Transit - Greater Greater Washington

And...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:54:00 EDT

H Street might get a Whole Foods, but where exactly still isn't clear. (City Paper) ... Behind the Randall School, metal and glass. (WBJ) ... Some Congressmen want to cut Amtrak, again. (WAMU) ... A dump truck hit a pedestrian at 4th and Mass, NW. (DCist)

Comment

Metro intercoms sort-of-broken?

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:54:00 EDT

by David Alpert

When some kids started to fight on a Red Line train people called the train operator who notified police, but the riders couldn't tell if they had reached the operator at all. (DCist)

Comment

Baltimore wants to "poach" residents

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:54:00 EDT

by David Alpert

With a new market, lower property taxes, new schools, and weekend MARC service, Baltimore hopes to attract more residents, including ones priced out of the Washington region. (WBJ)

Comment

Community supports bike lanes around H Street

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:57:00 EDT

by Tony Goodman

DC transportation officials would like to help cyclists avoid the streetcar tracks, heavy car traffic, and pedestrians along H Street NE. Yesterday, the transportation committees of both Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) along H Street supported a plan to let cyclists ride in both directions on G and I Streets, while keeping car traffic one-way.

2-way Montreal bike traffic on a 1-way street for cars. Photo by Joe McCann.

G & I Streets NE are both one-way for cars and bicycles for their whole length from 2nd Street NE to their eastern ends, at Maryland and Florida Avenues in between 13th and 14th Streets. Each are 30 feet wide along most of their length, with a few 35-foot-wide blocks at the west ends. Even for the narrower sections, the current travel lane is 16 feet wide versus a typical 9-foot travel lane.

Bicycle planners from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) created 4 options. All add painted sharrows in the primary direction of travel (west on I, and east on G). They differed on what to do about traffic in the opposite directon.

Make no further changes and keep bicycle travel only one-way
Maintain parallel parking on both sides of the street and add a contraflow bike lane on either side of the parked cars, depending on the road width
Convert parking to diagonal, back-in along only one side of the street with none on the other side; add a contraflow bike lane on either side of the parked cars depending on the road width
Allow 2-way traffic for both cars and bicycles.

The preferred option, 2. Drawing from DDOT.

The committees favored option 2, as did an informal audience poll. There are smaller sections similar to this option already in place on New Hampshire Avenue and R Street NE near the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Any of these options could be mixed within the corridor, such that the wider blocks use different layouts or G & I receive different treatments. DDOT bike planner Mike Goodno presented one such hybrid option, "3A," which combined portions of options 2 & 3. This would eliminate only 7 parking spots, and was the second choice of the committees and in an audience poll.

Option 3A drawing by DDOT.

Each of the affected ANCs will take up this issue at their next full commission meetings, and DDOT will continue to refine these options and solicit community feedback. Ideally, DDOT will be able to install this new bicycle infrastructure sometime later this Summer or early Fall.

Disclosure: I am a commissioner for ANC 6C, but not a member of its transportation committee. I did not participate in the audience or committee votes.

19 comments

And...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:53:00 EDT

by David Alpert

DC students couldn't use their transit passes Monday. (Post) ... Bethesda condos may include an art incubator. (BethesdaNow) ... An old Kozmo.com logo reappears in demolition. (DCist) ... There's a streetcar crossing sign in DC. (BeyondDC)

Comment

Walking tour explores Fort Totten's present and future

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:52:00 EDT

by Zach Smith

Development at Fort Totten has been slow despite access to 3 Metro lines, its close proximity to both downtown DC and Silver Spring, its access to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, its green space and its affordability. But as demand increases for housing in the District, this previously-overlooked neighborhood could become a hot spot.

Photo by tracktwentynine on Flickr.

Last Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth concluded their spring walking tour series with "Fort Totten: More than a Transfer Point," a look at future residential, retail and commercial development near the Fort Totten Metro station. Residents and visitors joined representatives from WMATA, DDOT and the Office of Planning on a tour of the area bounded by South Dakota Avenue, Riggs Road, and First Place NE.

