Who would have guessed that the one Republican cabinet member would turn out to be one of the most reliably progressive?

by Reid on Mar 16, 2010 10:30 am  

19 minutes headways after 7:30? Am I the only one encountering this routinely?

It's completely unacceptable. As soon as it gets warm, Metro will be losing another rider.

4 times in two weeks. This is a third world country, not the capital of the "free" world.

I so want to sue Metro for detrimental reliance. I rented an apartment in Silver Spring for two years, relying on Metro to be a functional transportation system. I'm moving to DC next April. I'm done with Metro.

by Redline SOS on Mar 16, 2010 10:43 am  

@Reid, isn't Sec. Gates also a Republican?

by Matt Glazewski on Mar 16, 2010 10:54 am  

I hear you, Redline SOS. Last night I waited 30 minutes starting at 8:15 for a red line train at Tenleytown. Ridiculous.

by Eric F. on Mar 16, 2010 11:11 am  

@ Matt: Gates is officially non-partisan, He's not a member of either party, nor registered as such. He has hung out with republicans most of his live though, hence the assumption that he is. Counting is hard.

by Jasper on Mar 16, 2010 11:11 am  

I wonder if the uptick in metro ridership the week following the snowstorm was because a number of drivers had no choice since they either couldn't get their cars out, had their driveways/parking spots plowed in, or had nowhere to park once they got to work? Will be interesting to see if the increase in ridership continued after the snow melted, or if folks went back to their old ways.

by Ellen on Mar 16, 2010 11:14 am  

LaHood's statement is really encouraging.

by Bianchi on Mar 16, 2010 11:18 am  

+1 to Ellen; but the increase may not have only been drivers but pedestrians. I know I had to take metro for most of Feb rather than walk; even after the snow was plowed sidewalks and crossing were a mess. Would be interesting to see if bus riders switched to metro as well as bus lines were a bit of a mess for a while as well.

by charlie on Mar 16, 2010 11:21 am  

“As he crossed the road to a convenience store, two drivers hit him and killed him. I'm guessing there's no crosswalk. “

Judging by the article there was a crosswalk very nearby Aprrox (500ft) plus a trail leading to said crosswalk. And when you mean road you mean 4 lane divided highway.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Hoadly+Road+&sll=38.661889,-77.321305&sspn=0.021078,0.04828&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Hoadly+Rd,+Coles,+Prince+William,+Virginia&layer=c&cbll=38.680182,-77.357893&panoid=y4iwLGHb6bc0nNrJ0QZORg&cbp=12,227.03,,0,14.65&ll=38.680418,-77.358341&spn=0,359.983993&z=16

by RJ on Mar 16, 2010 11:24 am  

19 minutes headways after 7:30? Am I the only one encountering this routinely?

That is awful. I live in Silver Spring too, and work downtown, and routinely (~ 3-4 days a week) leave work well after 7:30 and I haven't encountered anything like that on the red line...yet. But I have noticed that 8 and 8:30 trains that used to be comfortable are now packed to the gills, so it makes sense that I've probably just been getting lucky.

Unfortunately, I own, so moving isn't exactly an option. But I may start running to/from work some days since I have a shower in my building. Great exercise, and it won't take all that much longer to get there than it takes now.

by hugo on Mar 16, 2010 11:34 am  

Does anyone know any more detail on the size of the "medallions" going into Columbia Heights? Sounds like they are not really going to be that big or make much of an impact, as a resident I would much rather fewer but more interesting and larger pieces of art... and while I'm at it, how about some more benches and bike racks like they are suggesting over at DCMetrocentric

http://dcmetrocentric.com/2010/03/16/columbia-heights-new-streetscape/

, you know practical stuff!

by Bobby on Mar 16, 2010 11:49 am  

RE: Monarchy yields to democracy
This is why I'm rallying a write-in campaign for Secretary LaHood for Treehugger's Best Change Agent, Transportation.
http://forums.treehugger.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14738&p=102607

Now who's with me?

by Nemesis on Mar 16, 2010 11:56 am  

There's one employee at King Street station (I don't think he's there every day though) who has taken to parking his truck on the sidewalk/metro enterance (not the main one--the one at Cameron and Commonwealth). It blocks the bike rack, almost blocks the sidewalk going under the train overpass and is generally kind of shocking to see a truck parked on a sidewalk.

There's a disabled parking decal on it, so this could be the reasoning (and is the only reason I haven't been parking my bike at the bike rack anyway, which would make it very difficult for him to open and get into the driver's seat), but it's still really just very much Not Okay.

Here's the space I'm talking about: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=king+street+at+commonwealth+ave+alexandria+va&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=King+St+%26+Commonwealth+Ave,+Alexandria,+Virginia+22314&ll=38.807113,-77.059908&spn=0,359.99536&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.807206,-77.059947&panoid=85PedJ-TE2xRr6doHviBwQ&cbp=12,11.31,,0,1.77

He parks it (backs in) kind of where the scooter in the street view is parked, which makes using half the bike rack impossible unless you want your bike to block his driver's side door. It also leaves very little room to get to the station from the sidewalk under the overpass.

by Catherine on Mar 16, 2010 12:33 pm  

@ Catherine: Last week some WMATA car was standing in the middle of the entry @ Rosslyn. Fairfax Connector supervising type folks often park (and sit) next to the exit of the escalators at Franconia-Springfield.

All this is disrespectful to customers. Even if they're not in the way. It says: I don't care this is side-walk, my car is more important and I don't want to walk.

by Jasper on Mar 16, 2010 2:00 pm  

I E-mailed Catherine's comment to someone I know in the city's transportation department. I'm curious what the response will be.

by Froggie on Mar 16, 2010 2:07 pm  

I hope HHS Sec Sebelius and Treasury's Geithner were standing beside him during the announcement. This is a bid for a healthier population and less dependence on foreign oil, not just an acquiescence to a noisy little special interest group (of which I am a somewhat silent member.)

by iRideDC on Mar 16, 2010 2:28 pm  

"treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes"

Equally by what criteria? Miles? Per capita? Or expenditures?

by Douglas A. Willinger on Mar 16, 2010 3:29 pm  

Judging by the article there was a crosswalk very nearby Aprrox (500ft) plus a trail leading to said crosswalk. And when you mean road you mean 4 lane divided highway.

Just wanted to point out for any foreign readers, that's nearly two football fields' distance from one to the next.

by oboe on Mar 16, 2010 4:19 pm  

Ack, just seeing this part of the thread because I was too quick to rant about sidewalk parking...

@ Ellen
"Will be interesting to see if the increase in ridership continued after the snow melted, or if folks went back to their old ways."
I, for one, have been off Metro after the snow melted but that's because once the snow was gone, the bike trail was usable again. I assume other cyclists and drivers did the same thing. To me, the system is so bad that just about anything is preferable to using it on a regular basis.

@ Froggie and Jasper:
Yep, no matter where it happens it's wrong. The only reason I haven't been being a bitch about it is the disabled decal, though I suppose there's a difference between being a bitch and asking Metro for a workable alternative for everyone.

by Catherine on Mar 16, 2010 5:00 pm