Transit

Improvements Coming to Metro – New Lighting and Replacing Carpets with “slip-resistant resilient flooring”

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user ianseanlivingston

From WMATA:

“Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles today announced that the Authority plans to install new, brighter mezzanine lighting at all underground stations following the successful completion of lighting upgrades at Judiciary Square, Gallery Place, Bethesda, Metro Center and Smithsonian stations.

The new lighting structures are significantly brighter and more energy efficient than the older “coffee can” lighting they are replacing. They provide a higher quality of light with an improved Color Rendering Index (CRI) that improves both lighting levels and overall visibility.

In addition to the five already-completed stations, one station – L’Enfant Plaza – is currently under construction, and the remaining 41 underground stations will be completed by 2015.”

and

“Metro is moving forward with the replacement of carpet in its existing fleet of railcars with new slip-resistant resilient flooring.

The move is in response to customer feedback during the design of Metro’s new 7000-series cars, which will soon begin rolling off an assembly line in Lincoln, Nebraska. Riders told Metro that they strongly preferred flooring to carpet for cleanliness reasons.

Resilient flooring does not absorb dirt and spills as carpet does, and will be much easier for Metro maintenance personnel to keep clean. In addition, flooring is more durable and has a longer lifespan before needing replacement.

As an added benefit, the flooring reflects some interior and exterior light, creating a brighter, more open feel inside the car.

Already, Metro has installed the new flooring on more than a dozen cars. Over the next two years, Metro expects to have flooring installed on all 5000- and 6000-series cars.”

New Section of 10th Street to be Two Way? Does that Make Sense?

By Prince Of Petworth

10th street

“Dear PoPville,

When CityCenter opens, it appears as if the new 10th Street NW between New York Avenue and H Street will be a two-way street (see photo), despite 10th Street being southbound-only from Vermont to R, Rhode Island to New York, and H to Pennsylvania. Does anyone have any information on this? It doesn’t appear as if any of the other segments will be turned into two-way streets, so it seems odd (beyond the retail dimension of CityCenter itself) to have the new segment this way.

I do think it makes a hint of sense since it is very hard to travel northbound in that area (either 7th or 11th Street will get you beyond Massachusetts Avenue, but no streets in between because of one-way streets or super blocks). I don’t understand why both 9th and 10th Streets both need to be southbound one-way streets directly next to each other. Thoughts?”

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work – No Yellow Line Service, SW Watefront Closed, L’Enfant Plaza only open for Blue/Orange

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From WMATA:

“Red Line 10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15 through closing Sun., Nov. 17
Trains every 8-16 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: Every 16 minutes throughout the weekend
Between Farragut North & Silver Spring: Every 8-10 minutes 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Crews will improve track infrastructure, including rail joint elimination, between Dupont Circle and Van Ness.

Orange Line 10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15 through closing Sun., Nov. 17
Trains every 20 minutes

Orange Line trains will operate every 20 minutes throughout the weekend.

Work Performed: Station platforms reconstruction at Minnesota Ave and Deanwood stations, tie renewal, insulator renewal and structural improvements.

Blue Line Regular service; no scheduled work

Yellow Line 10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15 through closing Sun., Nov. 17
No trains; use Blue and Green lines instead

No Yellow Line service this weekend. Use Blue Line as alternate for service to/from Virginia stations.

A special Shuttle Train will operate every 10 minutes between Huntington and Braddock Road stations only. Passengers traveling to/from Huntington or Eisenhower Ave stations should transfer to/from Blue Line service at Braddock Road.

Passengers traveling to Virginia from Green Line stations north of L’Enfant Plaza should transfer to the Red Line at Gallery Place or Fort Totten, ride to Metro Center, and then transfer a Blue Line train toward Franconia-Springfield. There is no Green Line service between Archives and Navy Yard this weekend (including L’Enfant Plaza).

Work Performed: Crews will conduct the annual inspection of the Yellow Line Potomac River bridge.