Today, vacant properties and industrial sites surround the station and form a barrier between it and the surrounding area. Redeveloping them could improve connections to the Metro and make Fort Totten a more vibrant community.

There is a significant amount of new residential, retail and commercial development planned within walking distance of the Metro station. But Saturday's tour began with the only completed project, The Aventine at Fort Totten. Built by Clark Realty Group in 2007, the 3-building, garden-style apartment complex consists of over 300 rental units as well as ground-floor retail space.

The Aventine at Fort Totten, the newest apartment complex in Fort Totten. All photos by the author unless otherwise noted.

Visitors were ambivalent about the success of the Aventine due to its small amount of retail space and lack of connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods. While residents noted that it created more options to live close to Metro, representatives of the Lamond Riggs and North Michigan Park civic associations agreed the development differed from the original vision for the project.

They called it an example of the need to continually engage real estate developers and local government agencies to ensure that new development is of a high quality and responsive to the local context. Throughout the tour, residents said that future development proposals should adhere to DC's urban design guidelines, improve pedestrian access and have a plan to mitigate parking concerns.

Between South Dakota Avenue and the Metro station, the Cafritz Foundation will redevelop the old Riggs Plaza apartments to build ArtPlace at Fort Totten. When finished, the 16-acre project will contain 305,000 square feet of retail, 929 apartments, and 217,000 square feet of cultural and art spaces, including a children's museum. Deborah Crain, neighborhood planning coordinator for Ward 5, noted that ArtPlace will include rental units set aside for seniors and displaced Riggs Plaza residents.

An ad for ArtPlace at Fort Totten at its future home.

As one of the largest landowners near the Fort Totten Station, WMATA has a huge stake in future development around the station. They own approximately 3 acres of land immediately west of the station along First Place NE that is currently used as surface parking lot for commuters. Stan Wall, Director of Real Estate at WMATA, discussed the great potential for development on the current parking lot mentioned that the agency will solicit proposals for development of the area in the near future.

Parking lot at Fort Totten station.

Anna Chamberlain, a DDOT transportation planner, talked about how streetscape improvements could calm traffic, making streets around the Metro station more pedestrian- and bike-friendly. DDOT is also working to improve connections to the Metro, as some areas lack clearly defined walking paths. The agency will begin designing a path connecting the Metro to the Metropolitan Branch Trail within the next few months.

New sidewalks and street trees on Riggs Road.

The final stop on the tour was Fort Totten Square, a joint effort by the JBG Companies and Lowe Enterprises to build 350 apartments above a Walmart and structured parking at South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road. DDOT has completely rebuilt the adjacent intersection to make it safer for pedestrians and more suitable for an urban environment, replacing freeway-style ramps with sidewalks, benches, crosswalks and improved lighting.

Jaimie Weinbaum, development manager at JBG, says they're committed to working with the city and residents to make Fort Totten Square an asset to the community. They've promised to place Capital Bikeshare stations there and would like to have dedicated space for Car2go as well.

With help from the private sector and public agencies like DDOT and WMATA, Fort Totten could become a model for transit-oriented development, but much of the new construction won't happen for a long time. Until then, residents eagerly await the changes and continue to work with other stakeholders toward creating a vision that will benefit everyone.

12 comments

Vienna Metro town center won't have a town center

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:08:00 EDT

by Dan Malouff

Outside of Tysons Corner, Vienna MetroWest is Fairfax County's greatest experiment yet in transit-oriented development. But now it appears developers have scaled back, and may build car-oriented retail instead.

Original plan. Image from Clark Realty.

MetroWest was initially approved in 2006 after years of debate as a dense, walkable town center adjacent to Vienna Metro station. It was Fairfax County's first big smart growth win.

With construction of the residential sections underway, the town center seemed close to finally, finally happening. But now that it's time to actually start leasing spaces, the town center development plan looks a lot different.

Instead of dense, walkable midrises, the are single-story retail buildings surrounded by surface parking lots. Instead of an urban town center, it's a glorified strip mall.

Current plan. Image from Paraclete Realty.

