DC Libraries Are #1, Native Foods Closes, and Other News

Our Library System is Awesome

Before the streetcar travesty, DDOT was really my favorite DC agency. Then, DC Water moved into the top spot, mostly because of that poop-to-electricity thing. But, now DCPL has jumped to number one based on, well, a lot of reasons.

1) The staff recommendation and new book sections at MLK Library are on point. I've never been led astray. Never! This is how I was introduced to Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, and Scott Sigler; all recent favorites. So, go, accept a recommendation, and find a new favorite author.

2) You can get your passport processed! If you're getting a passport for the first time (not renewing), you can get it processed at MLK! Details listed here, but the basics are that they have office hours on Tuesday-Thursday [3p-7p] and Saturday [10a-3p] at MLK Library, located at 901 G St NW.

3) Basement shows. Y'all, you need to make it to one of these show. Too many good bands to list, but suffice to say DCPL has invited some of the most talented, entertaining, and smart musicians working in the District right now. These bands typically play weeknight shows in the basement of MLK Library in conjunction with the ongoing development of the DC Punk Archive. Anyway, go ahead and read this related article The Evolving Politics of Punk in the Nation's Capital.

4) A bunch of other cool offerings! They even made a video highlighting some of the best library programming. Music by DC/Mount P band Puff Pieces!

Native Foods Closes

Native Foods failed to survive just one calendar year in DC. I'm actually shocked they didn't. The all-vegan fast casual restaurant closed both DC locations (Penn Quarter + Dupont) last week after opening in the fall of 2014. I honestly thought they would clean up, especially at the Penn Quarter location. I'm definitely not an industry expert, so I can't say why exactly they closed, but according to company execs quoted in this Washington Post article, the DC stores just weren't meeting expectations.

I had more than a few experiences at both locations with botched food orders and extraordinary wait times. But, I also enjoyed many sunny outdoor lunches and made nice with the super friendly, hardworking staff. Apparently the company gave little to no notice of closing to local employees, which is quite disappointing. I'm definitely thinking of them this holiday season. Good luck y'all.

New Metro GM Opens Up

Paul Wiedefeld, the new General Manager of WMATA, participated a really, really good Q&A chat with our friends over at Greater Greater Washington. Wiedefeld was surprisingly open about his initial impressions of Metro, overview of how he'll manage the agency, and how important it is to him to improve service, safety, and regional cooperation. This gave me a bit of hope, as I have recently developed a disappointing and low expectation for Metro management. Read the transcript here.

Mount Pleasant to Tysons Now a 2-Seat Trip

The real Silver Line payoff for most of us in DC will be the rail link to Dulles Airport. As part of Phase 2, it won't be operational until 2018-2019. But, with the opening of Phase 1 of the Metrorail project last Saturday, we did get a major upgrade regarding transit access to Northern Virginia. 

So, how long does it actually take? Since it was Saturday I took a bus to the closest Silver Line station, McPherson Sq vs walking to Columbia Heights Station and transferring at L'Enfant Plaza.

12:09 PM - Board S4 bus towards downtown DC at the corner of 16th and Irving NW.

12:26 PM - Hop off of bus, walk to McPherson Square Metrorail station.

12:38 PM - Board Silver Line train to Wiehle-Reston East

1:15 PM - Train arrives at Wiehle-Reston East Station

Total trip time from Mount Pleasant to Wiehle-Reston East = 1 hour 6 minutes

Total cost = $4.85 using SmarTrip 

At this point I disembarked, roamed around the station, talked up some Metro employees, pondered the new Metrorail map, wondered why there wasn't a stop at Wolf Trap, took more photos, ET CETERA; transit junkie stuff. I took the next train three stops to the Tysons Corner Station where I joined almost everyone else getting off in walking to Tysons Corner Center. I had lunch there and picked up a much needed new pair of shoes. But, I digress. Headed back towards the city...

2:57 PM - Board Largo bound Silver Line train at Tysons Corner station.

3:24 PM - Disembark train at McPherson Square station and transfer to S4 bus.

3:47 PM - S4 bus arrives at 16th and Irving NW.

Total trip time from Tysons Corner station to Mount Pleasant = 50 minutes

Total cost = $4.85 using SmarTrip

Not sure how often I'll be taking a trip of this nature. However, there are now two new options for getting to Dulles Airport. This could entice me to fly out of IAD more often:

1) Washington Flyer Bus: Departs from Wiehle Station every 15-20 minutes during the weekday. It costs $5 and will get you to the airport in about 10 minutes.

2) 981/983 Fairfax Connector Bus: Departs from Wiehle Station every 20 minutes during the weekday (PDF). This bus makes intermediate stops with a travel time of 30 minutes to the airport. It costs $1.75.

