Archive: October 2006
Halloween Driving Tips
When I was an education reporter years ago, teachers told me that the kids' favorite holiday was Halloween. It beat Thanksgiving, Christmas Hannuka and everything else. And it wasn't the candy, the teachers said. It was the dressing up and being someone, or something, other than yourself. In the process, kids can forget who and where they really are. Then it's up to us to watch out for them. Tonight's rush hour will combine several dangerous factors: Parents will be rushing home, we're still not used to driving in the afternoon dark and some of the children will be out already. Leaves blowing across the streets create confusion. -- Be extra alert when you're pulling in and out of driveways, even in areas that don't normally get a lot of foot traffic. -- Pay attention what's happening on the sidewalks and watch for children darting across the streets. Watch especially...
By Robert Thomson | October 31, 2006; 8:21 AM ET | Comments (12)
Commuting Through a Neighborhood
Just got back from a morning rush drive along Military Road NW, a link for many commuters between Georgia Avenue, 13th Street and 16th Street to the east and Connecticut and Wisconsin avenues to the west. The District probably will undo some of the changes it tested along the road this year, going back to four travel lanes rather than the current two. That should benefit commuters. It would eliminate the jam-up that occurs at Oregon Avenue as travelers who have been sailing along the two freeway-like lanes through Rock Creek Park have to narrow down to a single lane to get through that lovely residential neighborhood on the western side of the park. Once the traffic narrowed down to the single lane, it flowed pretty smoothly through the neighborhood. The District Department of Transportation has an idea that about 15 percent of the drivers who used Military Road before...
By Robert Thomson | October 30, 2006; 9:43 AM ET | Comments (5)
Metro Hours This Weekend
Metrorail is going to open two hours early on Sunday, because of the Marine Corps Marathon. The trains will begin running at 5 a.m. The race should start at 8:15 a.m. The buses that normally use the Pentagon Transit Center on Sunday will operate from Pentagon City instead Metrorail station instead between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. Of course, all this comes on the weekend when the clocks fall back an hour. Metrorail will operate on its usual hours Saturday night into Sunday morning. The system will close for the night at 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday....
By Robert Thomson | October 28, 2006; 10:00 AM ET | Email a Comment
No Such Luck
Lisa Farbstein, Metro's spokeswoman, called to say that if you see an official looking sign at a bus shelter telling you that you can get a free ride if you're bus is late, it's a hoax. Your bus may be late, but you won't get a free ride out of it. The fake signs, which she says are 8-1/2 by 11 inches and have an official looking Metro "M" on them, say that if your bus is late, call Metro's customer service number about it, and in exchange, you'll get a pass for a free ride. She doesn't know how many such signs are out there, and suspected it might be a Halloween prank. She wanted to alert riders so they don't get there hopes up about this....
By Robert Thomson | October 26, 2006; 9:22 AM ET | Comments (23)
Name That Smell
Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel saw this reader comment during my Live Online discussion Monday and pounced on it: "Metro Center and Gallery Place have stunk of dead mice lately. This morning, as I exited the Orange Line at Metro Center, there was a smell, and Gallery Place was whiffy, too. Two or three weeks ago, at Metro Center, the smell was so bad people were holding their noses on the platform. "Is there a dead rodent collection crew, or does Metro just wait for them to completely decompose? (yuck)" Steve says Metro had received complaints of a rotten fish smell in some stations. He says there's definitely a problem, but the animal kingdom is not the source. "What is it? Well, we checked and the smell is coming from new brake pads that were recently installed in our series 5000 CAF rail cars," he says. "We have 192 of these...
By Robert Thomson | October 25, 2006; 6:08 AM ET | Comments (21)
Meetings on Future of Roads and Buses
Here's a reminder about the meetings this week on various transportation plans affecting important auto and bus routes. For some commuters, finding out how their travel patterns could be affected may be worth missing the start of the World Series games. Tonight and tomorrow night, the Federal Highway Administration is hosting meetings to discuss the future of the 14th Street Bridge corridor. Tonight's session is at Aurora Hills Community Center, 735 18th St. South in Arlington. Tomorrow's is at Amidon Elementary School, 401 I St. SW in the District. Both sessions, which open at 6:30.p.m., include a presentation about minimizing driver delays, improving safety and enhancing the appearance of this Washington gateway. Also tomorrow night, the District Transportation Department will discuss work along Military Road. This session will be held at the Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave. NW, from 6:30 to 8.p.m. In December, DDOT changed the lane...
