What's flimsy about the AAA study when it's based in the simplicity of reading the contracts many red light installers have with the cities in which they place the cameras? For years, companies like Lockheed (which actually owns a good chunk or all of the largest camera installer) have been writing contracts with municipalities that allow them to shorten the lights. There's a good (albeit now older) Car & Driver piece out there where they actually bothered to FOIA some of the contracts and found that, pretty consistently, red light camera installers were allowed to shave a second off the yellow wherever they installed a camera.

by Circle Thomas on Oct 10, 2012 9:01 am • link • report

see what WMATA did. They are comparing rates with numbers.

In 2009 (may), there were this was the civilial work force, employed, and unemployed:

3,077,802 2,888,348 189,454 (6.1%)

In 2012 (may) here are the numbers:

3,204,936 3,029,660 175,276 (5.4%)

So, there are 200,000 more EMPLOYED people in the DC region than in 2009.

Care to rethink why peope aren't using your system?

by charlie on Oct 10, 2012 9:03 am • link • report

@Charlie

Because it's unreliable and expensive?

by Adam L on Oct 10, 2012 9:14 am • link • report

The Mosaic District design is incredibly shortsighted. They expanded Lee/Gallows because it was already a serious bottleneck and the thinking was that Mosaic would only exacerbate that by bringing more traffic. While that's true to some extent, VDOT could have mitigated traffic impacts by encouraging people to get to Mosaic by walking or bike.

By ignoring bike/peds needs, VDOT is ensuring that everyone who goes to Mosaic gets there by driving, only worsening traffic.

That said, I disagree with FABB's focus on bike facilities for Lee. The easier and more important improvement is better bike access from the W&OD. The Gallows bike lane needs to be extended all the way to Mosaic and there needs to be a better way to cross Lee.

by Falls Church on Oct 10, 2012 9:15 am • link • report

The N.Y. Times also editorialized that NYPD should increase the number of tickets given to cyclists who break laws.

by CapHill on Oct 10, 2012 9:17 am • link • report

The Mosaic district is a nice start and it will be nice to see the lots between Lee Hwy and the Dunn-Loring station continue to get filled and hopefully provide some pedestrian relief because Lee Highway is a real nightmare. This has been exacerbated since the Hot lanes project added lanes to Lee to create a new exit onto 495.

by drumz on Oct 10, 2012 9:21 am • link • report

"Cyclists asked for bike lanes, but cars got all 10 lanes instead."

There is a subtle distinction here. CARS did not get all 10 lanes. Cyclists requested bike lines and DRIVERS got all 10 lanes instead. Drivers = still people.

by Rose on Oct 10, 2012 9:22 am • link • report

@charlie

Good point. For some reason, this blog refuses to acknowledge that higher fares have impacted ridership. Perhaps it has something to do with their strident support for peak-of-the-peak pricing?

by Teyo on Oct 10, 2012 9:34 am • link • report

@ Teyo; I don't think the phrasing here is GGW's fault; WMATA just needs to come out and say "Crappy service, more expensive fares and weekend track work continute to reduce rail ridership."

In terms of buses, that is a bit more of a mystery. I suspect moving to electronic transfers has changed bus ridership on a permanent basis.

by charlie on Oct 10, 2012 9:38 am • link • report

From a link:To make things interesting, VDOT placed (or approved the placement) of a large pole holding traffic signals right in the middle of where a cyclist would enter the sidewalk on a curb ramp at one of the intersections (Yates Way?).

They're doing this as well on the US-1 transit way on the north side of Alexandria between Potomac Ave and E Glebe. I've complained about that to Alexandria, but heard nothing back. It's absolutely insane and asking for trouble.

by Jasper on Oct 10, 2012 9:39 am • link • report

To be sure, Metro is not ignoring the impact of fares on ridership entirely: their forecast for a decline in bus ridership next year appears to be based on the predicted effect of the $.10 bus fare increase.

It wouldn't surprise me if bus ridership was unexpectedly higher, as people continue to familiarize themselves with the bus alternatives to their unreliable, overpriced train rides.

by Arl Fan on Oct 10, 2012 9:48 am • link • report

King Street is due for a more pedestrian-oriented design. It should make visiting the area more pleasant.

by Gavin on Oct 10, 2012 9:52 am • link • report

I like the idea of redesigning King Street. I have to say I was against dropping parking spaces until I heard which ones are supposed to be jettisoned...there's really no problem with that.

