ACCS Service Environment
The environment the Commuter Assistance Program operates within helps determines the programs and services offered to the public.
Arlington Profile
 Arlington County is an urban area of about 26 square miles located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. No incorporated towns or cities lie within Arlington's boundaries . Originally part of the ten-mile square surveyed in 1791 for the Nation's Capital, the portion on the west bank of the Potomac River was returned to the Commonwealth of Virginia by the U. S. Congress in 1846. This area was known as Alexandria City and Alexandria County until 1920, when the County portion was renamed Arlington County.
Although perhaps best known to visitors as the home of the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington has maintained high quality residential neighborhoods while s upporting continued managed growth. Residents are actively involved in the community; there are over 60 civic associations and over 100 community and service organizations in the County.
The County's central location in the Washington metropolitan area, its ease of access by car and public transportation, and its highly skilled labor force have attracted an increasingly varied residential and employment mix. The County has focused high-density commercial and residential development around Metro rail stations in the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor and the Jefferson Davis Corridor (which includes Pentagon City and Crystal City), while maintaining lower density development in the remainder of the County.
In 2000, the County population was 189,453, an increase of about 11 percent since 1990. Arlington's population is increasingly diverse; more than nine percent of County residents are African-American and more than eight percent are Asian. Almost one-fifth of County residents are Hispanic, which reflects an increase of over 50 percent since 1990. Arlington's population is among the most highly educated in the nation, with an on-going commitment to schooling. About 90 percent of Arlington's high s chool graduates go on to college. Over a dozen colleges and universities have established campuses and programs in Arlington.
The County has over 200,000 jobs . The majority of jobs are in the Services sector (44 percent) and the Government (29 percent). The County's unemployment rate in July 2001 was 1.5%, a slight increase from the July 2000 unemployment rate of 1.2%, but still among the lowest in the region. About three-fifths of all jobs in the County are located either in the Rosslyn-Ballston or Jefferson Davis corridor.
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Total office space more than doubled in size since 1980 to a total of over 46 million square feet of gross floor area. This is made up of over 34 million square feet of private office space and 12 million square feet of federally-owned space. The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor has over 18 million square feet of office space and the Jefferson Davis Corridor has over 12 million square feet of office space.
The total office and commercial space has greatly expanded the County's tax base. During 2000, Arlington's real property tax base was evenly divided between commercial and residential properties , enabling the County to maintain the lowest tax rate in the Washington region. There was over 1 million square feet of net office absorption in 2000, resulting in a year-end vacancy rate of 2.3%.
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American Cities Ranked by
Rentable Square Feet
of Office Space
(In Millions):
| New York |
466 |
| Washington DC |
256 |
| Dallas |
140 |
| Boston |
104 |
| Atlanta |
95 |
| Philadelphia |
85 |
| Denver |
69 |
| Seattle |
52 |
| Phoenix |
41 |
| Miami |
37 |
| San Jose |
36 |
| Arlington VA |
31 |
| Raleigh-Durham |
26 |
| Charlotte |
20 |
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Arlington Transit Service and HOV Infrastructure
Metrorail service is provided to 11 stations within Arlington’s borders. Approximately 171,900 persons per weekday enter these stations with an annual total of 49.2 million one-way trips using Metrorail to travel to, from and within the County.
Metrobus service within Arlington carries more than 52,000 riders per day on routes that serve Arlington (25,000 boardings within Arlington itself) with annual ridership in excess of 13 million passengers. Arlington’s portion of this service represents 2.7 million platform miles and 209,000 platform hours per year, or the peak period equivalent of approximately 88 full-time buses. Service is provided within Arlington on 18 major bus lines with approximately 99 individual route variations. There are 166 bus shelters in Arlington. Arlington owns and maintains 109, Metro owns and maintains 49 and the private sector owns and maintains 8.
Other transit service within Arlington includes: MetroAccess and Arlington Access (ADA paratransit); the Arlington Trolley in Crystal City (Metro and VRE circulator shuttle); Alexandria DASH bus service via Shirlington; Fairfax Connector service to Rosslyn, Pentagon, and Crystal City; public and private commuter bus services; and Virginia Railway Express (Crystal City Station).
The Washington Metropolitan area continues to be a national leader in the use of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. Both major HOV facilities in Northern Virginia—I66 and I-395—have access to Arlington’s employment corridors allowing carpoolers and vanpoolers to reach their destinations faster.
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