March 7, 2008
Morning Roundup: False Alarm Edition
Good morning, Washington. Last night we got caught up in the news that it appeared many members of Congress had received letters from someone claiming responsibility for the bombing Thursday of a Times Square Army recruiting center, but the AP is now reporting that the letters were just an "incredibly unbelievable coincidence". The FBI apparently tracked down the man who sent the letters, which contained photos of a man standing in front of the recruitment center before it was bombed and was sent to about 100 members of Congress. Turns out the letter sender is just an anti-war activist who may have sent the letters to congratulate Democrats on gaining a majority in 2006.
Radios in New Metro Cars Don't Work: It seems Metro's brand new railcars were installed with radios that are not compatible with the agency's network. The Post reports that train operators in the new cars have been relying on handheld radios to communicate with the system's control center. That means that there are 158 cars currently running that must use portable radios, and another 26 cars waiting to be deployed with the same issue. The newspaper quotes a Green line operator as saying the situation is quite dangerous, given the unreliability of the handheld radios. Metro's rail chief, Dave Kubicek, blamed the problem on the $73 million radio system that Metro bought from Motorola in 2000.
Streetcars Hit Snag: We've been eagerly awaiting plans to bring streetcars back to areas of the city like H Street NE, but those plans may have run into a serious problem. The Examiner reports that overhead power lines for streetcars would violate federal laws designed to protect historic and scenic views of D.C. streets. DDOT told the paper that a decision on whether to go with overhead lines or some kind of propulsion system for streetcars is still 2 years away.
Briefly Noted: Arlington woman dies in house fire ... NPR CEO Ken Stern resigns ... Prince George's Hospital Center to be taken over by a county-state authority.
This Day in DCist: In 2007, Mayor Fenty named Dennis Rubin as his new Fire Chief. In 2006, we got excited about the prospect of remodeled Safeway grocery stores. And in 2005, yet more mercury had been discovered at Cardozo High School.
Photo by iceman_882
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The District’s long-defunct streetcar system ran primarily on underground power. But Moneme dismissed that option, citing the possibility of pedestrians stepping on power sources and being electrocuted.
Yes, because DC's streetcars ran off a buried central power track for DECADES yet nobody managed to ever be electrocuted by them. DC's streetcars ALWAYS ran on a buried central power line; this was retrofitted from when DC had cablecars pulled by central pulling stations located throughout town. The only overhead lines were those outside the historic core districts. Jeezis, is it too much to ask these "managers" to break open a goddamned history book once in a while? Then again, of course, this is just the sort of blinkered philistine pig-ignorance I've come to expect from you non-creative garbage. You sit there on your loathsome spotty behinds squeezing blackheads, not caring a tinker's cuss for the struggling artist. You excrement! You whining hypocritical toadies with your colour TV sets and your Tony Jacklin golf clubs and your bleeding masonic secret handshakes! You wouldn't let me join, would you, you blackballing bastards! Well I wouldn't become a Freemason now if you went down on your lousy stinking knees and begged me!
hand-held device, operation, danger ... isn't there a law against that for the top dwellers?
yes, the Safeway in Old Town is definitely a lot nicer--hardwood floors! free samples!
but their selection still sucks.
I find it a little ridiculous that overhead wires on streetcars are considered an impediment to views of historic D.C. streets, considering that for much of D.C.'s history, streetcars ran on D.C. streets - look at any old photos of D.C. In my opinion, putting in streetcars would be, if anything, more akin to historic restoration.
I like squeezing my blackheads and then leaving the remnants on my coworkers' phones.
The way I see it, they can either bring back streetcars that run off power lines (above or below ground) OR they can bring back the horsedrawn trolleys. The smell of fresh manure and flies the size of golfballs would be a refreshing change from poorly maintained diesel-belching busses, AND it's historically accurate.
This was buried in the Metro radio article but, if true, seems to stand out as rather important since one of the main reasons drivers say they are concerned about the handheld radios are dead spots:
I strongly object to using the word 'scenic' to describe H street NE when today is clearly not opposite day and April Fools Day is still weeks away.
Streetcars pulled by teams of naked, oiled, re-educated lobbyists with a Dominatrix driver. Manure would still be a problem though...
Streetcars pulled by teams of naked, oiled, re-educated lobbyists with a Dominatrix driver. Manure would still be a problem though...