Waiting for Silver Line train at McPherson Sq station.

End of the line: Wiehle-Reston East station.

Shiny new fair gates at Wiehle station.

Pedestrian walkway over Route 7 towards Tysons Corner Center mall.

The awkward pedestrian path to the mall. This experience will be improved soon.

New hotel and office towers next to Silver Line station.

Silver Line Opens Month From Today

Not a Silver Line train; they're all above ground.

Since I moved into the District, there have been just a few major additions to the WMATA Metrorail system. In November 2004 an infill station was added to the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue. At the time, the new stop was known as New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet U, and was even considered as a possible location for the new Washington Nationals stadium. Nats Park was constructed in Southeast and now the area around the station is known as"NoMa."

About one month after that opening, the Blue Line extension form Addison Road to Largo Town Center was completed. The areas around Morgan Boulevard and Largo Town Center stations haven't had the same type of build-up as NoMa, but fall in line closer to what already exists in Prince George's County; suburban style development.

That's it. No major additions to the system in nearly ten years. However, one month from today, on July 26th, the Silver Line is scheduled to open. The first Silver Line trains are scheduled to leave the Wiehle-Reston East station in Fairfax, VA at noon, headed to Maryland via downtown DC. From that point forward, the Silver Line will operate just like the other five lines. Same hours, same rules, same cars.

I'm really excited! First of all, I just love trains of any kind; heavy rail, light rail, Amtrak, commuter. And second, as the region grows, I love to see plans for infrastructure (especially transportation) adjust/grow/change/move accordingly. I haven't been to Tysons Corner in a while... maybe more than one year. And although I don't anticipate using the Silver Line on a regular basis, I can't stress how huge I think this will go towards making an impact on the District. From job hunters living in the District getting new options in Virginia to tourists who ditch the rental car to Metro into the city for fun; there are a lot of possibilities. Yes, there are challenges, too, including reduced service for some one-train-to-downtown trips on the Blue and Orange Lines, as well as new riders having to adjust to using Metro more regularly. Hopefully, those will be overcome in time (preferably with more infrastructure development).

SOME NOTES

Stations: There are five new stations over eleven miles of new track. Four are clumped together in "downtown Tysons": McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, and Spring Hill. Wiehle-Reston East station is the terminus and it lies a few miles west

Sample trip # 1: A trip between the Tysons Corner station and Columbia Heights will take 48 minutes, including 5 minutes for a transfer. Add in the walk from Mount Pleasant and that's about an hour trip from our neighborhood to, say, Tysons Corner Center shopping mall. Using SmarTrip, that journey will cost $5.15 during rush hour and $3.60 other times.

Sample trip #2: Walk to Columbia Heights Station (10 minutes) + take Metro from Columbia Heights to Wiehle-Reston East station (60 minutes) + Fairfax Connector Bus 981 to Dulles Airport (40 minutes - including 10 minutes waiting for bus) = 2 hour door-to-door trip from Mount Pleasant to Dulles International Airport. Including the rail-to-bus discount (using SmarTrip) that journey would cost $7.00 during rush hour and $4.70 other times.

Sample Trip #3: Your in-laws & parents are staying at the Sheraton Tysons Hotel and Residence Inn Tysons Hotel, respectively. No way you are driving there to pick them up during rush hour. They decide to ride Metro to Penn Quarter and meet you for dinner. The trip from Spring Hill Station to Archives-Navy Memorial station takes 45 minutes. Since they're using paper farecards, not SmarTrip, the cost for each  person would be $6.35 during rush hour, and $4.60 all other times.

Buses: Fairfax County has all collected all of the bus changes related to the Silver Line opening onto one page. One of the new Fairfax Connector buses will take Silver Line riders form Wiehle Ave station to Dulles Airport every 20 minutes during the day. Cool!

Rail cars: Sorry, we won't be riding the new 7000 series cars for a while. It would have been really cool to have the cars debut at the Silver Line opening, but they won't even be in production yet. Metro is still running the pilot models through the gauntlet before ordering the final cars. Look for them later this calendar year, on all lines.

Dupont Metro-South Will Close for Most of 2012

If you use Metro's southern Dupont station entrance on the regular, you'll need to find an alternative routine for most of 2012. The transit agency is closing the entire entrance to remove and replace the three escalators which move passengers from ground level to the mezzanine. The work was originally supposed to last one year, but Metro revised the timeline to 10 months, then 8 and one half months. The northern entrance at 20th and Q will remain open. 20th and Q has escalators as well as an elevator. There is no exact date for the closure, but it is planned to begin sometime in February.

