Links
Breakfast links: Feel the heat
Photo by jGregor on Flickr.
Hot cars: Metro cars where the air conditioning does not work appear most in 5000 series cars. If you find yourself in a car without AC, you can always try moving to the next car, or notifying the train operator. (Post) 
More bad news for Gray: The Gray campaign had an illegally obtained list of public housing residents that it likely used in get out the vote efforts. (Post)
Your name here: Virginia works on rules to sell highway names and to ensure that names will pop up on GPS and internet directions. AAA meanwhile calls the program a gimmick. (Examiner)
Cemetery or stables?: Federal officials have endorsed exhuming more than 100 graves over moving horse stables in a project to widen Richmond Highway. The endorsed route will also encroach on a historic Frank Lloyd Wright designed house. (WAMU)
Conflict management: While mixed use trails are popular in the area, both cyclists and pedestrians can take steps to avoid conflicts on them, making dangerous collisions even rarer. (FABB)
Not yet on board: Bob McDonnell's three nominees to the MWAA board are running into trouble as one appointment is being held up in court and two are awaiting DC's approval to expand the board. (Post)
And...: Arlington maps out capital spending for the next ten years, including more money for Metro and the Columbia Pike Streetcar. (Patch) ... One Bethesda restaurant has a painting of the Bethesda Metro escalators painted by a Boston artist who admires the system's efficiency. (Robert Dyer) ... British cabinet ministers are not happy they have to take public transportation to the Olympics in London. (The Independent)
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 | Steven Yates grew up in Indiana before moving to DC in 2002 to attend college at American University. He currently lives in Southwest DC.   |
Comments
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by charlie on Jul 23, 2012 9:01 am • link • report
:-D Oh, the possibilities. How about massive crashed on the Safeway highway? Traffic being stuck on a long stretch without exits of the American Crossroads Highway. The Yankee highway through the Chancellorsville battlefields. Ashburn Amazon One-click speedway. The Airbus highway by the Boeing headquarters? The "15 minutes can save you 15 or more on car insurance" Mixing Bowl. The Richmond International Speedway highway in Danville. The Parks and Recreation Parkway. The Expedia Dulles access road. The Tabasco HOT lanes. The Durex Parkway.
Does VDOT realize that it's very easy to create an LLC with an offensive name and buy some road naming?
Who can do better? [It's Monday morning, I'm not awake yet].
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 9:26 am • link • report
Exactly, and Dr. Gridlocks whitewashing of the issue last week by "tsk-tsk'ing" us all who dare bother complain by saying he rode the metro and only found a couple cars without A/C, and even those were only in the high 90's, is just even more ridiculous.
I have one those keychain thermometers attached to my briefcase, had it for years and in the 4 hot cars I came across last week (at all times of the day), the coolest one was 98 degrees. The others were 100, 103 and 105, and had been underground for 7 or 8 stations by the time I got on, I can't imaging how hot they were above ground.
It is A/C, not rocket science, although by the average IQ of your standard metro employee, I can see how it might appear so to them. Fix it, or take the car out of service until it can be fixed.
by AC on Jul 23, 2012 9:29 am • link • report
Last week Dan Stessel LIED to the Washington Post when he estimated that the number of hotcars were in the single digits. I personally have been on more than 10, and I ride a pretty limited section of Metro.
I'm normally pretty dismissive of the unsuck/fixwmata crowd, but hotcars are one issue where they have it right, and this kind of anodyne response from the top urbanist community in the region just enables them to keep being lazy/incompetent.
by Corey on Jul 23, 2012 9:43 am • link • report
Naming rights and advertising are sold for all manner of public spaces with very few problems. It's certainly possible to figure out rules that will make it work for highways too. I seriously doubt we'll have to worry about having an "F-U Highway" just like we don't have advertising that says "F-U" on buses or metro cars.
by Falls Church on Jul 23, 2012 9:57 am • link • report
It's advice. If you find yourself in a hotcar, you can do one of two things:
1. Stay in the car and suffer; or
2. Move to an adjacent car.
If you notify the operator either before or after taking one of the above-specified actions, you increase the chances that Metro will dispatch a mechanic to fix the car or at least have the car reported to CMNT for repair.
Yes. We at GGW think that Metro should do everything possible to eliminate hotcars.
However, your objection to the advice is confusing. What advice would you give to someone who encounters a hotcar? Try and fix the AC themselves? Meditate away the heat?
No, I think any reasonable person would advise someone encountering a hotcar along these lines:
"If you find yourself in a car without AC, you can always try moving to the next car, or notifying the train operator."
by Matt Johnson on Jul 23, 2012 10:14 am • link • report
There's a difference between a private party using its constitutional right to freedom of expression, and the government slapping whatever on public goods. Which is the exact motivation that the FCC uses to regulate George Carlin's 7 words.
You're aware that we have narrow-minded AG and potential governor in VA, right? You think he's not gonna be offended by the Planned Parenthood bridge? Or the Michael Mann bend?
