Faregates were down and most customers were being allowed into the Columbia Heights Metro station through an emergency gate during rush hour this morning, leading to some confusion when riders attempted to exit at other destinations. DCist art critic Pat Padua noted that station managers “were letting SmarTrip passengers (which seemed to be everybody) go through the emergency gate.” DCist contributor Catherine McCarthy, meanwhile, said that she saw the fare gates go down inside the station around 8 p.m. last night. A request for comment from Metro regarding the faregate issue has yet to be returned — we’ll certainly update if and when we hear what precisely caused the problem.