What happened? One can speculate. A recession hit, competing developments at nearby Dunn Loring Metro opened first, and the market changed.

Developers do often build single-story retail as a "temporary" placeholder until they're ready for more intense uses. That was the idea behind the Kentlands town center in Gaithersburg, which is now redeveloping parcel by parcel. But "temporary" in this case can mean 20 years.

For people who bought homes at MetroWest based on the promise of a strong town center nearby, the potential of something better years in the future is little consolation.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

53 comments

Nerds on the train

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:13:00 EDT

by David Alpert

GGW editors Matt Johnson and Aimee Custis made the Amtrak blog for their annual "nerd train" ride, where a group of transit nerds takes a long-distance train together. Now they're on the Sunset Limited from LA to New Orleans.

Comment

Future of Georgetown

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:13:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

The Georgetown BID has a lot of ideas for transforming the neighborhood over the next 15 years, including a gondola to Rosslyn and even a Metro station in hopes of attracting more people to the neighborhood. (UrbanTurf)

Comment

Metro morsels

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:13:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

5 Metro trains ran red signals since April, all of which were due to human error. (Examiner) ... Crime at Montgomery County's Metro stations is down overall, but robberies are up. (Examiner) ... Metro outfits 1000-series cars with Kevlar to help prevent fires like the one that happened in Silver Spring in May. (Post)

Comment

More Metro data

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:13:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Metro released another set of origin and destination rail ridership data, this time including entry hour, media type, fare class and fare instrument type. What can you do with the data? (PlanItMetro)

Comment

Many holidays look like weekends on Metro (Oct 29, 2012)
Watch the patterns of Metro ridership (Nov 27, 2012)
Which Metro stations are busiest? (Nov 26, 2012)
What were the busiest Metro stations in 1995? (Dec 5, 2012)
Visualize Metro ridership (Jun 5, 2013)

Metro bag searches aren't always optional

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:31:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

If you refuse a bag search at a WMATA subway station, Metro Transit Police may follow you if you leave and even if you board a bus. That's what happened to me Tuesday morning in Shaw.

Photo by nevermindtheend on Flickr.

I entered the Shaw Metro station with a bag containing my lunch and my laptop. An officer waved me aside on the north mezzanine and told me to put my bag on the table for inspection. Stunned that I was being stopped without cause, I asked the officer if he had a warrant. He said that if I refused, I was "welcome to use another mode of transportation."

I refused the search, which is mostly about theatrics than actual security. I didn't want to enable what critics have labeled "security theater", the symbolic show of force to give the appearance of protection. In fact, WMATA admits that since they don't search every bag, it's really more about perception, providing "an additional visible layer of protection." Putting on a show is not a good reason to rummage through people's personal items and I didn't want to enable that behavior and belief.

By agreeing to an "optional" WMATA search, I was afraid I would also be inadvertently consenting to a search of my laptop, which would be an abusive and unreasonable intrusion for a transit agency. I wasn't sure if the officers were properly trained to know the nuances of what was and wasn't an appropriate search. How would you even argue with an officer who believes random bag checks at one station actually deter terrorism, anyway? It's like arguing the plot in a fiction novel: the very premise is that facts only partly matter.

Remembering reports that Metro Transit Police only set up searches at one entrance, I pointed to the south mezzanine and said, "I can use that entrance," and the officer said nothing. I left the north entrance to walk to the south entrance a block away.

As I descended the escalators to the south mezzanine, I spotted more officers in the distance. Realizing that the answer would probably be the same at this entrance. I calmly turned around and left, deciding to catch the bus instead.

Little did I know that Metro Transit Police would follow me there. I boarded the 70 bus, which runs above the Green and Yellow lines on 7th Street NW and SW. Two officers got on behind me. Their vests were marked with the word "Terrorism" (perhaps, "Anti-Terrorism" or "Counter-Terrorism", I don't remember which), so clearly they were not there to investigate a fist fight, theft, or fare evasion.

