Dear Friends,

I’m happy to tell you that the Yellow Line is headed for Fort Totten.

The WMATA board has given the green light to extending the Yellow Line to Fort Totten during off-peak periods. As a voting member, I proposed this extension. It would double the number of weekend and evening trains available at the Shaw/Howard University, U Street, Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue/Petworth stations on the Green Line -- beginning in January 2007.

This service addition is very important and comes at a relatively low cost. We get a lot of bang for our Metro bucks.

Extending the Yellow Line will mean a new connection to the Red Line at Fort Totten, a new direct route to National Airport, new service to the retail center in Columbia Heights, and a new means of getting to Ward One entertainment.

This will help bring people from the suburbs into the city for shopping and entertainment. It coincides nicely with the official groundbreaking on the new Target retail development scheduled for May 5-6 in Columbia Heights.

The Yellow Line extension will not require any additional rail cars, because it will use equipment that is currently only in use during rush periods. Costs will include $1.25 million to upgrade a turn-around at Ft. Totten and revise the maps and signage throughout the Metro system, and $3 million in operating costs each year.

This proposal was first discussed in public at a Jan. 23 town hall meeting sponsored by myself, WMATA and the Mid-City Business Association.