Why save the parking spaces? Because (unless I've missed something) there are no stations with significant parking between Huntington and the airport on the Yellow Line. I'm all for pedestrian-friendliness, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few added somewhere along the line. Perhaps a lot at Eisenhower...it could make for a useful alternative, perhaps.

Maybe not. I haven't thought about it overmuch.

by Ser Amantio di Nicolao on Oct 10, 2012 9:59 am • link • report

RE: WMATA Ridership

Several factors:
1. Since they are counting FY ridership, WMATA's 2009 number is ridership from JUL08-JUN09. Fall of 2008 saw record ridership numbers across the entire country (and here in DC) when gas prices shot up.
2. Since the June 2009 crash, they started ramping up maintenance; there has been way more single tracking and closures since then. Before the crash single-tracking happened only on weekends and the weekend closures were unheard of. This means people avoid Metro during off-peak times and walk/bike/drive/bus instead.
3. Since the 2009 crash they have been mixing the car series, this seems to have led to a massive increase in the number of breakdowns, delays, door problems, etc. I think this has made a small but significant enough number of people decided to take other transit modes or drive to work to avoid the uncertainty.

I don't really think fares are impacting it that much compared to these other factors; agencies across the country have increased fares just like WMATA and ridership is recovering better in other places.

by MLD on Oct 10, 2012 10:00 am • link • report

@Rose-Good catch! GGW can't have it both ways on "tortured language" (http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/1850/excessive-passive-voice-linguistic-detachment-observed-in-culpeper-road-fatality/)

It's entirely possible that NYC DOES NOT need Albany's permission to install speed and/or red-light cameras. (http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/07/16/nyc-doesnt-need-albanys-permission-to-enact-congestion-pricing/)

by thump on Oct 10, 2012 10:03 am • link • report

The myTaxi app is launching in DC. It connects riders and cabs, and lets riders pay by credit card without an extra fee.

I think unfortunately the developers of apps like Taxi Magic and myTaxi don't understand where the market failure lies with DC taxi service--and where Uber provides a solution.

There's no difficulty in contacting DC-based taxi cabs. The difficulty is in actually getting a DC-based taxi cab to show up at all. If you're in Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan, you don't need an app; you only need to walk out your door and raise your arm.

But if you live someplace like Capitol Hill, you can call a taxi service, or use an app, or do whatever you like. You may talk to a dispatcher, but a DC-based taxi is unlikely to show up.

That's why most savvy residents know to call Red Top of Arlington when they're trying to get to National. They'll actually show up on time. Or at all.

Unfortunately, you can only call one of the professional (non-DC) companies if your destination is outside the city. Fortunately Uber doesn't have that restriction.

myTaxi is unlikely to work for folks who live outside the "hot zones" because taxi drivers prefer to troll those areas.

by oboe on Oct 10, 2012 10:10 am • link • report

@oboe: Supershuttle shows up, no problem. And it is cheaper than a taxi.

by goldfish on Oct 10, 2012 10:52 am • link • report

WMATA Ridership
WMATA can't simply blame the economy and the 2009 crash for flat ridership. They should be honest and acknowledge the effects of the maintenance projects, fare hikes, and operational problems. The DC economy has done pretty well since the 2008 crash compared to most other cities.

Meanwhile, NYC subway, Boston T, Chicago L, BART, PATH, even SEPTA show measurable growth in ridership comparing first half of 2009 to first half of 2012 (APTA quarterly reports). Only MARTA among the major US metro systems shows a decline which is due to service cuts and funding problems.

Should WMATA start looking at ways to reduce the disruptions from the weekend maintenance projects? Or is this going to go on for another 2-4 years with little ridership growth (other than from Phase 1 of the Slver Line) until the capital improvement projects starts to wrap up and new 7000 series cars provide more capacity? Can WMATA tackle personnel and operating costs head-on to hold off another round of fare hikes?

