Posts from October 2010

The Post reported this morning that the idea to bomb Metro came from the FBI. In other words, no terrorist (that we know of) actually was planning to hit Metro. The FBI could easily have suggested any other target. If they had suggested Ben's Chili Bowl, would we now be talking about the need to beef up security in half-smoke shops?

This is the typical pattern of reacting to security risks. As security expert Bruce Schneier frequently explains, we focus on ways to stop the most recent attack, instead of trying to determine what future attacks will look like. This seems to even hold true if the target was picked by law enforcement instead of by any actual potential terrorists.

It's great that the FBI ran the sting. Clearly, If the allegations are true, Farooque Ahmed really did want to cause harm to Americans, and by organizing this fake plot, they were able to steer his destructive desires in a way that allowed them to arrest him. I'm really glad they got him. But anyone that thinks this is evidence of a risk to Metro isn't paying attention.

Meanwhile, Metro is telling riders to be vigilant. Having average, untrained citizens report people who look odd is only proven to increase the number of useless reports. It will probably waste a lot of resources that could go to training undercover officers who could patrol stations and actually find threats.

There are terrorists out there. We need to catch them. The government should spend lots of money hiring good FBI investigators to find them, like they did here. I feel safer knowing the FBI caught a terrorist. I wouldn't feel safer by having my bag searched or seeing guards standing at the entrance to every station. I know it's hard, but Metro needs to respond based on the best way to actually prevent an attack, not the best way to simply look like they are.

Update: Commenter jcm noted that members of the public did alert police to the smoking truck in the foiled Times Square plot. That's true, and people should be paying attention to their surroundings, though after the Times Square plot there was a huge rash of false alarms. The research I was citing mainly applies to people; ordinary citizens are not good at differentiating someone who seems nervous because they're running late from someone who is about to blow up something. Instead, they typically just end up being suspicious of people who look Muslim.

Therefore, ANC comissioners in this area, especially 6C on the western half, have had to become rapid experts in zoning. They have generally been very supportive of the projects and of the neighborhood's evolution. However, a number of commissioners, including some excellent ones, are not running again, creating opportunities for significant improvement or regression for these ANCs.

ANC 6C01 extends from the CityVista apartments almost to Union Station. Recent transplant from Southwest Marge Maceda is challenging incumbent Keith Silver. Silver likes to picket, and at a recent forum highlighted four picket protests as his main accomplishments. Sometimes, however, his picketing seems somewhat bizarre, such as when he protested an effort to set up an urban farm in a vacant lot near Walker-Jones Elementary and donate the food grown to the school and a nearby senior center. He also called the new buildings in the district "monstrosities."

Maceda, on the other hand, says she moved to the neighborhood so she could drive less, and looks forward to more sidewalk cafes in the area. She also had encouraging words about the Circulator, the streetcar, and bicycle lanes. We feel Maceda would best work with residents on positive visions as the neighborhood's large surface parking lots evolve into more.

In 6C02, along New Jersey Avenue north of K Street, we support Rob Amos in his challenge to incumbent Mark Dixon. Amos has already served the neighborhood on the board of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association and as a non-commissioner chair of the ANC 6C zoning committee. He believes in building a more livable and walkable neighborhood.

Dixon has been on the ANC a very long time, and in fact hadn't planned to run again but changed his mind at the last minute. He cares about the community but isn't good at connecting with the newer residents. He doesn't even use email, despite having an ANC email address, and complained at a recent MVSNA forum that he hadn't received any notice of the meeting only to be told it had been sent via email.

Sitting commissioner Anne Phelps is running unopposed in 6C04, which contains most of NoMa from K Street to Dave Thomas Circle and the residential areas to the east, but she deserves special mention as an exemplary commissioner.

Phelps advocated admirably for her neighborhood's needs in a zoning case concerning the Florida Market, across Florida Avenue from the ANC. Tommy Wells subsequently hired Phelps to coordinate advocacy for the H Street streetcar project, a role she has also adeptly filled.

6C05 encompasses Union Station and the residential blocks to the east. It will also contain the Burnham Place development atop the rail yards and a number of upcoming development projects along H Street's western half. Sitting commissioner Tony Richardson has not opposed Burnham Place despite living immediately adjacent to the project, and challengers Brian Cox and Jennifer Zatkowski all seem supportive of the general evolution of Union Station and H Street.

Richardson has experience, Cox brings a youthful energy and zeal for more outreach to members of the community, and Zatkowski has the valuable background of being a small business owner in the neighborhood and mother of smal children. We think any of them would be a fine choice for this district.