One officer took a seat and another stood, mostly watching his phone. Neither of them said anything to me.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, I thought. Why would police follow me for refusing a supposedly "optional" search, even after I was told I was "welcome to use another mode of transportation"? I was on another mode, after all.

When the bus reached H Street, where I intended to transfer to the Red Line, I paused a moment in my seat, to see what the officers were doing. They remained on the bus. I then got up and stood in line to leave the front of the bus. As I neared the front door, I looked back and noticed that one of the officers had left the back door of the bus and was standing outside.

To test if he was following me, I then sat down in a seat at the front of the bus, and the officer re-boarded the bus through the back door. The driver closed the doors and I asked her if she could reopen it so I could leave. She pushed the door mechanism, which reopened the front and the back door and I left the bus.

As I left the bus at the front door, the officer standing at the back door, partly hanging out the bus, waved and smiled at me through the glass of the rear open door. This act was about sending me a message: if you refuse a search, you will be followed, which is itself a form of intimidation.

WMATA's stated policy allows customers to refuse the allegedly optional search. "Customers who encounter a baggage checkpoint at a station entrance may choose not to enter the station if they would prefer not to submit their carry-ons for inspection," it says.

While you may be "welcome to use another mode of transportation," bag searches aren't really optional if Metro Transit Police follow you and deliberately make it known that they're following you.

167 comments

Commuter buses escape fee

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:26:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

A $5 surcharge for commuter buses entering the District likely won't make it into the final DC budget after 10 Congressmen from Maryland and Virginia objected. (Post)

Comment

Silver delayed to 2014

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:26:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Officials are now saying that the Silver Line won't open until January, a delay from the expected December opening. Construction is 94% done, with some cosmetic work to be done before WMATA can start its review. (WTOP)

Comment

Silver surcharge?

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:26:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Since most riders aren't going to Loudoun County, Supervisor Matt Letourneau wants to institute a surcharge at the future Dulles Airport Silver Line station to pay for maintenance. But then shouldn't there be a surcharge at DCA as well? (Examiner)

Comment

What is WMATA's long-range financial plan?

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:21:00 EDT

by David Alpert

The Washington Post, several bloggers, and many Metro riders have been hammering WMATA recently for being so opaque about its timetable for Metro Forward repairs. Besides leveling with riders about how long repairs are going to take, WMATA could build confidence by also being more forthcoming about how much money it will need in the long run.

Photo by Paul L on Flickr.

The constant refrain from CEO Richard Sarles about maintenance is, "it'll be done when it's done." As Dan Malouff wrote yesterday, that isn't good enough. "The more confident we are that this painful time will end someday, the better we can support Metro in the meantime," he said.

The same questions apply to WMATA's budget. Year after year, we find out that there's a shortfall, or maybe not; a fare hike has to go into effect, or maybe not. The budget precipitates a crisis where local jurisdictions have to come up with money or service cuts have to take effect.

Last April, I suggested a long-range financial and capital plan for Metro with specific information:

Until 20XX, Metro will be in "catch-up mode." After that, they'll be in "keep it working" mode.
During catch-up mode, Metro needs $x million in capital funds per year, increasing at a rate of x% per year. After that, they'll need $y million in keep it working mode (less than in catch-up mode).
If we can still afford the catch-up mode funding once Metro reaches a state of good repair, then we can start using the surplus to pay for some projects to deal with the high passenger loads that there will be by this time, like adding physical walkways between Metro Center and Gallery Place, new entrances at busy stations like Foggy Bottom, or new lines or tracks in the core.
If Metro doesn't get enough money in catch-up mode, then that mode will have to last longer. If it doesn't get enough in keep it working mode, then it may have to go back into catch-up mode.
In keep it working mode, to maintain the existing service, given wages, pensions, fuel, health care, and so on, Metro will have to increase its budget by z% each year. A certain percentage of that can come from riders, while jurisdictions should plan on increasing their Metro contributions by the remaining amount necessary to reach the z% per year.
In good years, Metro will use the extra money to top up its rainy day fund; in bad years, it'll spend money from that fund.