This job is so big, Metro decided to bid the work out to a Swiss company rather than waiting to hire and train the dozens of additional workers required. The price tag is estimated at $12 million. According to Metro, the  current escalators were custom built by a British company, which is no longer in the business of producing or maintaining escalators. That made sourcing parts and labor for repair extremely difficult and costly. With the re-installation of new escalators, it's hoped that the monies and labor spent on future maintenance will be kept to a minimum. 

As for the 8.5 month estimate, I'm highly dubious. Let's come back to this on January 1, 2013 and see where the project stands. Until then, use the north entrance on 20th Street or walk south to the Farragut North station on Connecticut Ave and L Street NW.

Metro's Gallery Place Platform is a Mess

Red  line platform at Gallery Pl-Chinatown Station

We're all used to being crowded on Metro, especially in September. Congress is back, high school is back, DC's nine major colleges & universities are back, vacations are over: EVERYONE'S back at once. We get it. We deal with it. That's life. What I don't like to deal with, though, is what's going on at Gallery Place station during rush hour. 

I don't know the ins and outs of every station. I haven't even been to every station (see Metro-Ventrue's awesome project). But I can't imagine that any platform gets as crowded and dangerously gridlocked as the Gallery Place red line platform to Shady Grove during rush hour. 

Like all other platforms, it's as long as an 8 car Metro train. However, most trains aren't made of 8 cars, they're made of 6. And trains pull to the front of the platform when stopping, by rule. Seems like a good rule. However, at this station, most people departing this train are heading in the direction opposite of the train heading. They are either leaving the station onto 7th Street NW or transferring to the green and yellow lines on the platform below. These people --the majority of passengers departing the train-- are headed directly into the path of commuters transferring from green and yellow lines to the red line. 

This is to be expected at a transfer station. But, at Gallery Place, the brackish area where the red line and green/yellow line commuters meet happens to be a 90 degree corner with little latitude for maneuvering around oncoming foot traffic. 

This situation is made more complicated since rush hour riders headed toward Shady Grove are often running and pushing to reach the last car of a 6 car train before the doors close; just as riders headed toward green/yellow trains are running and pushing in the opposite direction. There is only so much space for these commuters. Not enough space.

It all ends in gridlock. Usually commuters form three columns of moving people. On the inner most column, near the wall, are riders moving west, towards the front of the red line train. In the middle column, people leaving the red line train headed east towards green/yellow trains. And on the outside, next to the granite edge, another column moving west towards the six car red line train. The columns are slow and often seem to not move at all. Passengers are slowed exiting trains and the columns block others from entering trains. There are common sense and etiquette rules, but even those aren't always followed.

A hobbit lay here... er, I mean a bench. It's gone now.

The gridlock leads to frustrated commuters, who sometimes yell, push or get claustrophobic (me) when you can't see anything besides other people ahead, not moving. At times it can feel awfully dangerous. Gridlock only lasts for so long before more aggressive commuters (who just want to get home) start pushing their way through or tip-toeing on the granite edge, bumping you along the way.

As for the fixes, occasionally I see Metro personnel directing riders near the 90 degree corner. And the arrival of an 8 car train does help relieve some of the crowding towards that end.

Weeks ago, Metro removed some benches against the wall. That freed up some space for walkers. But, having Metro personnel directing passengers is the best way. We'll often stand around, or some of us just might not know where to go. Put an authority figure who shouts clear and constant directions to us; that almost always works. Let's get on that before an accident happens or temperatures rise above silent cursing of  fellow in front of you. Especially if you're silently cursing at me.

Restoring Sanity: New Creperie, Circulator News, Rallies

Back to Monday, back to sanity?  Ha, not in this town.  There's always something new!  A bunch of news broke over the weekend and as you can see, I could hardly wait to share it all at once.

***A new creperie quietly opened in Adams Morgan.  Snap already operates a fairly out-of-the-way shop in Georgetown (on Thomas Jefferson St).  I guess they wanted to open a more visible location.  The Adams Morgan space at 2475 18th Street NW used to be CD/Game Exchange.  This is the space between CaliYogurt and Saki.  I stopped by for a coffee, but I remember the Georgetown location as focused on crepes and bubble tea.  Looks to be the same here.  The space is neat looking with orange walls and seating along the sides of the long store.  Crepe making, coffee and the register are in the rear of the store and seating goes all the way to the front windows.  Not sure of they are vegan friendly.  I'll try back when they are in full swing to ask about that stuff.  Cool hang out spot though.

----------

***Everyone's favorite transit option, the Circulator, just added a new route Sunday.  The DDOT-Metro collabo replaced the long running Georgetown Blue Bus.  The new Circulator route will link Dupont Circle and Rosslyn in Arlington, VA with just 8 stops in each direction.  The Dupont pick up is located at 19th and N Streets NW.  Pretty awesome news.  The buses will (allegedly ) run every ten minutes like the rest of the routes.  