"OR they can bring back the horsedrawn trolleys. The smell of fresh manure and flies the size of golfballs would be a refreshing change from poorly maintained diesel-belching busses, AND it's historically accurate."
It could be even more accurate.. typically animals were worked literally to death and then left to rot wherever they fell.. and I'm sure the DC Department of Dead Horse Collection would be just as efficient as other DC agencies.
are our proposed street cars gonna be all zig zag-y like balto's? if so, that should be cause for concern. i mean come on, we all have seen how people walk and drive in the city. it's a catastrophe waiting to happen.
and speaking of horses - why do we have police officers on horses anymore? i saw two riding up 13th in columbia heights yesterday. don't bicycles make more sense?
Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Park Police still use horses, but mostly for crowd control. They're great for splitting up mobs of people; their height offers cops an excellent view of who's doing what to whom, and they're pretty intimidating, particularly for folks who've never seen one up close. Can't do that with a bike.
yeah, can someone go question mr. moneme and ask him to produce records of the thousands of residents who died when underground power sources were used for streetcars back in the day? i mean, christ, it isn't like we're going to be putting metro's wonderfully evil third rail out there in the middle of the road where you can dance on it!
don't they have underground power for the streetcars in san francisco? maybe we could hire some people who know what the hell they're talking about to run this project...
San Fran uses overhead lines for streetcars, as well as the busses that run off the power grid. The cablecars use underground pulleys.
I think cable cars would kick ass on 18th and Columbia, as well as up Wisconsin through Georgetown. I mean, you won't regret it. Think of the tourist trade.
They have considered underground power source, and decided against it; but it wasn't about safety, it was about money and practicality.
"DDOT has investigated numerous streetcar power systems, Moneme told the commission, from overhead wires in Portland, Ore., and an underground source in Bordeaux, France, to diesel cars in Camden, N.J. With overhead lines, he said, the cars are narrow and short in length, can navigate tight turns, operate easily in mixed traffic and have a “minimal visual impact.” And they’re cheaper: $3.5 million per car compared to $4.5 million for experimental systems."
Why is this a surprise to anyone? Projects like the streetcars move at a glacial pace in D.C. Hell, they can't resurface a three block stretch of Q St. in under 6 months; why on earth should they be able to create a streetcar line in under five years?
The comments by Mr. Moneme are either born from astounding ignorance to historical fact, or an overly cautious deference to our litigious, safety-crazed society. Either way, someone should enlighten Mr. Moneme to the fact that it is damn near impossible to electrocute yourself on a buried electric cable. You're more likely to get electrocuted taking a wiz on Metro's third rail than by this.
Fluxgirl's idea is the best. I'd pay to see that.
mmm. Tourist Trade. My favorite kind.
and speaking of horses - why do we have police officers on horses anymore? i saw two riding up 13th in columbia heights yesterday. don't bicycles make more sense?
I saw a MPD officer on a Segway speeding down 6th St SE at 1:30 in the afternoon the other day. Seemed like a weird time and place to have a "foot patrol" deployed.
Forget that! I'm just glad P Swaze is not going to snuff it in 5 weeks! Whew. THAT was the real false alarm...
Anyway, Monkey, how do you do it?
Fluxgirl, you've got vision.
But the answer's still Monorail. Monorail? Monorail!
@monkey: i get the crowd control aspect, but the sight of officers on horseback (giant clydesdales, mind you) during rush hour in CH was, well, strange...
@hillrat: whenever i see a cop on a segway i really get the urge to knock him or her over. even more silly than horseback, for sure.
@monkeyrotica: I'm always the first to defend SF, but DCers would absolutely lose their sh*it if they had the the kind of overhead lines that SF has. It's insane. It's weirdly beautiful, like a giant spiderweb over your head. But it's not quaint, by any means. And we love us some quaint.
The cable cars in SF (an SF invention!) that still run are so friggin expensive to operate. (There are several lines that were replaced after the war with trolly buses. The trolly buses are the only thing light enough -- no combustion engine! -- to go up and down the steep hills.) And they are expensive to ride on. I think it's like $5 now. They are almost strictly for tourists. Or those that live in the expensive neighborhoods the cable cars run through. Each car has to be built by hand, as well, should a new one be needed.
