The proposed Georgetown Metro stop would be located at M Street and Wisconsin. Future generations of Georgetown students may no longer have to cross the Key Bridge or travel to George Washington University in order to ride the Metro. A proposed new Blue line, which would be operating by 2020, would have a stop at M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced earlier this month. The proposed 22-mile line would run from Arlington County under the Potomac River to the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium. With 11 stops, the $6.3 billion project would reduce subway traffic through the heart of the District, where congestion is most prevalent. Although only 19 percent of the Metro’s line is located downtown, at least 60 percent of all daily commutes occur in this sector. According to D.C. Council Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who represents Georgetown, the community should have actively sought a Metro stop when the WMATA proposed one in the `60s. Community opposition at the time, however, prevented its construction. “When Metro was planning where stops would be in the ’60s, they weren’t predisposed to go somewhere where they would have [community] opposition,” Evans said, “[and] the feeling that they had from the community was that they would not have had support.” Sources of opposition at the time may have included a perceived potential increase in crime and an influx in the number of tourists and outside residents. If Metro senses resistance to the time-consuming and costly undertaking this time, they will most likely abandon the project once again, Evans added. “It’s important for everyone – residents, students and the business community – to express their broad support for a subway stop in Georgetown,” he said. Karen Good, of the Business and Professional Association of Georgetown, said the new line would aid in alleviating vehicular congestion and parking problems, which have been a long-standing concern for the business community. “The general consensus of the community is that it would be a positive thing for Georgetown,” she said. It would be a boom to the Georgetown commercial district as well because transportation to the area for people in outlying districts is presently inconvenient. “The community is looking forward to working with Metro and coordinating their efforts,” Good said. Lance Friedsam, a resident of P Street, said that residents’ past concernsof increased crime are no longer an issue to him. “[Increased crime] was the argument 30 years ago that prevented it from happening, he said. “I don’t think the argument is valid now because people will find a way to Georgetown.” Council Evans said the stop would benefit area residents who presently utilize other forms of public transportation to commute to work. President of the Citizens Association of Georgetown Ray Kukulski agreed, adding that the Citizen Association’s board passed a resolution last week welcoming the proposed Metro stop. “We are definitely not opposed to it; we are for it,” Kukulski said. ANC 2E05 Commissioner Justin Wagner (COL ’03) called the new line a “win-win-win” situation. “The students, the business community and the residential community would all benefit,” he said. ost students responded positively to the idea of a new subway line as well. “It would be much more efficient than taking the GUTS bus or the shuttle,” Phil Marxen (COL ’04) said. Alvaro De La Rocha (MSB ’02) agreed. He added that he thought Georgetown’s atmosphere and crime rate would most likely not change. “I think that crime is here anyway and a Metro stop would not increase it,” he said. “People who are going to commit crimes have means of getting here already.” Suzy Donnelly (COL ’02) stressed the potential benefits of the new Blue line. “Georgetown students would definitely benefit because they don’t have cars and they have internships,” she said. “The benefits definitely outweigh the costs.” Since the Metro is experiencing a $5.2 billion deficit over the next two decades, officials say the source of funding for the project remains uncertain. The system hopes to receive support from Congress in 2003 when they approve a transportation-spending plan. Metro’s deficit could potentially soar to $11.5 billion with construction of the new Blue line.