By Robert Thomson | October 24, 2006; 6:00 AM ET | Comments (24)
The Highways of the Future -- Or Not
Please join me today for a Live Online discussion of transportation topics at 1 p.m. The future of our roads and transit systems have been in the news lately and an election is coming up that could affect the destiny of some transportation projects, particularly in Maryland. With governments so reluctant to raise more money for transportation projects, many are looking to various forms of public-private partnerships to build roads and even transit systems. In Maryland, Gov. Robert Ehrlich's administration recently put out a call for new proposals along those lines. But in today's Post, Eric Weiss shows that this approach may have some real difficulties. See his story headlined "Beltway Toll Plan May Need Va. Funds" to see that the plan to have a private company build express toll lanes on the Capital Beltway in exchange for some of the toll revenue -- one of the major congestion-relief projects...
By Robert Thomson | October 23, 2006; 9:11 AM ET | Comments (6)
Metro Looking for More Citizen Advisers
Metro formed a Riders' Advisory Council a year ago and now is looking to fill eight slots on the 21-member panel that will become vacant because that group's terms are expiring. The eight vacancies will consist of three slots for Montgomery County residents, one for Prince George's, two for the District and one for Fairfax, as well as one at large slot. Metro makes the final selections of the people to advise the transit authority's board of directors. The positions are unpaid, but you get the satisfaction of telling the people who run the subways and buses what you think of their performance. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on Nov. 3. You can fill out an application form online. It includes questions about your experience with the transit system. Metro says it wants to get a good cross section of riders who have experience with different aspects of...
By Robert Thomson | October 20, 2006; 9:52 AM ET | Comments (4)
All Lanes Reopen on I-270 Following Early Morning Crash
All lanes have reopened on I-270 after a crash before 6 a.m. this morning. A reconstruction crew had been on the scene, according to Maptuit....
By Sheryl Silverman | October 20, 2006; 6:16 AM ET | Comments (3)
Who's To Blame?
Interesting story in today's Post from a poll of Virginia voters: The poll finds support among Northern Virginians for tax increases to improve the road and rail network. Also, people are angry with the state government for failing throughout 2006 to advance any measure that would improve traveling conditions. Specifically, the poll found that 55 percent of the likely voters in Northern Virginia blamed the General Assembly for the ineffective special session last month, while 11 percent blamed Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. If they'd called me for the poll, I'd have spread the blame out a bit more. I'd up the share of heat that the governor should take on this. While this is Kaine's first year in office, Virginia gives any governor only four years to make a difference on any issue, because of the one-term limit. Kaine told Northern Virginia voters he really cared about their troubles getting...
By Robert Thomson | October 19, 2006; 9:19 AM ET | Comments (23)
Pedestrian Killed in Prince George's County
An adult male was killed around 6 a.m. this morning on Route 4, Pennsylvania Ave. at Walters Lane. The accident appears to be a hit and run, according to Cpl. Debbi Carlson, a Prince George's police spokeswoman. A reconstruction crew is on the scene and the outbound lanes remain blocked....
By Sheryl Silverman | October 12, 2006; 6:55 AM ET | Comments (9)
Traffic, Traffic Everywhere
Getting away from the newsroom for a few days, I drove up through New England to Bar Harbor, Maine. This is fall leaf season along the coast and the weather is beautiful. But, oh, the traffic! After reading so many letters to the column and comments on the blog that bemoan the everyday conditions in the Washington region, it has been interesting to see all of that replicated on highways and secondary roads up the East Coast. We skirted New York City by taking the Garden State Parkway to the northbound New York Thruway and then cutting east across the Newburgh bridge on I-84. That took us through Hartford, Conn., and up to the Mass Pike. E-ZPass cut at least a half hour off our trip, but that doesn't mean we avoided jam-ups. Probably the worst were around Danbury, Conn., and Hartford. Just volume. Too many drivers for not enough...
By Robert Thomson | October 10, 2006; 8:41 AM ET | Comments (15)
Weekend Work at Roosevelt Bridge
Lots to watch out for on the Roosevelt Bridge this weekend as part of the reconstruction work. The District Department of Transportation plans to close the ramp from the westbound bridge to Route 50 in Virginia) and the ramp from the westbound bridge to the northbound George Washington Parkway from 8 p.m. Friday until 4 p.m. on Sunday, weather permitting. Watch for detour signs. DDOT says the $6.9 million project is on schedule for completion in December. Workers are placing a concrete deck overlay and repairing the Potomac River bridge. This includes repairs to the deck surface, replacement of the existing joint assemblies at the abutments and other upgrades, according to DDOT. I drove across the bridge last week in both directions. Had to take it real easy on the westbound side, where a lot of the surface had been removed and, as a result, the metal joints were sticking...