Would be useful to have Metro ridership numbers for each month broken out into weekdays, Saturdays, Sunday, and weekdays broken into the work day and after 7 PM to capture the evening ridership. Is ridership going up or down on weekends?

by AlanF on Oct 10, 2012 10:53 am • link • report

re King Street

that lot has always been a barrier of sorts between the station and old town. IIRC there was a proposal some years back to build a residential building there, but it was blocked at least in part to save views, but also because of opposition from Rosemont residents. Improving bike/ped access seems like a very good move

Re parking there - well if you could charge the premium prices those spaces would get on the free market, it might make sense to keep some spaces - but IIUC WMATA can't do that. There ARE private garages not far away, IIRC.

Re Mosaic - A new mindset will take years of learning for the County AND for VDOT, and for folks in FFX in general. They need to actually SEE areas getting high non-auto modal shares to believe it. Despite that, I am positive about this development, which may help extend the desirable residential area near the Dunn Loring station, and build critical mass for urbanism. I'm not sure about the ultimate solution for improving bike access.

by AWalkerInTheCity on Oct 10, 2012 10:55 am • link • report

@oboe

But wouldn't these apps be able to exclude drivers that fail to appear or are consistently late? It seems like it will work itself out after just a couple months with only decent drivers remaining in the system.

by Adam L on Oct 10, 2012 11:00 am • link • report

@AlanF; all good points, but then again WMATA just comes up with lame excuses (it's the economy) to lay the groundwork for asking the member jurisdictions for more money.

by charlie on Oct 10, 2012 11:06 am • link • report

Adam L: I think the right kind of app would do that. Taxi Magic does not really do that; they just partner with cab companies (DC Yellow Cab, Arlington Red Top, etc.), so if you have a problem with one of the cabs (as I did with Yellow the first time I tried Taxi Magic) then they don't/can't take action directly. I don't yet know how myTaxi works.

At the "innovation in the taxi market" hearing, the CEO of Hailo said that in London, they do not have a problem with cabs not going to undesirable neighborhoods. He said that because taxis know they are more likely to be able to get a return fare, given that instead of trolling around they can just pick up someone who calls on the app, they are willing to take a passenger to places they wouldn't have before. I don't know if that will be true in DC or not, or if it deals with the problem of cabs not showing up when you call them.

by David Alpert on Oct 10, 2012 11:06 am • link • report

Did PoP pee in GGW's cheerios or something? A little bit ago GGW took down the link to PoP. Now instead of linking to the PoP Logan Circle video, GGW links to the WashPo which gives credit to PoP.

by crin on Oct 10, 2012 11:12 am • link • report

I can't speak for Thaddeus, but I don't think it was intentional. Our general links policy is to link to the most original news source for something, not to one news source if they just re-reported what was in another source. I agree that in this case the link ought to go to PoP and not the Post, and have changed it.

by David Alpert on Oct 10, 2012 11:21 am • link • report

@oboe

The two or three times I have scheduled a cab pick-up, I have had punctual service. This was in Woodley Park. Maybe it is a neighborhood thing?

by sk on Oct 10, 2012 11:28 am • link • report

The idea that the Red Line accident suppressed demand is ludicrous. Nobody stops riding the Metro because of a crash just like nobody stops driving due to a crash.

by Catoe No Mo' on Oct 10, 2012 11:29 am • link • report

Also, I don't know why PoP is not on the side links, but I have restored it. I don't look at that links section very often because it doesn't change, so it tends to get out of date or occasionally messed up.

If anyone sees omissions, or notices that we still have a blog on there which is defunct, let me know. I've just removed a couple of defunct blogs and added a few that are new since the last time I updated the links, but I'm sure there are some that I am missing.

by David Alpert on Oct 10, 2012 11:39 am • link • report

The idea that the Red Line accident suppressed demand is ludicrous. Nobody stops riding the Metro because of a crash just like nobody stops driving due to a crash.

I don't think the argument is that people stopped riding because there was a crash, but rather that the crash triggered a great deal of WMATA maintenance, that maintenance has involved a lot of off-peak single tracking and service reductions, and those service reductions have impacted ridership.

The test would be to analyze the data to see how ridership at the peak (before and after the crash) compares to ridership off-peak (before and after the crash, ergo before and after intensive off-peak maintenance).

by Alex B. on Oct 10, 2012 11:50 am • link • report

@AlexB; again, good point, but I suspect that ins't what the little WMATA PR person said. From the article:

"That year marked both the best and worst period for the agency. Metro delivered record service for the historic inauguration of President Obama and had multiple high ridership days on its trains for baseball games and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. But near the end of that fiscal year, the deadly June 22, 2009, Red Line crash occurred.