This route will run on M Street through Georgetown in each direction.  Stating yesterday, the Georgetown-Union Station Circulator will now take Georgetown bound buses onto K Street NW for the last portion of the trip.  The buses will then offload and begin a new trip towards Union Station by turning north onto Wisconsin Ave and then right onto M Street on the way to Union Station.  this is, if you remember, the original route.

And a change for another existing route as well.  The southbound Woodley Park-McPherson Sq Circulator will depart from 14th St NW at Thomas Circle and continue on 13th Street until reaching McPherson Square.  Seems there is less traffic on 13th and the buses will reach the final destination quicker.  Good move.

----------

***Get ready for a slooooooowwwwwww weekend on the Red Line.  If you don't know, listen up.  Metro will be closing five Red Line Stations the entire Labor Day weekend.  Yes, completely closing five Red Line stations for the entire Labor Day weekend.  The closing begins at 10:00pm on this Friday night (Sept 3) and will continue until the stations reopen on Tuesday morning (Sept 7) at 5:00am. The stations closed are Glenmont, Wheaton, Forrest Glen. Silver Spring and Takoma; all on the eastern branch of the U-shaped line. 

Metro is replacing literally thousands of track components and laying fiber optic wire for enhanced mobile phone service in underground stations.  There's a fairly complicated bus bridging system, so check the WMATA website for that.  And good luck to those trying to get to and from MD and DC this weekend!  Add a bunch of time to your travel plans.  Heaps.

----------

***Lastly, turns out the large rally/gathering on the Mall wasn't really that exciting.  No one's head exploded at the main event and the counter rallies happened simultaneously resulting in little confrontation or other fireworks.  I did see a few "Culture Warrior," "No spin," and tea party affiliated t-shirts.  But besides observing slightly heavier than average Metro ridership, I personally was not affected by the rally.  

However, as former civics and American history educator, it pains me to see so much misinformation insinuated or just stated as fact and then passed along by a charismatic, but misguided and often factually wrong man.  And bringing that to DC under some guise of reformation was just sad.  Sad for the organizers and sad for the country.  This event won't bring us closer together.

I have to say that in my view, the rally had nothing to do with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  The ersatz leader of this weekend's rally couldn't hold a candle to King's brilliance.  He does a great job of entertaining people, and selling books and ad space for his TV-radio shows.  But making his constant target --our town, DC-- or any of the other parts of America better; no, that's not the way.  So, I say yes to free speech and yes to free assembly.  But no to negativity and misinformation in the name of "taking back" America.  It's reprehensible and in the end, won't win over the hearts of the majority.  If we have to restore anything, it should be sanity.

New Metro Signs Point the Way to Mount Pleasant

A few months ago I posited a suggestion regarding changing the name of Columbia Heights Station to include Mount Pleasant. According to the results of that poll, you were pretty evenly split! However, it seemed unlikely that the name of that station would be changed anytime soon.

But (h/t to DCist!), as we have discovered, that doesn't mean Metro can't point the way to Mount Pleasant using signage inside the station. Here you see overheard signage on the mezzanine level of the Columbia Heights Metro station. All riders exiting the station walk underneath these signs. One points eastward towards Pleasant Plains: I'm curious to see what those folks think about the addition. And the other sign points westward to our very own Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

Nice addition by Metro. I would rather have this as an outcome than changing the name of the station outright. Can't speak for Pleasant Plains, but I think the Mt Pleasant signage is pretty straight forward. Exit the station via the west escalators and continue down Irving Street. 2 and 1/2 blocks later, there you go: Mount Pleasant Street NW. Seemingly no negative consequences for Mount P or Columbia Heights as a result of this move. Now if they could keep those escalators and air conditioning running on a semi consistent basis: I'd cheer for that.

Suicide and More Make a Tough Week for Metro

Metro was already pressed this week, instituting a complicated fare increase across all levels of transit services. No one really expected the roll out to go 100% trouble free, but this week was especially challenging and sad.

Metro operated normally Sunday despite a computer glitch. The computers weren't calculating the new fares for paper fare cards correctly. Not too big of a deal and I'm sure most people didn't notice. Plus, who complains about getting a lower fare than advertised?

Later came news of a legal snafu involving a home that WMATA is attempting to sell. OK. They'll eventually solve that issue. Paperwork.