Also:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/34960125/The_Stadium_Curse_Naming_Deals_Gone_Bust?slide=1
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981491373
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/feb/10/confederate-car-tag-proposal-revs-up-a-row/
http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2011/11/judge-orders-ny-to-allow-choose-life-car-tags.php
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-04-13/us/mets.ballpark_1_citi-field-mets-home-stadium-naming?_s=PM:US
http://nsbnews.net/content/300240-controversy-over-naming-rights-daytona-beach-news-journal-center-far-over?page=111
http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/naming-rights-spur-controversy-at-yale-u/18925
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 10:16 am • link • report
Make Virginia politicians ride hotcars until they cancel a few wasteful highways and give the money to Metro to buy new rolling stock.
by Ben Ross on Jul 23, 2012 10:22 am • link • report
by JP on Jul 23, 2012 10:30 am • link • report
Thanks for the morning laugh! You'd increase the chance by an equal amount by praying to Zeus.
I do agree about moving to another car though. Perhaps a personally owned one on a highway, at the rate Metro is swirling around the drain. (And I do not currently own a car by choice. A choice I am re-evaluating because Metro's toes are not held in the fire and every incompetence is simply explained away.)
by Dave_J on Jul 23, 2012 10:35 am • link • report
Not sure what the issue with that suggestion is or what GGW is supposed to "fix" about it. Working AC should be what Metro strives for but it still surpasses other systems in cleanliness and comfort. Ever had cool air blow on you while w/in NYC's subways?
by HogWash on Jul 23, 2012 10:36 am • link • report
I would imagine that trains would indeed have to be taken out of service...potentially disrupting the commute.
by HogWash on Jul 23, 2012 10:37 am • link • report
I'll gladly trade a few hotcars for NYC's level of service and fare structure.
by Dave_J on Jul 23, 2012 10:44 am • link • report
My point is that Metro, for some reason, seems to think the hotcar status quo is acceptable. That's proof of how little the management and employees of our transit agency care about the comfort and safety of their passengers; this isn't a funding or major capital issue, it's a simple matter of taking hotcars out of circulation and fixing them. GGW is one of the foremost organized citizen groups that should be holding Metro to account, and I think the issue deserves a much more thorough treatment than this. I don't read the site daily and maybe I missed one, though.
by Corey on Jul 23, 2012 10:52 am • link • report
I'd gladly trade Amtrak's Acela to NYC for the Eurostar.
I mean, obviously, if you get on a hotcar and have time to move, move. That's so banal I'm not even sure it qualifies as advice.
As banal as water/sewer authorities advising customers to limit their use of water during droughts. Or the morning news advising people to drink plenty of water during heat waves.
GGW is one of the foremost organized citizen groups that should be holding Metro to account, and I think the issue deserves a much more thorough treatment than this.
While that might be a stretch, what exactly should they be doing for a "problem" that hasn't risen to Level Red? Yes, there have been problems. But just like the guy who gets struck by lighting twice, you have had uncommon experiences w/hot cars. Or maybe I'm the lucky one?
I've been on several that weren't as cool as others. But a serious hotcar to the point it's unbearable? Maybe three at the max. And that's being generous.
by HogWash on Jul 23, 2012 11:08 am • link • report
I'm pretty sure it was in Falls Church and not Arlington. Today near 6608 Locust St, which is a Falls Church postal address but is in Fairfax County. Originally it may have been within the City of Falls Church, I have heard from others that some boundary changes occurred, but I'm not sure of the details. In any case its easy to mistake the location for Arlington because the present day boundaries of 3 jurisdictions meet nearby.
by Bill Cook on Jul 23, 2012 11:17 am • link • report
Also, the 5000 series have been a complete nightmare for Metro. Many of them are less than 10 years old (WAY too soon to retire), and have had serious reliability and safety problems from Day One.
Odds are, we'll see the 5000s refurbished early, or retired without refurbishment (which will probably also happen to the 4000s)
by Andrew Schmadel on Jul 23, 2012 11:29 am • link • report
5000 series cars - has there been an explanation of the reasons for the problems with the A/C in them? Poor or inadequate design, problem with getting replacement parts? If the A/C is still working, but can't handle the heat load, then if you are on a hot car and everyone else gets off, the car may cool off in a couple of stops in underground. The typical person generates around 90 to 100 watts of heat energy. So the A/C for a car with 100 people on board has around 10KW of body heat to handle in addition to hot air and sun if aboveground. An additional reason on a hot day to look for the uncrowded cars to get on.
by AlanF on Jul 23, 2012 11:32 am • link • report
"Does VDOT realize that it's very easy to create an LLC with an offensive name and buy some road naming?"
While I agree that it's an absurd way for the state to raise revenue, the names can't possibly be worse than questionable names such as "Jefferson Davis Highway" or "Lee Highway" already prevalent down there.
by King Terrapin on Jul 23, 2012 11:43 am • link • report
How dare the morning links post not take a stand on this issue!
by Alex B. on Jul 23, 2012 11:57 am • link • report
Right, because there's certainly not a pattern of making excuses for Metro around these parts.
by Corey on Jul 23, 2012 12:22 pm • link • report
Lee Highway does not only go through VA. It goes from NYC to LA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Highway
And the JD Highway ventures as far as CA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis_Highway
At least JD and Gen Lee were historical figures.