Ridership tumbled in the second half of 2009. For that fiscal year, ridership fell 2.6 percent on rail and 8.2 percent on buses. It continued to suffer the next fiscal year, with rail ridership dropping slightly and buses regaining a bit. The agency had said it lost riders because of the accident and the economic slowdown."

There are a lot of rational reasons why rail ridership is down, but WMATA is the one pointng at the accident.

by charlie on Oct 10, 2012 12:31 pm • link • report

I think you're reading too much into it. They're writing about how 2009 saw a high (inauguration) and a low (the crash), both are true.

They say they lost ridership due to the accident, and that's also true if you consider the repair work part of the fallout from the crash. And you should.

It's a one line blurb, I don't think it needs to be parsed all that much. It's not a dissertation or anything.

by Alex B. on Oct 10, 2012 1:02 pm • link • report

VDOT says, "On Gallows Road, a ten-foot asphalt shared-use path on the west side, and six-foot sidewalk on the east side" are being installed. A bicyclist could get to Mosaic from that path on Gallows Road?

Any information from FABB (or anyone else) on that shared-use path? Does it connect to any major route?

Regarding the sidewalks on Lee Highway, VDOT claims it *is* in accordance with the Fairfax County Trails Plan. FABB says the trail plan requires more. Who is right?

by Northern Virginia Chronicle on Oct 10, 2012 1:10 pm • link • report

It's definitely a neighborhood thing, sk. I have had trouble with all manner of cab companies (INCLUDING Red Top) picking me up for rides to National (to the point of almost missing flights, often not showing up without notifying me they aren't coming, which sets my search for an alternative back substantially to past the originally requested pick-up time plus a reasonable margin of lateness). I use Flyer for Dulles, and they almost always show up nearly right on time. They're the only bright spot in my taxi usage.

Oboe, for trips to National, the savings from Super Shuttle are not worth the extra time spent gallivanting all over town picking all the other people up. The cost difference, for me at least, is around $5, but Super Shuttle requires me to leave my home at least an hour to an hour and a half before I need to be at the airport, while a taxi is only about 20-30 minutes. That doesn't seem too bad, except when you're on a 7 AM flight, which is when I use a cab to get to National over the Metro. Not really being a morning person, I'll take a 4:30 AM departure from my home over a 3:30-4 AM departure for a few extra dollars. It would just be nice if the cab companies could find it in their hearts to come to my house and let me pay them to drive me to the airport. Never in my life have I had to beg companies so much to let me patronize them as with DC cabs.

by Ms. D on Oct 10, 2012 2:42 pm • link • report

Ms. D: Why do you have to leave your house at 4:30 for a 7 am flight from DCA? I always shoot for getting there 1 hour before a flight and it's plenty of time, which would suggest you can leave at 5:30.

Dulles, of course, is a very very different story, especially if you're flying in the evening when the security wait times alone can top half an hour, plus the train or mobile lounges to the terminal and long walks at the terminal.

by David Alpert on Oct 10, 2012 2:46 pm • link • report

David, I've waited 30 minutes in a DCA security queue before. Considering that airlines will start boarding 30 minutes before departure time, that's an hour right there. If you had to check bags, you can likely add another 10-15 minutes at check-in, too. If it's an early morning flight and you wanted a few minutes at the gate to get a coffee and some breakfast, add another 20 minutes. Depending on what part of DC you're coming from, that's easily a 30 minute trip (and possibly much more, depending on where Ms. D lives)- and you probably should give yourself some fudge time for the cab arriving late. That's 2:15 from door to departure right there.

by Alex B. on Oct 10, 2012 3:09 pm • link • report

NVC

I think its supposed to link up to a path from Lee highway to the metro station also on the west side of gallows - ISTR from the last time I biked there that construction still obstructs that. north of the station you can ride the sidewalk over I66, and then with a gap (in which you ride in the road or on another multiuse path) you connect to the Gallows road bike lanes, which go all the way to Tysons.

FABBs objection is that there isnt really an east west route, and that there will be too many pedestrians for the MUP on Gallows to be useful. I guess the response is that Gallows will not be the main pedestrian route N/S, but the narrower parallel streets.