But Monday was a grim day with another apparent suicide. Details are still elusive at this point. But, it appears that a person "intentionally placed themselves on the tracks," in Metro parlance, and died; although not struck by a train. If determined a suicide, it'd be the sixth suicide at a Metro facility in 2010. Just sad. Oddly, this incident occurred nearly a year to the day of another suicide on the Red Line

Based on the media I have consumed, I get the gist that Metro was not blamed for the suicide, but for the response. The most notable were not allowing passengers off of the affected idle train and lack of communication to passengers about wait times as well as train and bus status.

I tend to give a little more leeway to the transit system in this scenario because I'd rather energy be focused on saving a life than anything else. On the other hand, with 10,000+ employees, someone has to be dedicated to offering information to stranded passengers. And leaving some of the passengers on the powerless train: under the circumstances that I understood to be true, it seems like Metro made the wrong decision. I wasn't there and certainly don't have all the inside knowledge.

For an agency with a declining image over the last 18 months, not much else could go wrong. Well... it certainly could, but let's not even think about going there. Let's hope they get it together and can survive the next few years with the rest of us until the economy turns and we get our priorities list back in relative order.

Paying More to Ride The 42

Ouch. I was ready to pay more to ride Metro rain and bus. I knew that in this economy, with governments less willing to dedicate more to transit (and other projects), and transit less willing to expand services, well, we could be in for a rough ride here in DC.

Metro's board of directors recently voted to increase the cost of most basic services such as parking, Metro access, rail fare, and yes, bus fare. Everyone will pay more on June 27th than they did the previous week for essentially the same trips. (The peak of the peak fares won't take effect until August 2, however.)

A few examples:

Let's say you live in Mount Pleasant and take the Metro from Columbia Heights to work near L'Enfant Plaza. Today, you'd pay $1.80 for that trip starting at say, 8:00am. On teh way home at 5:00pm, you'll pay the same, $1.80.

On August 2nd at 8:00am you'll pay $2.20, an increase of over 20%. And at 5:00pm, the same $2.20 for the return trip. Do that five times a week, four weeks a month and you'll be paying $88.00 per month to commute to work. Today those same trips would cost you $72.00. Nothing to sneeze at. Much of the increase is due to a new surcharge called "peak of the peak." It's an extra charge on top of the rush hour fare that targets commuters who ride during the busiest periods. The Washington Post has a great tool to examine how much your rail commute will increase under the new fares.

If you ride the bus to work, your fares will rise, too. There are no special rush hour or peak of the peak charges, but a bus trip will cost you $1.50 with a Smartrip card, opposed to $1.35 now. If you use cash under the new fares you'll pay $1.70. If you take the express buses to Dulles (5A) or BWI (B30) airports, you'll now pay $6.00, up from $3.10. There are many other changes. Here's a PDF of the new fare structure from Metro, including increases for Metro Access and bike locker rental.

I do support the increase. It will hurt in the pocketbook or me personally, but I support it. And I do believe Metro can provide the same level of service, I think that they'll have to work really hard to do that. And we won't be seeing an increase in service or product any time soon. Yes, the rail to Dulles is being completed as we speak (first phase anyway). But, that segment is still years from opening and to be honest, I really want Metro to get it right (i.e. SAFE and best value for the fare) with the system we have now and continuing with that ethos while expanding. Progress, yes, but smart, measured progress.

Sarles Quietly Takes Over at Metro

The new interim General Manager has been on the job for nearly a month. But you'd hardly know it as an average Metro customer. Richard Sarles took over for capable but embattled John Catoe on April 3rd of this year. Catoe wasn't so much ousted as he was ushered out --on his own terms-- by a very mediocre performance. He was dogged by elevator and escalator outages, explosive growth in system usage, safety mishaps, and of course the June 11 fatal Red Line accident, among other issues.

Sarles must feel a bit restricted; he is not likely a candidate for the permanent GM, but is tasked with overseeing daily operations as well as long term budget and capital planning for Metro at a critical juncture. He is now the driver on these important issues:

Rail to Dulles: We knew the good times wouldn't last. The on time delivery of Phase I of the Silver Line may be threatened by a dispute between Metro and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is overseeing the construction. If this dispute --over the price of rail cars-- goes on for an extended period, the entire schedule could be pushed back months or years.

Funding streams: None of Sarles predecessors solved this issue, so I don't think he will either. Metro needs dedicated funding. Maryland, Virgina and the District all need to codify yearly, dedicated funding for Metro in their respective budgets. Otherwise Metro will have to replan and readjust expectations and operations each year and won't be able to project with any real accuracy or precision.

Today's budget gap: forget about the future, what about now? Metro is facing a current budget shortfall of $189 million. How to correct for this? Really, the same ideas we've been hearing; increase in fares, cuts in services and restructuring internal departmental budgeting. In additional to eliminating some raises at Metro and asking MD, VA and DC for more money now.