Green Line 10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 15 through closing Sun., Nov. 17
Buses replace trains between Archives & Navy Yard

Green Line trains will operate as follows:

Between Greenbelt & Archives: Every 10 minutes throughout the weekend (except late night)
Between Branch Ave & Navy Yard: Every 12-15 minutes throughout the weekend (except late night)

Free shuttle buses will replace Green Line between Archives & Navy Yard stations. Buses will run between Archives and Navy Yard with intermediate stops at L’Enfant Plaza and Waterfront stations. Allow 10 minutes of travel time for each stop. For example, a rider traveling between L’Enfant Plaza and Navy Yard should allow 20 minutes because the bus makes two stops.

Stations Closed: Waterfront (L’Enfant Plaza open for Blue/Orange trains only)

Work Performed: Station repairs, track infrastructure improvements, fastener replacement, joint elimination, drain cleaning, signage installation.”

More Red Line Delays this Morning, Groundhog Day at Gallery Place

By Prince Of Petworth

gallery_place_delays

This morning @wowindc sends an almost identical photo from yesterday, she writes:

“again at gallery place. Another day, another delay; worse than 5pm on beltway.”

Metro reported:

“Red Line continues delays in both directions due to a signal problem outside Ft Totten. 8:55a”

“Shady Grove-bound Red Line train offloading for a brake problem at Gallery Place. Trains holding directly behind. 7:22a”

UPDATE Metro General Manager Apologizes to Red Line Riders:

“I want to apologize for the delays and inconvenience you have experienced recently. I know that service on the Red Line has not been good over the past several days. Be assured, we are focused on these issues and are taking steps to improve service.

We will have more information about this morning’s service posted here later today, and I will tell you about changes we are making to address this situation.

Again, I apologize for the delays you have experienced, and thank you for riding Metro.

Sincerely,
Richard R Sarles
General Manager & CEO”

Red Line Metro Delays Up to 30 Minutes, Single Tracking Between Dupont and Van Ness – Update – Green Line Delays Too

By Prince Of Petworth

pain sculpture

From WMATA at 8:05am:

“Red Line: Delays now up to 30 minutes due to track problem. Trains are single tracking btwn Dupont Circle & Van Ness.”

Update from WMATA:

“Branch Avenue-bound Green Line train offloading at College Park, doors. Next train directly behind. 8:24am”

A reader reports delays at the Petworth station.

Thanks to @wowindc for sending a shot of Gallery Place at 8:40am:

gallery_place

Overhead Wires for Street Cars Getting Installed on H Street Tomorrow

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From DDOT:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has announced the DC Streetcar construction team will begin installing head span wire along the H/Benning corridor on Wednesday, November 13, 2013. Well into the final stage of construction along H/Benning, the hanging of head spans marks a milestone in the timeline for delivering streetcars to the H/Benning corridor in December to begin their official in-traffic safety testing process.

Motorists should be aware that rolling closures up and down H Street, NE will be implemented to facilitate this installation. At approximately 7:00 am on Wednesday, November 13, 2013, the construction team will begin installing each section of head span wire from the south side of H Street, NE to the north side, between 3rd Street, NE and 14th Street, NE. Each closure will take approximately 2-3 minutes, stopping traffic going eastbound and westbound as the construction team moves along the corridor hanging wire.

The thin, stainless-steel wire supports the contact wires that will power the streetcars. Once the head span wire has been installed and safe connections are made to Overhead Catenary System (OCS) hardware and poles, all lanes will be reopened. Contact wire will be strung in the next phase of work and an additional notice will be sent out at that time.

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the installation of head span wire. DDOT and WMATA are working together to make certain their level of service is maintained along the corridor.

The construction team will make every effort to mitigate impacts to parking during this work. The continued support and patience of the community is essential in order to meet this aggressive completion schedule. We ask that motorists and pedestrians use caution as they travel through or near the work zone, and follow all restrictions.”

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work – Three Red Line Stations Closed

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From WMATA:

“Red Line 10 p.m. Fri., Nov. 8 through closing Mon., Nov. 11
Buses replace trains between Shady Grove & White Flint; normal service between White Flint & Glenmont

Red Line trains will operate between White Flint & Glenmont at regular intervals throughout the weekend.

Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Shady Grove & White Flint. Buses will operate on two routes:

Express buses will run between Shady Grove and White Flint with no intermediate stops. Allow 20 minutes of travel time.
Local buses will run between Shady Grove and White Flint with intermediate stops at Rockville and Twinbrook. Allow 10 minutes of travel time for each station stop. For example, a rider traveling from Rockville to White Flint should allow 20 minutes because the bus makes two stops.

Station Closed: Shady Grove, Rockville, Twinbrook

Work Performed: Crews will continue NTSB-recommended track circuit replacement and improve track infrastructure, including installation of new ties, fasteners, insulators and cover boards. (more…)

Dear PoPville – Lane change needed for Northbound 12th Street, NW @ Mass Ave

By Prince Of Petworth

trafficFixDC

“Dear PoPville,

I travel northbound on 12th ST NW daily to get home, and have noticed an issue on this route that can be easily resolved.

Northbound 12th ST NW, at the intersection of Mass Ave NW has 3 lanes.
The left lane is a left-turn only
The middle lane is left-turn or straight
The right lane is right turn only

The majority of traffic turns left at this intersection, and the rest of the traffic goes straight. Essentially no traffic turns right (reason discussed below). Because of this, the center lane is highly congested, and through-traffic often times cheats into the right lane to continue straight on 12TH ST through the intersection.

My suggestion is to change the intersection to the following:
The left lane is left-turn only (no change)
The middle lane is left-turn only
The right lane is right turn or straight

The right lane in its current state (right turn only) is a wasted lane. As shown in the attached diagram, traffic has no use for a right turn here. Any northbound traffic will make a right at L ST NW 150 ft earlier to access Mass Ave, without the need to backtrack (the case if traffic were to make the right at Mass Ave). Additionally, no businesses are accessed by a right turn at this intersection, as Burke Park lines the right-hand side of Mass Ave.

In conclusion modifying the traffic flow through this intersection by re-servicing the lanes will improve throughput and relieve congestion, without any negative impact to any businesses, commuters, or street users. There is no downside to this change.”

WMATA issued requests for proposals to develop 5 Properties

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville Flickr User Gregarious Gwen

From WMATA:

“The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has announced that, for the first time in seven years, it is releasing a multi-site solicitation of properties for development into transit-oriented projects.

As the Washington region continues to grow, transit-oriented projects are increasingly attractive to both residents and businesses as a way of managing traffic congestion and improving quality of life for residents and employees.  WMATA is planning to leverage this interest, along with favorable market conditions, to offer five developments sites.

WMATA issued requests for proposals for the following properties:

Brookland-CUA
Fort Totten
Navy Yard (Chiller Plant)
Grosvenor-Strathmore
Morgan Boulevard

“These properties present excellent development opportunities,” said Metro General Manager and CEO, Richard Sarles. “The interest that has already been expressed in these sites is an indication of the crucial role Metro is playing in the growth of the region.”

WMATA is already a national leader among transit agencies in the field of private sector development on transit properties, what the industry calls “joint development.” Some two dozen projects have already been successfully completed in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, and several more are underway.

WMATA will be looking for quality developments with a focus on safe, walkable and attractive communities that work well with existing transit service. These projects will help achieve WMATA’s Momentum Strategic Plan of ensuring financial stability by generating increased ridership and rental income for Metro, and our goal of improving regional mobility and connecting communities.

Solicitations are posted online at wmata.com/realestate and will also be publicized through real estate organizations and trade publications.”

So Did Anyone Get a Free Taxi Ride on Halloween? SoberRides Reports over 300 Given

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user gerdaindc

Every time we post about free taxi rides from SoberRides over holidays like Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, etc. many commenters write that it is impossible to get a ride. SoberRides follow ups:

“I wanted to let you know the program provided over 300 free cabs last night [Halloween], nearly twice the amount as last year. A ride was given every 70 seconds on average.”

So did anyone attempt to use the free taxi ride on Halloween? If so, did it work for you?

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