To further the objectives of subchapter I of this chapter, the Congress hereby finds and declares that:

(1) A coordinated system of rail rapid transit, bus transportation service, and highways is essential in the National Capital region for the satisfactory movement of people and goods, the alleviation of present and future traffic congestion, the economic welfare and vitality of all parts of the region, the effective performance of the functions of the United States government located within the region, the orderly growth and development of the region, the comfort and convenience of the residents and visitors to the region, and the preservation of the beauty and dignity of the Nation’s Capital;

(2) Such a coordinated system should be developed cooperatively by the federal, state, and local governments of the National Capital region as part of a balanced system of transportation utilizing to their best advantage highways and other transit facilities, and the cost of improved mass transit facilities should be financed, as far as possible, by persons using or benefiting from such facilities and their remaining costs should be shared equitably among the federal, state, and local governments;

(3) Various steps have already been taken to bring such a system into being, including the preparation by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (hereinafter referred to as the “Authority”) of a transit development program for the National Capital region, and authorization of the negotiation by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the State of Maryland and the Commonwealth of Virginia of an interstate compact to establish a regional transportation organization under the terms of §§ 1-1408 and 1-1409, and approval by the Congress of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact (§§ 9-1103.01 and 9-1103.02.) Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed as altering or amending the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact;

(4) While the negotiation of an interstate compact to establish a regional transportation organization has not been completed, and plans for the development of improved mass transit facilities throughout the National Capital region are still being developed, the Authority has prepared a satisfactory transit development program for the establishment, principally within the District of Columbia, of a system of rail rapid transit lines and related facilities which are capable of being extended to serve other parts of the region, and the design and construction of such facilities should now proceed as contemplated by subchapter I of this chapter;

(5) In developing such improved transportation facilities, it is necessary that the operation of rail rapid transit and bus services be coordinated, and that the creation and operation of public rail rapid transit facilities be accomplished with the least possible adverse effect on the private companies transporting persons in the National Capital region, on their employees, and on persons, families and businesses displaced by the construction of such facilities.

(Sept. 8, 1965, 79 Stat. 663, Pub. L. 89-173, § 2.)

1981 Ed., § 1-2421.

1973 Ed., § 1-1421.

Blind and physically disabled persons, equal access to public conveyances and accommodations, see § 7-1002.

Sections 1-1408 and 1-1409, referred to in the first sentence of paragraph (3) of this section, were repealed by the Act of December 9, 1969, 83 Stat. 322, Pub. L. 91-143, § 8(a)(1).

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.