Safety: This is huge. Additional training helps, but this is an institutional issue. It may require massive turnover for the entire agency to be on the same page regarding safely. Some of the newer ideas proposed by Metro are increased random drug testing of some workers, right of way training, fatigue management/prevention programs and more funding for suicide prevention (for riders, not workers).

Any changes approved by the Board would go into effect almost immediately, with new fares effective June 27th and other service changes and reductions being fulfilled by September of 2010. After public meetings, revisions to proposals and the general mood of transit in DC, I predict the following state of Metro in the second half of 2010.

New rush hour fares: Base rush hour fare will increase from $1.65 to $1.90. Currently we are paying a surcharge rate of $1.75, but that ends this summer. Maximum rush fare will increase to $5.00.

New base fare: Non rush hour base fare will increase from $1.35 to $1.55.

Parking: Fees are different in each lot, but all day parking at Metro lots will increase $.50 where ever you are. And reserved spaces will increase in price as well.

Internal Reductions: Metro is looking hard at cutting costs internally. You may never see the changes as a rider, but they have proposed massive cuts across departments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. This includes eliminating staff, including some whole offices, reducing the use of special consultants and outside legal counsel and deferring the hiring of various new employees.

Keeping Tabs: Presidents and Pitches

**For the third time since baseball's return to Washington, a sitting President will throw out the first pitch. Last year, President Obama declined the open invitation and instead threw out the first pitch for the All Star Game wearing the colors of his hometown Chicago White Sox. Former President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch for the Nationals in 2005 at RFK stadium. And I was there on the chilly Sunday night in 2008 when President Bush again threw out the first pitch at the just finished Nationals Park, opening the MLB season. If you are going to Monday's opening day game get there early. Gates open at 10:00am, game starts at 1:05. The game is sold out except for game-day $5 grandstand tickets. They go on sale Monday at the ticket booth beginning at 10:00am.

**Another type of pitch will be made this Thursday at a public forum near Mount Pleasant. All Souls Unitarian Church at 1500 Harvard St NW will host one of several Metro open house forums. They're trying to figure out what we think should be done to close the nearly $200 million budget gap for next fiscal year. Reduce services? Eliminate bus routes? Increase fares? I covered some of the worse case scenarios a few weeks ago. Hopefully, none of those will come to pass. But expect changes though. Uncomfortable ones. The hearing will begin at 7:00pm after a half hour open house. Can't make it? At the very least, complete Metro's online survey.

**Usually don't talk politics on the blog, but it looks like there may be serious contenders for two formerly comfortable incumbents. Yes, they are Mayor Adrian Fenty and our Ward One Council member, Jim Graham. Fenty may face the toughest challenge from Council Chair Vincent Gray who has opposed Fenty on some key issues in both substance and style. And Jim Graham may have to face off against Jeff Smith, recently of the DC School Board. They say "all politics is local." And in DC, that's all we really have! Since we're taxed without proper Congressional representation. All the more reason to look at the candidates and make a choice come this fall. Stay off the sidelines people! Democracy is a contact sport.

New Driver for Metro Bus and Rail?

Safety, maintenance, pricing, or customer service won't likely improve immediately, but Metro is trying to take a step in that direction. They have (almost) hired the person who will replace outgoing GM John Catoe. His name is Richard Sarles. Sarles was most recently the Executive Director of New Jersey Transit, a sprawling agency operating in a vast area connecting Philadelphia, Atlantic City, New York and many points in between. He managed the agency's 10,000+ employees. Sarles also put in time at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak.

I'm guessing he will have an outside (inside?) chance to become the permanent Metro GM after the interim period, which is supposed to last anywhere from six to twelve months. The Metro Board of Directors will use the interim period to conduct the search for the permanent General Manager.

Metro is in desperate need of an image overhaul and even if Sarles is just temporary, he needs to be perceived as a results oriented leader who will not stand for lax oversight or poor quality control. Those are two factors that most likely led to the June 22, 2009 Red Line crash, which killed nine and injuring eighty . One main cause (allegedly) was the coupling of automatic train control systems which were incompatible with each other. Apparently, repair crews combined newer more advanced equipment with older components already embedded within the system. All of this over multiple objections by machine manufactures and other employees of Metro.

Can Sarles fix this culture? Probably not in the short term, but if he can temporarily right the ship in time for the next general manager, then he's succeeded.

Top 10 Worst Possible Metro Cuts

For the first time since living in DC, I am seriously doubting out mass transit system. The current CEO just submitted his resignation, passengers and workers seem more vulnerable to safety issues than ever, and we're likely to have to pay more for less service very soon. The recent winter storms cost the agency $18 million and the general financial outlook is not favorable for riders of bus or rail.