I have no idea how VDOT justifies the absence of a full MUP on Lee Highway - IIUC thats the standard even for new residential arterials - I suppose they said this is exceptional because of traffic volumes and limited space.

by AWalkerInTheCity on Oct 10, 2012 3:22 pm • link • report

I'd love to introduce you to DCA on a Friday morning at 7, David. MADHOUSE + INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT (connecting through Chicago...man I've done this too many times) = 5 AM arrival. It can take me upwards of 30-45 minutes to get through security, after my 15-20 minute wait/check in (gotta show that Visa)/bag check, and the B737/A320 I'm normally getting on takes a while to board (usually starts boarding around 6:15-6:20). 5 AM gives me just enough time to get some coffee (which can also take 20 minutes with a lot of sleepy business people around) and find my co-workers. When I once had to scramble because a cab didn't show up and arrived at 5:30, I ran up to the gate just as my coworker was about to board...no coffee. :(

For pleasure trips at off-peak times, yeah, an hour is fine. But if you want to see true insanity, DCA on a Friday morning fits the bill.

by Ms. D on Oct 10, 2012 3:57 pm • link • report

The security line situation at DCA has gotten much worse especially in the mornings. 1 hour no longer cuts it unless you have elite status/precheck, and even then on the wrong day it can still be iffy.

by Phil on Oct 10, 2012 4:28 pm • link • report

You are cutting it close if you are arriving at National an hour before your flight leaves. That would make me super nervous. Even if I checked in on the web ahead of time. I do an hour and a half or two hours if I have bags to check. I can get a drink at the bar on the other side of security if I need to. The point is the cab system in DC is not up to first world standards in a lot of ways.

by Alberto on Oct 10, 2012 5:29 pm • link • report

Ms. D-

What do you think the motivation is for not providing reliable on-call taxi service in certain neighborhoods?

by sk on Oct 10, 2012 7:31 pm • link • report

sk, for evening/weekend trips, I'm sure it's an issue of not being able to easily find a return/inbound fare. I had the same problem when living on the Hill, so I really do think for those trips it has less to do with bias and more to do with just doing what is more profitable (driving someone home to Adams Morgan/Dupont/etc., and then picking someone else up nearby, or vice versa). I do think the apps will help with that, to some extent, since it can help drivers pair inbound and outbound trips.

For things like my early morning airport trips, it's partially profit (there aren't many cabs on the road at that hour, and my trip is really not that expensive - under $25 including tip) and partially bias/an out-of-date impression of various neighborhoods. I had far less trouble getting those early morning cabs from the Hill, so it's definitely my impression that cab drivers view my neighborhood as dangerous. Of course, accepting credit cards would help that, as it would quickly become assumed that cab drivers aren't carrying as much cash (which is why I think Flyer - which accepts credit cards and carries minimal cash since each of their trips begin or end at the airport where they can stash everything but enough change for 1-2 passengers - and Super Shuttle - which only accepts pre-payments - don't have as much of a problem with it). Even the cab drivers that live in the neighborhood still seem nervous when coming off shift. They don't have much reason to be scared, these days, but old habits die hard.

Phil - I have elite status, and it can still take me a VERY long time to get through security at "prime time" at DCA. Sure, this past Saturday mid-morning there wasn't a soul in line in front of me in the priority line, but a lot of people have elite status/fly premium class in DC, and the TSA agent I encountered this weekend even commented that, when the airport is busy, the priority line is often slower than the regular ones. I have noticed this myself...while the priority line might only be half as long as the regular lines, the regular lines have at least 4 agents checking people in while the priority line might have 2 on a good day, most of the time it's just one, and more of the people in that line have bunches of electronics or whatnot, slowing things down. I know that when I travel for business I usually have 2 laptops and 2 full-size carry-ons with me (laptop bag and smallish roll-aboard...sorry, I need lots of junk I can't check), where when I fly for pleasure I just board with my purse (my phone is powerful enough to fill in for a laptop on a short trip where I can borrow whoever I'm going to visit's laptop should I need to do something more than check Facebook) or a small laptop bag with ONE laptop and my purse stuffed inside of it since I don't need to carry on a bunch of sensitive paperwork.

