Lawmaker proposes new Red Line station

BETHESDA, Md. -- Metro's busiest line could be getting another stop -- if one local lawmaker gets his way.

Montgomery County councilmember Roger Berliner (District-1) is proposing a new Red Line station between Grosvenor-Strathmore and White Flint.

"Our Red Line in that part of Montgomery County is a very suburban model," Berliner says. "We need for Montgomery County to have a much more urbanized Metro system."

Berliner points to the Rosslyn-Clarendon-Ballston corridor in Arlington as an example of the style of Metro network he'd like to see along Rockville Pike.

"A new stop would serve a very important purpose, particularly given the growth that is expected in that area as we redo White Flint from a strip mall on steroids to a new urbanism model."

The upcoming BRAC expansion at Bethesda Naval Medical Center also plays into his thinking. Millions are being set aside to pay for intersection upgrades around the Medical Center, but Berliner thinks that money would be better served elsewhere.

"The State Highway Administration is planning on spending $215 million to improve four intersections (for the BRAC expansion). I asked myself whether we should be thinking a little bigger and making an investment in mass transit as opposed to widening roads that won't have any long-term positive effect."

Berliner has talked with Metro leaders about the idea and admits they are a little skeptical of the plan. However, this is not the only talk of a so-called "infill" Metro station. Alexandria is considering a new station at Potomac Yard. That project, estimated at $150 million, does have Metro's support.

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