The Post's Robert Thompson mentioned some of the potential changes here. He was pulling from a report (fairly large PDF) from a WMATA committee exploring cost cutting measures.

Here are some of the scariest possible changes coming our way. These are not final! This is really a cost/benefit tally and background for when the decisions do have to be made about service cuts and fare increases.

Number 10) Reduce bus service on various routes on Martin Luther King Jr Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. --Previously had normal weekday service on these days.

9) Eliminate 8 car trains during rush hour. --Okaaaayyyy... never really see them in service anyway.

8) Increase fare for B30 (bus to BWI) and 5A (bus to IAD) to at least $6.00. --Yikes! Still better than cabbing it there. I guess.

7) Increase bus fare from $1.25 to $1.50. --I'm actually not 100% against this, although its a steep percentage increase at once.

6) Increase the minimum rush hour rail fare from $1.65 to $1.90. -- Consider that the maximum fare would also increase to $5.00; for a single trip.

5) Increase yearly bike locker rental fee (at Metro stations) from $75 to $200. --I see this mostly deterring participation in this program.

4) No Yellow Line service between Huntington and King St on weekends. Replaced with a bus shuttle. --Almost laughable. VA people, get on this.

3) Increase wait time for trains to 15 min on Saturday daytime, 20 min Sunday daytime and 30 min late night on Saturday and Sunday. --This is a joke, right?

2) Close three (unspecified) stations on the weekend. --Don't see this ever happening for political reasons.

1) Close rail system at 12:00 midnight on Friday and Saturday. --Devastating for partiers and service workers. This WILL put more drunk drivers on the roads of DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Honorable mention, if there is such a distinction for this list:

**Eliminate Yellow Line service between Mt Vernon Sq and Fort Totten. --This was a life saver on late nights. Could live without it in the end.

**Eliminate 42 bus service between McPherson Sq and 9th and G (on 33 select trips throughout the week). --Noooooooooo! I'd hate this. My link to downtown gone!?

** Eliminate H1 bus. --Would hinder Columbia Heights to Dupont commuters.

Some of these are worst case scenarios. This WMATA report is an important step in determining how to move forward. We need to know the impact, both in dollars and human capital, of these changes. Some will be devastating to particular populations, economic and geographic.

If you have political representatives regarding this matter, call them, email them, show up at their offices. They need to know what you think. For Ward One residents, that's Jim Graham, who has been on the Metro Board for over 10 years. All of us will lose out a little in this exchange, though. The key is that Metro make the best decisions it can for the continuity of basic, safe transit service while planning for a prosperous and expansive future for the best transit system in the nation. Is that too much to ask?

Poll: Paying More for Metro

Beginning on March 1, 2010, you, I and everyone else using WMATA will pay more to use it. Last week the Metro Board of Directors voted to implement a 10 cent fare increase for the months of March, April, May and June of this year. The increase, which in theory is temporary, will raise nearly $10 million, helping bridge a budget gap which totals $40 million. And that's just for this fiscal year. I suspect the surcharge will become permanent.

What that means for most of us in the city is: rush hour base subway fare will increase to $1.75 and riding the bus with Smartrip will increase to $1.35. If you still use cash to ride the bus, you'll pay $1.45. See full details on the official press release.

Let's say you take a short subway ride or bus ride to work. Throw in six casual transit rides a week. That's less than $5 more dollars per month to ride Metro bus and rail.

I can live with it. I know Metro has it's fair share of management issues. And equipment equipment issues. And recently, serious operator issues. But one of the things they do need is money. Money to maintain the equipment we already have, money to increase the safety of the system and money to maintain and increase the services offered. I am willing to pay even more. What about you?

poll by twiigs.com

Metro Leadership: Fired Up or Just Fired?

Every now and then a member of our very own beloved United States Congress likes to weigh in on Metro, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Agency. Metro has been in dire straits the last few years, with multiple deadly accidents (on trains and buses), budget shortfalls, hiring freezes, performance issues and suicides at stations. Ridership is down after years of significant increases and there is a general feeling that something just not right.

Enter Barbara Mikulski, U.S. Senator from Maryland. She ripped the agency yesterday at a Congressional committee hearing. You can read some of the comments here. In summary, she called Metro out for weak management and being all talk and no action. The kicker is that Milkulski helped shepherd a bill through Congress which will net Metro $150,000,000 in capital for Metro. It will most likely pass and be signed into law. So now she's flexing a little muscle. Jim Graham weighed in, too. In responding to Mikulski's statement, Graham suggested that there will massive changes at Metro, and soon. I figured things were going downhill when Metro lost Dan Tangherlini to the city. But, in hindsight, I'm not too terribly disappointing with John Catoe. Will he lose his job? Probably not. I'm not sure that would better the situation.

