Transit on Thursday: The "Hey Ma, It Worked!" Edition
Yeah, Zimmerman's walk-off was memorable.
And, okay, the beer selection could use some sprucing up. (Where's the local flavor?)
But, the real questions on our minds here at Transit on Thursday were as follows:
1) Did Metro work well?
2) Will it continue to work well throughout the summer?
3) Finally, how can it get better?
To answer these questions, there were the big media reports, but they left us wanting a little bit more. Something authentic — what would someone you bump into at a bar tell you about the ride?
Well, what better source to go to than you, our chatty readers, for such quasi-inebriated perspective. We perused your comments the morning after, waiting for word from those lucky folks that got a chance to experience Opening Night — or more accurately, getting to Opening Night — first-hand. Your answers to our questions?
1) Yes, 2) yes, and 3) with some easily made upgrades, like pushing SmartTrip cards.
RJ "moved on and off quickly," while ces12 says, "I love the SmartTrip express lanes. I wish there were more and they were more clearly marked prior to getting close to the metro. But, if that's my biggest complaint, then it was a job extremely well done."
OldPosterKnownAsCranky was pleasantly surprised: "Metro: I was astounded. I had minimal hopes for Metro's performance. I was expecting broken down trains, long delays, broken escaltors, etc. Instead, the trains seemed to be timed to coincide with connecting trains. There was tons of Metro staff and cops at Gallery Place and Navy Yard. The trains were nice and clean and fully functional. The Green Line train operators even held the doors open long enough so that trains would be full going to Navy Yard."
Fairgurl might have just summed up the sentiment: "I echo the utter surprise (and delight) at the Metro. They were efficient, courteous and on time. Shocking."
Yeah, the parking is an issue for another time. For now, let's just give a hand to Metro succeeding on something that was a ginormous challenge for an agency consistently under fire.
Good work, Metro. Now do it 80 more times, please.
After the jump, illegal parkers will face the wrath of the bow-tied councilman, plus a whole boatload of odds and ends for the weekend ahead.
Photo by picture perfect.
So, All You Rogue Parkers, Get Out: Word trickles in from the Columbia Heights listserv that the "warning period" for parking violations around the new Target is ending on Monday, April 7. Jim Graham's note (very smugly signed with "Bests," at the end, no less) praised DDOT for their quick work in implementing new rules about who can park where in the residential areas around the Target. The bright side, though:
As a reminder, some enforcement may have been premature. If you received a ticket for a new restriction during the warning period, or know someone who has, please contact me for the ticket to be voided.
You can get your fill of all the new parking rules and regulations at Graham's official site.
Metro Board Releases 2008 Goals, Flying Trains Still Not On Tap: So, Metro's board of directors came up with a pretty comprehensive list of goals for the next year. We think it's a decent collection of ideas; while, we've known about a lot of these changes for a little bit (stop bragging about it and just change the colors already), there's still some new tidbits of information that we've just seen for the first time. For instance, a redesign of the WMATA website by November, perhaps with a more integrated version of the trip planner. Another good sign? The actual establishment of some firm guidelines, like the planned reduction of staff overtime by 10% by December, and adding an additional 30 rail cars. The whole honkin' PDF can be found here.
Yeah, The Beltway? Not Your Best Option This Weekend: Here's two separate yet equally annoying traffic updates for the upcoming weekend — and they both revolve around our good friend, the Capitol Beltway. On the one hand, there will be construction work at the Branch Avenue interchange, which will pretty much shut down the inner and outer loops for a significant period of time (probably 10 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday). On the other, there's more planned construction work at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge which will require traffic beginning at the Eisenhower Avenue Connector Exit to merge from four lanes to three. This project is expected to run from 9 p.m. Friday until Sunday. Good luck if you're driving anywhere near these sites this weekend.
Engines and Cabooses: Metro to open at 5 a.m. on Sunday to facilitate transport for runners in the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. The race starts at 7:45, and be sure to keep an eye on potential street closures...WMATA head John Catoe's monthly chat - always circled in red on our calendars - is tomorrow at noon. Transcripts found here, as usual...Council of Governments study finds that tolls on federal parkways could create $2.75 billion in transportation revenue - but National Park Service says it's not gonna happen...Assaulting a Metrobus driver will now result ina 50% longer sentence...Just a reminder: Metrorail operators can — and will — skip stops for the sake of timeliness.