As for potentially dynamite names:
Son of Confederate Veterans Highway?
http://www.scvva.org/Join.html
Public Advocates of the USA Highway?
http://www.publicadvocateusa.org/
[Hey, it can't be a hate group if a Loudoun Supervisor is a member, right?]
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 12:27 pm • link • report
What excuse was made?
I'd say you're confusing explanations with excuses, but this post didn't even offer an explanation, either - since it was a 37 word summary with a link.
by Alex B. on Jul 23, 2012 12:33 pm • link • report
I fail to see how selling naming rights to highways is anything more than incrementally differrnt than selling advertising on transit or any other publicly owned property.
As for the links you provided, I agree that in a small percentage of cases, there are problems with selling naming rights, allowing personalized license plates, and allowing advertising on public property. Most of the time the revenue is worth the risk of occasional problems but I'm sure in some cases it's not.
The point is that its a reasonable idea worth trying out. There's a common knee jerk reaction that the public has to any idea that's even incrementally different from the status quo. I work with a lot of people in govt and I can tell you they're scared to death of doing anything that hasn't already been implemented multiple times with no problems because they know how unforgiving the court of public opinion can be on anything with the faintest whiff of innovative or bearing any risk. That's really not the best way to run govt.
by Falls Church on Jul 23, 2012 12:49 pm • link • report
So when I drive on the Pulaski Skyway through the industrial wastelands of Jersey City and Newark, I'm actually on "Lee Highway"? Cool. I'll bring my Skynyrd CD next time I drive there. :)
by Frank IBC on Jul 23, 2012 12:53 pm • link • report
Yeah, but those roads are only marked with those names in the South, particularly in Virginia (and quite prominently too).
As for the two you posted, please no (although I'm sure Confederate Bob in Richmond would have no problem with that).
by King Terrapin on Jul 23, 2012 1:35 pm • link • report
Changing names imposes alot of costs, not just the obvious relabeling of signs, maps, stationary etc. But also people getting lost who knew the old name, distracted driving as one has to study the naming signs, the use of a few brain cells to store the new information, and the plain annoyannce one feels if they don't like the new name.
Those costs are borne by the society at large, and may actually be greater than the revenues generated by the public entity. AAA's John Townsend was right when he said:
by JimT on Jul 23, 2012 2:14 pm • link • report
by selxic on Jul 23, 2012 2:51 pm • link • report
I disagree. It is a terrible idea to slap advertisements on everything you can think of. The world is not Times Square.
I work with a lot of people in govt and I can tell you they're scared to death of doing anything that hasn't already been implemented multiple times with no problems because they know how unforgiving the court of public opinion can be on anything with the faintest whiff of innovative or bearing any risk. That's really not the best way to run govt.
I do agree with that.
@ selxic:Virginia and their prominent usage of way-finding road signs.
If only...
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 2:59 pm • link • report
No one's suggesting we slap advertisements on everything we can think of but as Times Squares shows, there are ok places to put advertisements. We're not talking about allowing billboards on VA's scenic byways. That I would oppose. But, if we're talking about renaming Rt. 28 into "AOL Highway" or something like that, I think it's better than raising taxes (which won't happen anyway) or getting by with less money for transportation.
To JimT's point, there are legit drawbacks and potential societal costs to renaming roads which I agree should be taken into consideration in any cost/benefit analysis.
by Falls Church on Jul 23, 2012 5:20 pm • link • report
I recall an article, I think on Unsuck, about the A/C in the 5000 series cars. The article said it's a design flaw, basically irreparable, having to do with the auxiliary power systems in the cars (which power, among other things, the A/C).
by JW on Jul 23, 2012 6:27 pm • link • report
From the link:a previous VDOT document showed prices could range from $5,000 for secondary roads to $200,000 for interstate highways.
Previous estimates show the state could make as much as $273 million over 20 years from the naming sales.
That's peanuts. M$14 a year. $1.70 per Virginian per year. The governor is giving away the naming rights for all our roads and bridge for about half a gallon of gas a year. You'd need to sell the naming rights of two secondary roads to pay for a single bus stop.
That's not generating revenue. That's a massive corporate give-away. And a massive waist of government time and effort.
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 9:22 pm • link • report
by Jasper on Jul 23, 2012 9:23 pm • link • report
Late Sat. night 3 men were arrested after gunfire at 11th & U when many rounds of ammo were found in their Mercedes. Two women were wounded. All three were released pending hearings:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/dc-police-gun-thrown-from-car-after-u-street-shooting/2012/07/23/gJQAyj8K5W_story.html?hpid=z5
by Tom Coumaris on Jul 23, 2012 10:01 pm • link • report
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