Transit

It’s Getting Real “At 11 p.m. Friday, the Metrorail system will close and will remain closed all day Saturday and Sunday”

By Prince Of Petworth

metro
Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

News of Car2Go’s suspension of service was a shock to the system but now it’s getting really real. From WMATA:

“Metro today announced major service changes and suspensions on Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess in advance of a potentially historic blizzard affecting the National Capital Region. The National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard Warning for the Metro service area from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning, and the effects of the storm are expected to impact the region into early next week. (more…)

“Metrobus transitioning to *LIGHT* snow plan by 8:30am – service restored on all routes, w/ detours”

By Prince Of Petworth

ouch

From WMATA:

“Metrobus transitioning to *LIGHT* snow plan – service restored on all routes, w/ detours, as of 8:30a Info:

“All Metrobus routes are expected to operate during a light snowfall. Some routes have known problem areas because of factors like hilly terrain or narrow streets that could prevent buses from operating safely until those areas are cleared and treated. When conditions prevent safe operation, buses will detour on a route-by-route basis. Passengers may experience increased wait times due to road conditions.”

Info on all the routes here.

“Metro to install 50th new escalator; project starts tonight”

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Josh Bassett

From WMATA:

“Tonight, Metro and its escalator contractor KONE will begin a project to install the system’s 50th new escalator since 2011, Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld announced today. Over a two-year period, the project will replace the three entrance escalators at Waterfront Station in Southwest, DC.

In the past five years, Metro has installed 37 new escalators at the following stations: Bethesda, Branch Avenue, Brookland, Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, Friendship Heights, Georgia Ave-Petworth, Glenmont, Metro Center, Mt. Vernon Square, Pentagon, Van Ness and Woodley Park.

In addition, projects are currently underway to replace an additional 12 escalators.

Metro owns and maintains 618 escalators in its stations and parking garages, including the longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere at Wheaton Station.

The investments in replacing or rebuilding Metro’s escalators has yielded positive results for customers. In 2015, Metro’s escalator availability rate reached 93.3 percent, the best annual performance in five years.

The work at Waterfront Station will begin Monday night after the station closes. Each escalator is expected to take 35 weeks to replace, including site preparation, demolition, construction, installation and testing. For safety reasons, most of the work will be done during overnight hours.

Waterfront Station’s entrance will remain open to customers during the project with one escalator running up and one running down.”

“I consider myself to be a relatively aware pedestrian and I was pretty blind-sided by this issue”

By Prince Of Petworth

pedestrian

“Dear PoPville,

I just wanted to write about a kind of scary moment I had earlier as a pedestrian in DC. I was walking along Wisconsin Ave this afternoon and came to a side street that I wanted to cross. I looked ahead and saw a don’t cross sign, I looked to my left and saw a long line of cars that were stopped, and then looked back at the sign and it said walk, so I walked. In the middle of crossing I looked to the traffic light on my right and saw that it was green- basically I’d just stepped off the curb in front of a line of cars that had a green light.

When I looked at the signals more closely I realized that the box for Wisconsin Ave had been turned/blown by the wind almost completely 90 degrees, so there were two signals for the side street and I had been looking at the wrong one when I crossed. I have seen these boxes swiveled off their center on more than a few occasions, but never with this result, and out of mostly laziness I have never done anything about it.

This time I immediately called 311 and reported it- the whole call took about 30 seconds, and someone from the traffic department said she’d send a contractor out. I consider myself to be a relatively aware pedestrian and I was pretty blind-sided by this issue. I will call and report these issues every time I see them now, and I urge others to do the same. Be careful at intersection of Wisconsin and Van Ness NW right now particularly!”

Red Line Chinatown 8:50am

By Prince Of Petworth

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Thanks to Kat for sending this metro mess around 8:50am.

WMATA reported:

“Red Line: Expect residual delays to Shady Grove due to an earlier train malfunction at NoMa-Gallaudet.”

and

“Shady Grove-bound Red Line passengers expect delays – earlier medical emergency at Farragut North. Trains moving. 8:54a #wmata”

And there was also trouble on the Orange and Silver lines:

“Orange/Silver (7:47a): Crews now responding to a 2nd cracked rail (1st one repaired), this time on inbound track at E Falls Church. #wmata”

and

“Orange & Silver line trains have resumed 2-track service through East Falls Church. 8:45a #wmata”

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work

By Prince Of Petworth

metro
Photo by PoPville flickr user Rob Cannon

From WMATA:

“Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of January 15-18 with service adjustments on four of six lines. Trains will operate as follows:

Green Line trains will operate regular weekend intervals.
Yellow Line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals between Huntington and Fort Totten.
Silver Line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston.
Free shuttle buses will replace Orange and Blue line trains between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly & Benning Road.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday through closing Sunday, buses will replace Orange Line trains between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly. During this time, Minnesota Ave and Deanwood stations will be closed.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday through closing Sunday, buses will replace Blue Line trains between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road. Free shuttle buses will operate between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road. Please allow 10-12 minutes of travel time for each station stop.

Red Line trains will operate every 9-18 minutes.

There is no scheduled track work on Monday, January 18.”

Serious Streetscape Love Coming to 7th Street from N to Florida Ave – Expect Some Traffic Issues

By Prince Of Petworth

7th
7th and Florida Ave, NW

From DDOT:

“Temporary Traffic Lane Changes on 7th Street NW Begin January 19 for Streetscape Project
Commuters advised to seek alternate routes

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will alter the traffic patterns on 7th Street, NW, from N Street to Florida Avenue for a construction project that begins Tuesday, January 19, 2016, at 7 am, weather permitting. The work is expected to continue until January 2017.

The change in traffic patterns is necessary for the Streetscape Project around the Howard Theater area. Work will be extensive and includes the installation of new streetlights, traffic signals and landscaping along 7th Street. The improvements also include new sidewalks, ramps, curbs, gutters, multiuse meters, catch basins and bike racks. New trees will be planted and the roadway will be milled and overlayed. (more…)

“The 54 Bus Not Stopping at 11th and E Street”

By Prince Of Petworth

bus
Photo by PoPville flickr user Rich Renomeron

“Dear PoPville,

I live in Columbia Heights and commute by bus in the evening. I catch the bus at 11th & E N.W. At that stop I can catch the S2, S4 and the 54 buses. Sometimes I like to wait for the 54 because it’s faster. However, the drivers have a bad habit of just driving off and not picking up passengers at my stop. Short of laying down in the road and getting hit by the bus I don’t know what else to do to get the drivers to understand that I want to be picked up. I wave my hands wildly and stand right at bus stop but they shoot by me like they’re in the Indy 500 and just keep on going. It’s happened to me at least 6 times since the summer. I’ve written three complaints to Metro and all I get back is the generic “we’ve received your message and will get back to you” kind of response.

My question is: is anyone else having this problem with the 54 bus or is it just me?”

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