Ward 6's westernmost segment is 6C09, covering the blocks around Georgetown Law and Judiciary Square. The longtime commissioner there is not running again. Residents have expressed enthusiasm for Kevin Wilsey, the property manager of a Penn Quarter building and board member of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. During recent liquor license debates, Wilsey worked hard to bring both sides together to an amicable resolution.

His opponent, Leroy-Jacob Smith, had fewer specific neighborhood ideas at a recent forum beyond wanting to do more for the homeless. We support helping the homeless, but ANCs have little influence on citywide social policy.

In 6A01, north of H Street, three candidates are vying for an open seat. We support Adam Healy, who described some excellent reasons to vote for him including strong support of the streetcar.

Fellow candidate Angelia Rice gave a very bland statement that didn't make much of a case for her candidacy, and Lawrence "Russ" Russell wants to make the district more auto-oriented, saying his top priority was making sure residents can park right by their property.

The Hill is Home writer Sharee Lawler has our endorsement (and Tommy Wells') over new resident and Fenty community liaison William Mohring for the open 6A05 seat, around D Street NE from 10th to 16th. Lawler is a member of the 6A Economic Development and Zoning committee currently working to encourage growth on H St NE, and is an advocate for the C Street NE project to calm and reduce traffic.

In 6A07, which covers the Rosedale neighborhood and the northeasternmost edge of Capitol Hill, incumbent Gladys Mack has displayed a less than stellar record on transportation issues. For example, she has opposed the conversion of 17th Street from a one-way thoroughfare into a two-way street because she feels it will double traffic. This is a dangerous street that is sore need of some traffic calming. We endorse challenger Necothia "Nicki" Bowens, president of the Rosedale Citizens' Alliance, which has been pushing for many positive changes in this neighborhood.

Another is to make better use of taxi vouchers to cut down on the number of MetroAccess trips, each of which costs more than a taxi ride. If DC can encourage more disability-accessible taxis and find ways to move more MetroAccess riders to taxis without inviting abuse, it could save on the spiraling costs of paratransit service while maintaining necessary access for persons with disabilities.

Finally, according to Kubly, DDOT's contract with First Transit for the Circulator costs 30% less per hour than Metrobus, and Circulator drivers and mechanics are union-represented just like Metrobus employees. DDOT might be able to save money by converting most of the local routes to local control.

Back when each state had separate, private bus systems, riders crossing from DC to Maryland often had to transfer at the state line. This plan wouldn't return to those days since regional bus routes would stay regional and run by WMATA. And Maryland and Virginia already have transferred many of their own local routes to local bus systems.

Would this be a good idea? It has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Cost. As above, this could save money. However, others have argued that the Circulator is just cheaper because it's a small system and because it employs more younger drivers. Make it large and wait a few decades, and the costs might just start to equal those of Metrobus. For example, the Fairfax Connector and Ride-On have similar cost structures to Metrobus. On the other hand, those aren't bid out to contractors like the Circulator is.

Greater local coordination around intersections, lanes and more. DDOT designs new streetscapes and handles signal timings, while WMATA runs the buses. Sometimes, DDOT wants stops in one place, and WMATA in another. Or WMATA wants a bus lane, but has to rely on DDOT. If one agency is handling both sides of the equation, the coordination can happen more smoothly, or at least there's a DDOT Director and a Mayor there to referee disagreements.

Greater local sense of ownership. For a while, it seemed like DDOT might not be prioritizing bus lanes as highly as streetcars because they controlled the streetcar project and not the buses. The Mayor and Council end up spending more energy on local transit they control rather than systems run by a much larger regional entity. If DC controlled the routes, perhaps buses would rise in the city's priorities.

Rationalize bus fares. Why is the Circulator $1 while Metrobuses are $1.50 ($1.70 without SmarTrip)? Originally, DC wanted to make the bus appealing to tourists and easy to pay for with cash. But we've ended up in the bizarre and unfair situation where on 14th Street for example, the bus that goes to the richer neighborhoods is a cheaper Circulator, while the bus to poorer neighborhoods is pricier.

Jim Graham has constantly fought against raising bus fares, but outer jurisdictions often have pushed for higher fares. If DDOT ran more local buses, it could revamp the fares, even making all buses $1 if it had the money.

More nimble decisionmaking. DDOT can move faster on making decisions, or at least they have in recent years.

Less regional coordination. The flip side of a more nimble process is that DC might plan the system with less regard for regional mobility. Just look at the Georgia Avenue streetcar, which ends in Takoma instead of Silver Spring. Even though regional bus routes would stay with WMATA, would DDOT do as much to plan a local bus route in a way that facilitates transfers for riders going to Maryland or Virginia?

More confusing for riders. To plan a trip, a rider now needs to consider a number of different bus systems. They're not always on the same map. One trip planner doesn't necessarily consider all of the systems. Technology and open data feeds can solve some of this, but there will still be some hurdles to understand the full system.