From talking to some WMATA employees, my understanding is that many but not all top leaders want to be able to project like this. Some of the information about asset lifecycles they have, while some they hope to collect. It's less clear how much consensus there is over how deeply to share the information with the public.

Along with revealing how much money the agency needs, there needs to be transparency about what we get for it. If the region keeps up funding maintenance, then we need to be able to know that, indeed, the system is maintaining a state of good repair. It's a two-way street: a good system will cost this much, but then residents can know they got a good system out of the deal.

More long-term budget information will also help leaders and riders know whether the pension obligations and other retirement benefits are unsustainable over the long run. If they are, we need to start finding ways now to keep paying good workers a living wage and ensuring they have health care, but with a package that WMATA and the region can keep affording for decades to come.

Without long-term budgeting, it's always too easy to shortchange the present. It's easy to skip out on keeping up state of good repair during an economic downturn, and then not make up the funds during a boom. Before 2008, WMATA's pension funds rose in value, so the agency didn't salt as much money away; that ultimately let jurisdictions spend less. Then, the funds dropped, and it had to come up with more money during the toughest times.

It's always easier to get through the immediate problems and push the long-term questions out of mind until they're imminent crises. Certainly that's what we do with road projects, too—as Strong Towns' Chuck Marohn keeps chronicling, few jurisdictions really plan for the lifecycle replacement costs of the new road infrastructure from a new subdivision. Someone else will deal with it later.

Metro took a big step forward by releasing its long-term vision for capital projects, like upgrading to 8-car trains and relieving the Rosslyn bottleneck. Now we know how much those should cost, and local governments can start thinking about how to pay for it. Now, we need the equivalent for the Metro Forward maintenance plan and the operating costs for all services. We need better data to make fully informed decisions.

The Metrorail system is one of our region's greatest assets. We have to keep it working for the long term. Riders need confidence that we will get past the immediate problems and avoid getting into this kind of hole again. Otherwise, even if Metro does regain rider confidence, it'll always be on the precipice of more crises that squander it again.

23 comments

Seniors, people with disabilities cite difficulty of using transit

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:42:00 EDT

by Steve Yaffe

For many seniors and people with disabilities, transit is a lifeline. But poor access and limited service make them less likely to use it, says a new survey from Fairfax County.

Photo by TriMet on Flickr.

The Fairfax County Mobility & Transportation Committee, which I co-chair, surveyed 1,163 seniors and disabled adults in the county and Cities of Fairfax and Falls Church this winter on their transportation habits and published a report with its findings and recommendations. Residents will be able to discuss transportation issues relating to seniors at several forums being held in the next few weeks.

Survey respondents say inaccessible bus stops, unsafe pedestrian crossings and limited service prevent them from using public transit, commenting that most current service in Fairfax is designed for commuters and is of little use to them.

By far the most common request was more bus service during off-peak times and increased connections to shopping centers, senior centers, recreation centers, and libraries, along with transit centers.

Without transit, many respondents are stranded. 27% said they could not reach a destination in the past month because they didn't have a ride, while those with the lowest annual household incomes were most likely to not leave their homes in a typical week.

The survey found that while 58.5% of respondents drove, they restricted their driving to a particular time of day to avoid rush hours, inclement weather, and driving after dark. Besides using transit, non-driving seniors and people with disabilities use taxis, paratransit services, and ride with relatives, friends, and volunteers.

When asked how to improve transportation in Fairfax County over the next year, survey respondents overwhelmingly recommended improving transit. Other popular requests were to increase transit and taxi fare subsidies and provide more information about available transit services. 34% of older adults and people with disabilities who have difficulty finding transportation were unaware of any discounts on transit or taxi fares.

Most respondents were unaware of individualized transit travel-training programs offered by WMATA and its partner, the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, as well as group training offered by Fairfax County. (Travel-training is also offered in Maryland by Independence Now and in DC by MTM.)

Senior citizens and disabled adults often rely on transit to get around, but existing service isn't good enough. Hopefully, this survey will raise awareness of their needs and bring about much-needed improvements.

