Results tagged “greenline>”

In case it wasn't obvious when you boarded the Metrorail system this morning, WMATA says it did indeed finish up that major rail interlocking replacement and bridge work that saw three Metro stations on the Green and Yellow lines closed for the entire three-day weekend. Also notable: Metro counted 64,228 people who took advantage of the free shuttle buses that were moving riders around the closures. That figure is just shy of the 68,000 or so who used the shuttles during the similar Labor Day weekend closures.

A friendly Friday afternoon reminder from your pals here at DCist about this weekend's Metrorail closures along the Green and Yellow lines. Don't forget that the Waterfront-SEU and Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter stations will be closed completely, along with Green Line service at L’Enfant Plaza, starting at 10:30 p.m. tonight and lasting through closing on Monday, Oct. 12.

Metro's terrible week just got a little bit worse. Crews discovered a cracked rail at 1 p.m. near the West Hyattsville station, which is causing Green Line delays while trains share the same track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza. Metro says it hopes to complete repairs to the rail by this afternoon, but it's best to plan on there being delays through rush hour.

Man, what a day. Just to update those of you still reading at this late hour: Metro is now reporting "emergency track work" at Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center. Trains are sharing the same track between Mt.Vernon Sq and U Street-Cardozo stations, causing delays in both directions, and as of 7:10 p.m., they don't expect it to be fixed for at least 2 more hours. Add this Green/Yellow line delay to the existing problems on the Orange line between East Falls Church and West Falls Church, and you've got a really long late evening commute for all the workaholics still at their desks (or, preferably, those of you heading out to bars). Good luck out there.

Via a reader tip, Fox 5 reports that Greenpeace has taken responsibility for the polar bears that have been mistaken for suspicious packages around town over the last week. Indeed, if you go to the Greenpeace homepage, it turns out that not only was Greenpeace responsible, but they actually did it in collaboration with street artist Mark Jenkins -- so both of our guesses were correct!

Greenpeace has unveiled a collaborative art project with well-known street artist Mark Jenkins. The project highlights the shared plight of polar bears and humans in the face of global warming. We hope these polar bear street art installations help people draw a deeper and more immediate connection to the reality of the crisis.

Continue reading "Greenpeace, Mark Jenkins Take Responsibility for Polar Bears"

Flickr user benmiller23 spotted this polar bear installation, which looks very similar to the one that a bomb squad tore apart after shutting down surrounding streets and a Metro station in Columbia Heights today, on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Metro says the Columbia Heights Metro station reopened at 11:45 a.m., "following a report of a suspicious package located outside the station." No mention of the bear at all. The station was closed for approximately an hour and 40 minutes. NBC4 says a neighborhood resident saw the bear between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. this morning, even though the police weren't called until 10. We've also heard that the bomb squad cut the bear open, so if it was an art installation, the art has been destroyed. Since trains traveling through the Metro station were still able to pass through during the closure, any residual delays should be very minor.

Via the DCist tipline, we get this image from Irving and 14th Streets of an odd looking bear costume wearing tattered clothing and posed over a trash can. A lot of our readers are telling us this is the reason for the suspicious package alert. "Cops have the street blocked off and are standing around looking at it as of 9:30 am," the tipster wrote. Could this be another Aqua Teen Hunger Force moment?

A suspicious package found outside the Columbia Heights Metro closed the station at 10:03 a.m. No one is being allowed inside the station, though WMATA says Green and Yellow line trains continue to operate, they just are not stopping at Columbia Heights. Free shuttle buses should be available between the Georgia Ave-Petworth and U St/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo stations.

The Holiday season is in full swing in NYC, with holiday lights in Brooklyn, a giant snow globe in Bryan Park and Chanukah specials for ham. One citizen decided to go vigilante on annoying car alarms, a murder suspect used a fake Asian accent on the stand and a video of a man being beaten up by teenage girls on a subway shocked the city. And we interviewed soon-to-be-leaving-Gawker editor Choire Sicha, who said,...

Commenter Nate asked if we would look into what's been happening on the Red line lately, which he describes as having been suffering from "morning and/or afternoon delays every day for nearly two weeks now." Indeed, we've heard others grumbling about the Red line of late, which is usually one of Metro's speediest rush hour options. WMATA explains that the current Red line delays are due to ongoing work needed to replace pieces of...

WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details: >> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65 >> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35 >> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70 >> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain...

We'd like to waste about $800 sitting in traffic this year, please. That, at least, is the average annual cost for Marylanders who choose to drive during peak periods, (yet another) new Texas Transportation Institute tells us via Capitol News Service and WTOP. The total congestion cost, the study says, is $3.1 billion annually. We can think of some pretty good things to do with an extra $800. And they have nothing to do with...

If you don't want to pay a toll, just don't leave the city. Information is sketchy at best, but the federal government may soon propose a toll on cars entering the city via the 14th Street bridge, reports The Examiner. According to the story, the proposal seems to be nothing more than another one of those fabulous pipe dreams feds float from time to time for improving our city. Like Sen. Sam Brownback's "flat tax"...