Metro said that there isn't a good place to put additional racks or lockers outside the station, and I agree. However, the inside of the station is relatively empty, and the rear corners of the mezzanine (ground) level have ample space to place inexpensive bike racks to test whether more bike racks could attract more cyclists.

Bikes parked at Eastern Market. Photo by the author.

A good example of bike racks attracting more cyclists is at the Eastern Market metro station. There was a large empty brick area next to the bike lockers for a long time. When Metro installed two 20-place bike racks at the station, they immediately started filling up daily. As far as I can tell, there weren't this many bikes locked to poles, streetlights and trees before the new racks went in, so these are new users riding to the Metro station.

There are spaces next to the northern bus stops that are under cover and are marked as bicycle parking, but the racks have been removed. Metro should install more bicycle racks there. East Falls Church could also increase its bike capacity by adding racks at the rear corners of the mezzanine.

Possible locations for more bike racks. Photos by the author.

Metro or Arlington could purchase racks similar to the ones placed at Eastern Market for little cost and no permanent change to the station would be required. Bike racks inside transit stations? BART does it. Why not Metro?

It needs people ready to put the good of others ahead of their own political advantage. It needs community leaders who are not only passionate and vocal but who are also capable and qualified. Ward 8 is in need politically of what it has long advocated in services and business: more quality and diverse options.

Unfortunately, Ward 8's ANCs generally do not have this. Either languishing due to a lack of community buy-in, or frustration, or both, historically most Ward 8 ANC positions sat vacant or hosted the same cast of characters year after year, often with more emphasis on petty infighting than community progress.

As a result, many ANC meetings feature more drama than accomplishments and direction. Some commissioners spend more energy trying to silence the voices of others they disagree with rather than find new solutions and perspectives to old problems. Unfortunately, in too many Ward 8 ANCs there is no such thing as constructive criticism or accountability.

For every consensus building, forward thinking, qualified commissioner there are often too many others eager to drown them out in order to maintain the status quo. And the cycle of apathy continues. In a ward where the councilmember is often referred to as "Mayor for Life" it should be no surprise that there are some ANC commissioners who feel they should be "Commissioners for Life."

But change is coming. It's not just in the form of new 30-something professionals moving to Ward 8, but in the form of native Ward 8 residents who sat on the sidelines waiting for opportunities and allies to make a positive impact on their communities.

This year, the list of challengers has more than doubled from the last election. Neighbors have become the cheerleaders and recruiters for change in their own neighborhoods, from both sides of the generational gap.

We therefore are endorsing the majority of challengers in Ward 8 ANCs. In many races, we know the challenger's specific ideas and how they would do a better job; in other cases, it's simply valuable to get some new faces and new ideas into moribund ANCs.

ANC 8C perhaps the District's most dysfunctional ANC, which is saying a lot. It has been been investigated by the DC Auditor for a number of problems, including allegedly paying rent for an office they never use, which was never approved by the commission according to ANC statue, and hasn't had a working phone line in over six years. This led to the DC government withholding the annual appropriation it normally gives to all ANCs.

Chair Mary Cuthbert, whose district 8C03 spans St. Elizabeth's East to capture small sections of Barry Farm and Congress Heights, was involved in disbursing the questionable funds and called her opponent, Larry Pretlow, a "dumb n*gger."

We don't think Pretlow is dumb but some constituents say they would prefer a ham sandwich to Commissioner Cuthbert. At the very least, the ham sandwich would be less combative. We urge voters to do better than a ham sandwich and pick Pretlow.

Adjacent commissioner Dion Jordan doesn't attend ANC meetings or meet with residents of his SMD, 8C02, which also covers small parts of Barry Farm and Congress Heights across St. Elizabeth's West. Residents can do much better with LaShaun Smith, a former blogger who wrote under the name Southeast Socialite and who has made clear her desire for a more transparent, functional and inclusive ANC. Some may accuse her of being direct and harsh on crime, but in a SMD that has seen a recent uptick in car jackings and armed robberies, residents need a commissioner who is not only available for meetings but is direct enough to do something about the crime.

One exception to ANC 8C's dysdunction is treasurer (and unofficially secretary, sergeant-at-arms, and community liaison) William Ellis in Barry Farm's 8C01. After a bumpy start, he has proven to be the only commissioner willing to follow DC laws and the DC Auditor's recommendations, and willing to admit publicly and honestly, when and where the commission falls short. We support him for another term over challenger Zaccai Free.

Residents compare southern Congress Heights 8C07 Commissioner Cardell Shelton to Grandpa on The Simpsons for his way of constantly yelling, complaining and fist shaking, but with less grasp of facts. He is the formal secretary of the commission but doesn't take meeting minutes and didn't even respond to the DC Auditor's findings. Meanwhile, Brenda Shields is executive director of a nonprofit and owns her own business. She could bring business and organizational skills that 8C desperately needs.