But like DC is to graft and corruption, SF is to cable cars. (It's what brings in the people!) They won't go away.
@monkeyrotica: I'm always the first to defend SF, but DCers would absolutely lose their sh*it if they had the the kind of overhead lines that SF has. It's insane. It's weirdly beautiful, like a giant spiderweb over your head. But it's not quaint, by any means. And we love us some quaint.
The cable cars in SF (an SF invention!) that still run are so friggin expensive to operate. (There are several lines that were replaced after the war with trolly buses. The trolly buses are the only thing light enough -- no combustion engine! -- to go up and down the steep hills.) And they are expensive to ride on. I think it's like $5 now. They are almost strictly for tourists. Or those that live in the expensive neighborhoods the cable cars run through. Each car has to be built by hand, as well, should a new one be needed.
But like DC is to graft and corruption, SF is to cable cars. (It's what brings in the people!) They won't go away.
Goat Boy: you can't knock them over, that why segways have revolutionized travel just like Kamen said. oh wait ...
Stu: Fuck a monorail, its all about Maglev. Imagine that shit tearing around at 270 mph during rush hour.
@ goat boy: Unfortunately cops on bikes are about as intimidating to ne'er-do-wells as a passel of underfed hipsters riding their Surleys to get to Sticky Fingers before it closes.
Horses were intimidating to the serfs of the middle ages and their still intimidating. Unless you feed them a lot of munchies.
The street car debacle is born of what I believe is a Federal law. DDOT has been fighting with the National Capital Planning Commission for about a year to get overhead wires. NCPC has not budged.
Underground power systems are expensive and hard to maintain. They also succumb to rain and snow problems. If you note in many DC street car pictures you'll see either specially outfitted "plow" cars or plows on the front of street cars. This was a rather inefficient solution.
DDOT is worried that most systems powered from below are employed in areas that don't have crazy temperature changes AND have very little snow.
This whole project has taken WAY too long, but give us bureaucrats some love. Without us, you'd have nothing to whinge about other than gentrification and the bicycles.
Yeah, DC1974 is right, the SF cable cars are about the most inefficient public transport ever put into operation. I think they have something like a 5% to 10% efficiency, mainly because of the friction losses from a miles long cable running around on early 20th century pullies, and because the cable runs even when the car is sitting still.
The cable car museum/engine house in SF is still the best public transport attraction I've ever seen!
So they can't have elevated power lines. But there aint't nothing saying they can't have elevated tracks, like in Chicago!
Powered by naked oiled lobbyists, of course. That's some spicy "reduced carbon footprint!"
If DC just waits a few more years, Christopher Lloyd will come back with Mr. Fusion technology they can install in all the street cars. So not only will it provide convenient transportation to residents along H Street but also help clean up some of the garbage blowing down the street.
I question the whole idea of street cars in DC. Not only is the project way expensive, but streetcars are not re-routable. I'm a fan of the SF system (both street and cable cars), but they were not retrofitted and were borne in a time when cars were much smaller in size and number. The streetscape developed around the streetcar, not the other way around as is proposed in DC.
If you want to see a recent example of how poorly streetcars melded with the modern urban landscape, take a walk on N. Howard Street in to Baltimore. Their system was hyped as a main component to reinvigorating that part of the city. Installed with fanfare 20 years ago, the cards glide empty on their tracks (except for Oriole games and some workday commuters) through an urban wasteland.
Just because it sounds nice doesn’t mean it will work.
All you losers are missing the obvious.
Moving sidewalks.
There must be a federal law that says white people can't use a bus if it isn't on Wisconsin Avenue. H Street NE has plenty of buses, but few white bus passengers.
Geezer - I'm always arguing with Ryan on this topic. There should be a distinction betwee Baltimore's "light rail" (WeverTF that means. Lighter than what? It's a freaking subway car on the street.) and real streetcars (lower capacity, smaller footprint). Where streetcars work (Prague for instance, or Vienna) they have the right-of-way. You don't have to stop at every damned intersection and stoplight. The main advantage with streetcars is that it IS a fixed route. People who won't ride a bus will take a streetcar because they can't get lost. No oddball routes, no unscheduled stops in Crackton. They're also far more durable than busses.
And it's not like roads are that easy to reroute either.
Definition of Light Rail, train fetishists get awfully picky about their terminology.