According to D.C. officials, about 700 pedestrians a year are hit by cars in the District, which factors out to about two a day. Wikipedia says there are currently about 580,000 of us living here, so that means the next time you step outside your door you have about a 1 in 83,000 chance of getting hit by that idiot who always runs the red light down the block. Given those rather grim odds,...

While we sit here tap-tapping our fingers, eagerly awaiting the Metro Board’s next move on our collective fare fate, we will distract ourselves with other traffic and metro related tidbits: metro savings, the ICC goes on and weekend delays. Photo by philliefan_99...

This week on Transit on Thursday, good news from DDOT for people who don't like getting hit by cars, and Metro plans on fixin' some things that really need fixin'. Score One For Pedestrians: We will soon get to say farewell to annoying sidewalk closures caused by those greedy development projects. No more braving the fury of cars as we find a way around. And no more crossing to the other side. Builders will...

Flickr user philliefan_99 has become our resident birder, catching some amazing views of our local eagles, ospreys, and herons -- like this gorgeous one taking a dip off Roosevelt Island. The questioning pose of the great water bird and the awesome green reflecting off the water make for a spot-on nature shot. EXIF. Philliefan_99 was at our last DCist Photographer's Meet-Up; will you be at our next one? Join us at Solly's at the...

It's going to be another rough commute home on Metro this evening, with major delays on the Green Line currently after a woman was struck by a train at the Georgia Ave-Petworth station a little over an hour ago. WMATA reports that Green line trains are sharing one track between the Georgia Ave-Petworth and Fort Totten stations while police and emergency personnel investigate the incident and talk with the woman, who is expected to survive....

If you're heading to any Yellow line destinations this weekend, including National Airport, you should make alternate plans. Metro is shutting down the Yellow line rail bridge over the Potomac River this weekend to do track maintenance and conduct an annual bridge inspection. The closure begins tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts through Sunday at midnight. Directions from WMATA: When a Yellow Line train arrives at the King Street Metrorail station, passengers must transfer to...

This week in Transit on Thursday, we pose a stunningly dramatic series of questions... Could Metro be Smartening up? Will you get hit by Virginia's new transportation fees and taxes? Is a road better than a rail? Will your Metro trip be delayed this weekend? Find out after the jump! Photo by Terecico...

Anyone who's lived in D.C. for more than a minute or two knows that appearances are important in this town, but is it reasonable to suggest that the changing face of Metro will have an impact on ridership? Also this week, a fare hike fight gradually takes shape, and another area bridge is going out of commission. If you were one of the 500,000 or so passengers who took Metro to the Mall on...

There are certain defining moments in the relationship between any father and son. Times when a father passes down the wisdom gained through the years, when a son asks those burning questions he doesn't feel comfortable asking his buddies, the guidance counselor, or the older guys in the gym locker room. And the father sits his son down and they talk long into the night. About why you should get flowers for a girl when...

Happy Thursday, and welcome back to another post full of the best in transit news. This week, we consider whether Virginians would rather obey traffic laws or pay more taxes. It's a real Sophie's Choice, we know. Also, a few words on the latest Metro fare hike proposal from Metro. We also have Metro's schedule of weekend track work and maintenance, which will cause delays on some lines. Photo by christaki...

We've got two words for you, D.C.: beer pops. That's right, beer pops. WTOP, along with a number of other local news outlets, has coverage of an innovation being brought to market by an Alexandria restaurant. The folks at Rustico may not be the first to come up with the idea of ale-on-a-stick, but they're the first purveyors of it we know of in the D.C. area, and we salute them for it. Here's...

We're back with another edition of Transit on Thursday, bringing you transit news from around the city to satisfy the inner-geek in all of you. This week, we've got developments with the transit situation at the National Harbor development, currently under construction south of the city, as well as yet another round of national commuting stats that are, yet again, a mixed bag for the D.C.-metro area. Also, Metro has a long list of...

Some people might assume that dangerous, congested roadways are just one of those things you have to accept about city life. We disagree. Luckily, so do a lot of other people. This week, we look at two efforts to make District streets a little safer, and a little smoother. Also, we've brought back our weekly posting of anticipated Metro service disruptions over the weekend. Photo by everyskyline...

Home is a pretty subjective concept. Where you hang your hat? The place you can always go back to? Where your love lies waiting silently for you? But what about where you spend the largest part of your waking hours? We may like to keep a firm separation between office life and "home" life, but let's look at the facts: who do you spend more hours awake and in the same room with than that...

Another week, another set of transit headlines. This week we've got "controversy" over the new Taxicab Zone Map, Metro's contribution to the, er, local economy, and questions about the new rail cars Metro's been bringing on line. Also, yet another story of inaction on Metro funding...but by Maryland. Worth noting: The Metro Riders Advisory Council is holding an event this evening at Metro's 600 5th St. NW headquarters to take suggestions on transit improvements...

Fans had plenty of great things to say about the Nationals season opener at RFK last week: the hats, the weather, the midday beer-drinking. They also had some gripes. In addition to the unfortunate loss, one key complaint was, naturally, traffic. The Post noted that, "In the stands, Nationals fans complained. About parking-lot traffic, snack booths and long lines for just about everything, including hot dogs and ATMs." When the Nats move into their new,...