I don't have many personal qualms with Metro. Having someone smile or be nice to me is not all that important. Having bus drivers not running down pedestrians and having managers that embrace changes in the name of safety are important. Having employees that are ever vigilant in maintaining equipment is important. I don't care how a driver pronounces Judiciary or if the carpet is orange or blue. But I do care that Metro communicates effectively and encourages helpful behavior by riders. If I can get from point A to point B close to the time I expect, and safely, I am happy. Fares will go up; they never go down. That's fine, but service should never be in decline. That need never goes down, only up.

So, whatever changes happen before the end of the year, whether Catoe goes or stays, Metro needs to get it together at the top, and send that message all the way down the line.

The Chinatown Metro Mural

The Chinatown Community Cultural Center wants your input on a planned mural for the entrance of Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station. The mosaic-mural proposal is in the very early stages and the CCCC is looking for feedback and ideas from those who live and work in the area. The meeting is today!

The artist has been chosen and part of this meeting will be devoted to her communicating her initial concepts and vision. Martha Jackson-Jarvis has experience in this area. Her work graces many other public and private spaces including the entrance of the Anacostia Metro station. Ms. Jackson-Jarvis appears to be a great choice.

The entrance being considered is the Verizon Center entrance at 7th and F Streets NW.

The meeting is at the CCCC, is located at 616 H Street NW Suite 201. You can also enter from 7th Street-Regal Cinema entrance. Just take the escalator to the second level and walk straight down the corridor that is slightly towards the left. Here's the catch" the meeting is today. October 21, 2009. a t 6:00pm. If anyone attends, I'd like an update. Potentially a classy and artsy addition to the neighborhood and Metro.

Metro Friday: Taking Names and Making Calls

Here are the results of last week's poll. The question: Would you support changing the name of Columbia Heights Metro station to Columbia Heights-Mount Pleasant? The results were not quite what I expected. I guessed that a firm majority would be against the idea. There was a very slight majority for those against. But not overwhelming at all. Almost evenly split. There were only 230 votes, so not a large sample size. Here are the numbers.

poll by twiigs.com

In other Metro news, for the 1% of you who ride Metro during rush hour and are not already checking (or at least looking at) your crackberry, try it today. If all goes according to plan, most cell phones should be able to operate in about 20 underground Metro stations. The list includes most downtown DC stations, and some uptown stations like Columbia Heights and Dupont. The underground coverage now includes more carriers: AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile. While not an exhaustive list, those are four of the largest carriers in the nation and likely cover the vast majority of users in the DC area. Wiring of all underground stations and the tunnels is due to be complete by 2012. So for now, at least you'll have something to do while waiting for the train to arrive. Even if you have to stop talking when you actually get on the train and ride into the tunnel.

Friday Fun Post: Renaming Columbia Heights Station

Five days out of the average week, I use Metro rail to get to and from work. The station I use is Columbia Heights. Every morning I make the trip there and every afternoon, I make the trip from Columbia Heights station back to Mount Pleasant. I see dozens of you doing the same daily (some on an identical schedule down to the minute!).

Whether you cross over on Irving, Park, Monroe or Newton, the quick walk over to 14th Street and the Metro are truly a great reason to live in Mount Pleasant. We get the quaint quirkiness of our neighborhood without the coming and going of traffic on busy 16th or 14th Streets. At the same time, we're within walking distance of the second largest rail system in the United States. Not too shabby.

Since it's our Metro of choice, would you support renaming the station "Columbia Heights-Mount Pleasant?" Greater Greater Washington mentioned this as a possible aid to the neighborhood businesses. We'd literally be put on the map for DC area residents and visitors who had never been here. On the other hand, it is not actually in the neighborhood and could possibly cause confusion for some who don't know this part of the city well. What do you think? Vote on the poll and leave a reason for or against in the comments.

poll by twiigs.com

City Room Repost: Defending a Child

You see a parent physically disciplining a child on a crowded subway. You and other passengers stare, but no one says a word. The child is crying and the parent appears to get even angrier. They hit the child again. And again. You speak up.... What next?

This was the scenario written about in a recent City Room post (New York Times). I posed the question to some friends. The replies were diverse, insightful, enlightening and made for more questions than answers. Personally, I have thought about this issue so much since reading this article and discussing it with colleagues and friends. I continue to debate what the correct course of action would be. I'm sure this has happened on DC, Virginia and Maryland buses, trains, at stores, on sidewalks, and in other public places. What would I do if I came upon this? What would you do? And why?