To read the full report, visit Fairfax County's website. You'll find comments and recommendations on a variety of transportation modes and providers. Those interested in working on any of these issues should contact Jill Clark by email at jill.clark@fairfaxcounty.gov, by phone at (703) 324-5874, or with TTY at (703) 449-1186.

25 comments

Metro riders need to know when service will be good again

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:20:00 EDT

by Dan Malouff

Unlike its off-peak trains, Metrorail's rebuilding program is moving full steam ahead. When will it actually be done?

Photo by Elvert Barnes on Flickr.

After years of deferred maintenance, WMATA is neck deep with major track work every weekend. The work is clearly necessary for Metrorail's long term viability, but it's awful for riders now.

With headways approaching a half hour, weekend service is maddeningly inconvenient. God help anyone needing to transfer.

Part of the problem is there's no light at the end of the tunnel. Riders don't know how long they'll have to put up with construction. There have been vague references to 2017 as when Metro may return to normalcy, but most riders haven't heard that, and those who have don't know what it actually means.

Thus, the Washington Post today published an editorial calling on WMATA to publish deadlines, so the riding public has a better idea of what to expect.

Highway agencies publish deadlines for road work. Maryland's MTA published deadlines when it closed portions of Baltimore's light rail in 2004. Why can't Metro?

Deadlines "inspire confidence," says Post writer Robert Thomson, "especially when they are met."

Unfortunately, WMATA General Manager Richard Sarles so far refuses. In a 2012 Google+ Hangout that the Washington Post organized, Greater Greater Washingotn's David Alpert and Michael Perkins asked Sarles to give more specifics about the timeline for rebuilding; he declined.

With respect to Mr. Sarles and to the complicated problems he's charged with solving, that's not good enough. Metro exists to serve customers, and it's not serving them well right now.

The long-term viability of the system depends as much on the good faith of riders as it does on the status of tracks. We know Metro has to be rebuilt, and that doing so means some inconveniences. Most of us can live with that. But the more confident we are that this painful time will end someday, the better we can support Metro in the meantime.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

54 comments

Dan Reed debates BRT opponents

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:15:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Greater Greater Washington staff editor Dan Reed appeared on Fox 5 to talk about Montgomery County's BRT plans along with opponent Paula Bienenfeld. Visually, even just the scene on set brings into sharp relief the changes the county is undergoing.

Image from Fox 5. Click to view segment.

The segment, starting with the anchor's introduction, seems to frame the issue around what this means for drivers. Reed talks about how BRT will move more people, and even those who don't ride the bus will benefit.

Bienenfeld, meanwhile, reads out the standard playbook of opposition. "We're not opposed to public transit," she assures everyone, before casting everything associated with transit as bad, such as devoting any space to bus stops. She also claims that having to cross a bus lane is unsafe for children. Reed later points out that crossing the regular car roadways is far more dangerous.

Bienenfeld criticizes the plan for not including things like Google self-driving cars, signalization, and "personal electric vehicles." Montgomery County already times its signals to move the most cars, even at the expense of those children walking and crossing the street, and none of the other options could move more people in fixed space.

Primarily, though, her objection is that "there was no public input" into the plan, which was created through "secret behind-the-scenes deals that have been cut." This seems astounding, given that a task force worked for a long time to create a plan, then released that plan a full year ago. Since then, county officials have refined and, in many cases, scaled back the plan, each time in full view of the public.

As Reed pointed out in the segment, this is still only a draft plan, with many more hearings yet to come. Unfortunately, people argue that there hasn't been enough input or a good enough public process almost no matter how long or short the public process actually is. This creates a "boy who cried wolf" effect for those times when government agencies really do try to ram a plan through with minimal public comment. The BRT plan is, at least thus far, not one of those cases.

One other argument from Bienenfeld rings particularly hollow: she argues that the plans "cram all the bus routes downcounty into underserved areas and lower-income, avoiding the wealthier parts of the county." Yet the bus routes include Wisconsin Avenue, which passes through some of the county's most affluent communities; most of the opposition has come from the neighborhoods between Bethesda and Friendship Heights.

41 comments