street area, said that he thinks the trolley system will help keep crime down by increasing general activity in the area.
Light rail on the way
» The Virginia trolley is expected to run five miles from Pentagon City in Arlington to Skyline in Fairfax.
» The District trolley is expected to start at Union Station and run east along H Street NE.
» Plans for both projects are still in the early stages.