by Ms. D on Oct 10, 2012 8:47 pm • link • report

Alberto - I do just over an hour with checked bags at "off peak" times for domestic flights. Of course, I go through the priority check-in and security lines, so YMMV if you can't get into those lines. I don't think he's cutting it close with either no checked bags or status/paying for priority access/flying premium class at off-peak times (although I have seen some long lines of clueless tourists who fly a total of 4 times in their whole life and don't handle security well on Saturday/Sunday mornings at tourist peaks...was the case when I flew out on a Saturday morning during the Cherry Blossom Festival). Trouble is, I often have to fly at peak times (it can take me over a day to get to my destinations, door-to-door, and so I fly A LOT on Friday mornings, as I mentioned, so that I can arrive and get some rest before Monday morning's work, which I have found to be the WORST time to fly out of National).

by Ms. D on Oct 10, 2012 9:00 pm • link • report

On getting to DCA, before Metrorail opens: a few times, before kids, my wife and I would walk about two blocks to a bus stop, and take a Metrobus that eventually make its way to a part of town where it was feasible to hail a cab on the street. This worked fairly well. We'd heard enough cab no-show stories on our neighborhood listserv (we're in Brookland) that we didn't want to take a chance.

With kids, though, wrangling them and luggage on any sort of public transportation is basically a non-starter.

by thm on Oct 10, 2012 9:23 pm • link • report

In many circumstances, you're right, thm...it's just easier to hop on the nearest bus (for me it's the D8) and get somewhere where you can get a cab. But that's not really feasible for my work trips. I NEED to be at DCA at 5, when Metro STARTS running. The first feasible bus is the P6, which leaves the RIA Metro just a little after 5 (the D8 doesn't pass my home until almost 5:45). But in order to do that, I'd have to schlep a big wheelie, my checked duffel (I'm out for 2-3 weeks at a time when I travel, so, yes, I do need to pack that much...I am a VERY conservative packer and still can't get everything I need in my big wheelie and keep it under 70 lbs.), and my laptop bag and carry-on wheelie almost 6 blocks and haul that all on and off the bus, and then hail a cab.

I realize that my circumstances are unique. Not too many people need to get to National at 5 AM on a Friday so that they can be safely tucked into bed at their destination hotel sometime around 1 PM Saturday Eastern Time (1-2 AM local time), generally with another flight, train trip, or looooooooong car ride to their ultimate destination to go. But I still think it shouldn't be so hard to get a cab to pick me up for that. My money spends just as well as anyone else's. When I get to China or Vietnam or Malaysia or Thailand or wherever I'm off to, I have no trouble getting a cab to my hotel, no matter the hour, no matter what airport I end up at. But I have had cab companies in DC give me a snarky "we can't pick you up at that hour, what do you expect?" when I request a pick-up, or after they've ACCEPTED the pick-up and then don't show up (because I should have anticipated them not "being able to" show up when they said they could do it?). On my last trip, I left my hotel in Vietnam at 3:30 AM for the airport, and the bellhop had NO TROUBLE getting me a cab. I guess that's what bugs me so much. I feel that I get better, faster, more polite, more reliable service in "developing countries" than I do right here in DC.

by Ms. D on Oct 10, 2012 9:56 pm • link • report

@NVC, the Fairfax County Trails Plan indicates major paved trails (8' or wider, the dashed red line on this map) on both sides of Lee Highway and Gallows Road. The purple dashed line on Gallows Rd indicates bike lanes. I've asked FFX Co DOT about the 5' and 6' sidewalks and they are checking to see if these will be widened later. They are also checking to see if wide outside lanes are planned for Lee Hwy, which would give some space for cyclists. The Trails Plan can be accessed here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/comprehensiveplan/maps/trailsplanmap.pdf

by Bruce Wright on Oct 11, 2012 11:02 am • link • report

Thanks AWalkerInTheCity and Bruce Wright for the responses.

I see it's listed in Bruce's blog, but there are two county transportation dialogues tonight regarding Fairfax transportation priorities that readers could consider attending.

That webpage also has a link to an online survey (closing Oct. 15) where one can attempt to encourage county transportation priorities (although it seems mostly concerned with possible funding methods.)

by Northern Virginia Chronicle on Oct 11, 2012 1:18 pm • link • report