By Robert Thomson | October 4, 2006; 6:16 AM ET | Comments (2)
Metro Rolls Out New Train
On the way home this afternoon, some of you may be riding on the first six-car train composed completely of the new 6000 series cars. Those are the ones that were modified to create more space and draw passengers toward the center of the car, rather than clustering around the front and rear doors. Tangherlini, at left, discusses new design with reporters. (Robert Thomson) This new six-car train left Greenbelt Station late this morning on its inaugural run to Branch Avenue on the Green Line. Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini and Yellow/Green Line Manager Rita Davis were among those along for the ride. Some readers -- especially shorter people and older people -- have expressed concerns about whether the new design, with more poles in the middle of the car but fewer near the doors, will accommodate their needs. They're concerned that as a crowded train slows, and maybe lurches,...
By Robert Thomson | October 3, 2006; 1:37 PM ET | Comments (26)
Route 50 Reopens Following Morning Accident
Route 50 was blocked at Watson Road east of Route 15 -- Gilbert's Corner for most of the morning. Eastbound traffic was diverted at Route 15, according to Maptuit. Lanes reopened around 11 a.m....
By Sheryl Silverman | October 3, 2006; 11:30 AM ET | Email a Comment
Report on Yellow Line Incident
I promised during Monday's Live Online discussion that I'd try to learn more about a morning incident on Metro at Pentagon Station, and Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith was able to get back to me later in the day. First, here's what the questioner said during our discussion: "I am concerned about an incident that happened this morning on the Yellow Line. A women who appeared sick passed out in one of the cars while we were stopped in the Pentagon Station. We pressed the emergency call button and notified the train operator, but he still attempted to close the doors and move on. We held the doors open, and eventually through the passengers waiting in the platform, the operator got the message to stop. We told the train operator and as many WMATA employees we could find that there was an emergency, and at least two people on the train...
By Robert Thomson | October 2, 2006; 6:01 PM ET | Comments (4)
SmarTrip, Smart Man
Just got back from Metro's formal unveiling of the new SmarTrip express lanes at the Anacostia Station. Metro has installed at five stations now. The others are New Carrollton, Vienna, Bethesda and Pentagon City. Each of those stations has a high volume of SmarTrip users, and those of us who use the electronic fare card tend to get impatient when we're lined up behind people trying to slip the paper fare cards through the slot. This is one of several instances in which Metro managers are trying to think like customers. They have occurred under the leadership of interim general manager Dan Tangherlini, who is withdrawing today as a candidate for the permanent job because Adrian Fenty has asked him to become D.C. city manager, next year. Given the extreme likelihood that Fenty will win the mayoral race, that was a pretty safe bet by Tangherlini. The express lane idea...
By Robert Thomson | October 2, 2006; 10:26 AM ET | Comments (10)
Big Loss for Transit Riders
Given a choice between a firm job offer from one potential boss, versus a possible job offer from multiple bosses, Dan Tangherlini, Metro's interim general manager, went with option A. David Nakamura and Lena Sun report in today's Post that mayoral candidate Adrian M. Fenty offered Tangherlini the job of D.C. city manager and Tangherlini will take it. The D.C. government wins. Metro may still come out of this okay, following it's nationwide search for a new leader, but it has lost the management momentum created by Tangherlini following the forced departure of Richard White, whose administration had become sluggish and disconnected from riders and employees. Tangherlini had brought new ideas and -- maybe more important -- a new spirit to the top spot. He connected both with the workforce and with the customers. How do you see it? Was Metro wrong to follow process and conduct a search for...
By Robert Thomson | October 2, 2006; 7:19 AM ET | Comments (8)
Bicyclist Struck in Falls Church
Westbound lanes of Arlington Boulevard are blocked this morning due to an accident involving a bicyclist near Annandale Road in Falls Church. Maptuit reports that traffic is getting by on the service road. Authorities are now working to reconstruct the accident. Update: Post coverage of the accident is online here....
By Kyle Balluck | October 2, 2006; 7:09 AM ET | Comments (1)
Join Our Discussion Today
Join me at 1 p.m. for a Live Online discussion. We can talk about the express SmarTrip fare gates that Metro is introducing, the District's study on whether to pull down the Whitehurst Freeway, the unproductive special session of the Virginia General Assembly and the extensive changes in Metro's bus routes last week. Or just about anything else on your mind concerning getting around in the Washington region. You can submit questions anytime....
By Robert Thomson | October 2, 2006; 5:22 AM ET | Email a Comment