Anacostia is Ward 8's most diverse and growing neighborhood, and while their ANC is probably the most successful at accomplishing community and ANC tasks, ANC 8A needs to reach out more to new residents. Our hope is that David White would do this as an ANC commissioner in 8A05 in Historic Anacostia. The incumbent, Carolyn Bridges-Ward, is not a change agent; she in fact publicly defended Marion Barry after the most recent scandal, saying nobody was perfect. That's true, but the ward can do a lot better in many ways, including with their 8A05 commissioner.

Darrell Gaston, who represents the Woodland neighborhood in 8B03, is a common sight around the community and aspiring politician (he ran against Marion Barry in the last Ward 8 Council election), but hasn't accomplished much and seems to focus more on raising his profile than solving problems. Gaston has also been quoted several times complaining of the influx of "newcomers" who have moved into the Ward. Gaston seems to focus more on the percieved differences in socioeconomic status among residents than the things that bring them together.

Shipley Terrace's 8B06 commissioner Mitchell Hawkins, by his own admission, doesn't read about or keep current on community issues and lacks good comprehension of simple concepts. In fact, residents in this area say that ANC 8B meetings are very painful, and few commissioners seem to know what is going on.

While we don't have a lot of information about several challengers, we feel this problematic ANC needs some changes, and therefore recommend challengers India Blocker (against Gaston in 8B03), Charles Turner (against Hawkins in 8B06), and Louise Thorne (against 8B07 commissioner Von Pariss in the Shipley Terrace and Douglass neighborhoods).

Commissioner Karlene Armstead in 8E06, split between Congress Heights and Washington Highlands, is another longtime activist who seems more focused on being in charge than being right. Residents have voiced concerns about her inability to listen, few accomplishments, and combative tone with others. She does appear passionate and committed to a safer community but her attitude can turn off residents, especially residents voicing a different opinion or perspective. She seems resistant to any changes that she is not personally in charge of.

We endorse challenger Angela Hooker, who (if campaign signs are any indication) also has the support of at least one current commissioner and a fellow candidate in ANC 8E.

We are hopeful and inspired at such an overwhelming show of community activism across the Ward 8 ANC races. Regardless of who wins or loses the individual SMD races as a whole, the perspective and perception of Ward 8 politics as foregone conclusion is changing—one single-member district at a time.

Since agents of the FBI pretended to be terrorist operatives, it's not clear whether they directed him to photograph the subway or whether he did it at his own behest. Regardless, it is clear that he intended to use his surveillance and photos of the Metro to maximize damage.

This will likely lead some to call for banning photography in the Metro system and in other transit systems nationwide. That would be an unfortunate and unproductive step in the wrong direction.

Photography is not and has not been prohibited on Metro. The Department of Defense does prohibit picture taking on its property, however, which includes the Pentagon station, transit center, and surrounding areas.

But the ability of riders to take pictures is not a risk to Metro or to our national security. While some terrorists have cased targets with cameras, others have not. Most notably, the perpetrators of the attacks on the London Underground and Madrid commuter trains did not photograph their targets ahead of time.

The proliferation of cameras—and in Washington, tourists—means it will be virtually impossible to keep Metro patrons from snapping pictures. And station managers and police officers have much bigger issues to deal with.

Virtually all of the photos taken in the system are harmless. Sending Metro employees to harass tourists from Des Moines experiencing their first subway ride or teenage girls capturing a night out with their cell phone is a waste of good resources.

But a camera is a tool not only for capturing memories, but also one of creating art.

The Metro offers an exciting and challenging place to try one's hand at photography. Dim conditions, indirect lighting, complex shapes, and moving parts can combine to create some fantastic shots.

Left photo by Dsade on Flickr, right photo by DavidSC78.

A true security strategy would be able to discern harmless photography from malicious intent. Metro is right to enlist the help of riders in securing the system. But it is important that they not fan the flames of fear. Passengers jumping at shadows won't help the situation.

A good approach might be the one taken by Sacramento's transit agency, which tells riders to be wary of suspicious activity. And it lists things that are suspicious. Photography itself does not rise to that level. But, someone "taking pictures or videotaping in areas of no interest to the general public" might be worth noticing.

An outright ban, or even the suggestion that one might be appropriate, will send the wrong message. It will send the message that everyone with a camera is deserving of suspicion.

It will also send the message that there is nothing worth photographing on transit. That this daily element of our lives holds nothing desirable to capture for memory or documentation, for art or expression.

As far as I know, no one at Metro has talked about banning photography. Let's hope that they don't start now.