Photo by PoPville flickr user yostinator
DDOTDC tweets:
“Intercity Bus Alert: @megabus has relocated from the parking lot at K and N. Cap to the Union Station parking garage.”
Of course some folks have had pretty bad megabus experiences…
Transit
Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi
From a WMATA press release:
“Major track work planned for weekend of November 4-6
Buses will replace Red Line trains between Glenmont and Fort Totten, and five stations — Takoma, Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Wheaton and Glenmont — will be closed as Metro rebuilds track, installs ties and insulators, replaces communications cables and renovates station platforms. In addition, trains will single track on the Blue/Orange lines between Foggy Bottom and McPherson Square to allow for rail renewal work.
Customers should take note of the following service impacts:
Red Line – 10 p.m. Friday through closing on Sunday
Buses will replace Red Line trains between Glenmont and Fort Totten stations.
Takoma, Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Wheaton and Glenmont stations will be closed.
Free shuttle buses will operate between Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring, Takoma and Fort Totten.
Red Line service will operate normally between Fort Totten and Shady Grove.
The last Shady Grove-bound train will depart Fort Totten at 2:51 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 11:51 p.m. on Sunday.
Customers using shuttle buses should allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time.Orange and Blue Line – 10 p.m. Friday through closing on Sunday
Orange and Blue Line trains will share one track between McPherson Square and Foggy Bottom stations as personnel conduct rail renewal work.
Throughout the weekend, Orange and Blue Line trains will depart endpoint terminals every 15 minutes.
Customers should allow about 20 minutes of additional travel time.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi
Couple transit related questions:
“Dear PoPville,
So I was driving home today and had an errand to run in SE Capitol Hill, so like I (and everyone else who lives in the area) frequently do, I took the “RFK Traffic Only” exit off of the SE freeway (right as it goes under Pennsylvania Avenue). There’s always been a Do Not Enter sign there, but everyone ignores it since it’s by far the most convenient way to get to that corner of Capital Hill. Tonight there were two DC cops stopping every car, lecturing the drivers (including me!) on how it was illegal, threatening tickets, and then waving us on. The cop was actually fairly cool about it, and I’m sure he was just doing his job, so I bare no ill will. But it is the BEST way to get into the area, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why the city would want to prevent it’s use when it’s one good thing in a city of otherwise so often painful traffic! Do you or your readers have any idea what the cities motivation is?”
Anyone know why the RFK Traffic Only lane is restricted?
and another reader is curious about the Green Line skipping stations:
“Dear PoPville,
Every morning I take the Green Line from Georgia Ave to College Park for work. On my commute this morning, we arrived at Fort Totten and the conductor announced that the train would only be servicing the PG Plaza and Greenbelt stations. For service to West Hyattsville and College Park, we were exit the train and board one of the following Green Line trains (which were 1 and 2 minutes behind).
This didn’t really cause me any inconvenience, as there were two more trains arriving in the next two minutes. But I am sort of curious as to why that happened. I’ve lived here for 7 years and take Metro every day and I’ve never experienced a train just skipping stations that weren’t otherwise closed. With two trains immediately following, I wonder if they just got “bunched up” and were trying to run a train off the line to get back on normal schedule.
Anyone ever experience this before? Thoughts?”
From a press release:
“Together with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) SoberRide initiative, AT&T is proud to provide free taxi rides (up to $30) to anyone 21 and over in the Washington, DC area this Saturday night (10/29) from 10pm until 6am.
AT&T customers can call #TAXI to get a safe, free ride home, while others can dial 800-200-TAXI.
WRAP’s SoberRide provides greater Washington, DC residents a safe way home on high-risk holidays, including the December/January holiday season, St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day and Halloween.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Barbara.K
From WMATA:
“Metro will advance major track work on sections of the Red, Blue and Green lines this weekend. On the Red Line, buses will replace trains between Fort Totten and New York Avenue as Metro installs new track, ties, insulators and provides a work zone for District of Columbia Department of Transportation bridge work near New York Avenue station. Two stations — Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland — will be closed as a result.
Customers should take note of the following service impacts:
Red Line – from 10 p.m., Friday through closing on Sunday
Free shuttle buses will replace Red Line trains between Fort Totten and New York Avenue stations.
Rhode Island Avenue and Brookland stations will be closed.
Red Line service will operate normally (regular weekend schedule) between Shady Grove and New York Avenue and between Glenmont and Fort Totten.
The last train from Glenmont will depart 27 minutes earlier than usual, at 2:10 a.m. on Friday, October 21, and Saturday, October 22, and at 11:10 p.m., on Sunday, October 23.
Customers can avoid the work area by connecting to the Green Line for travel between Gallery Place and Fort Totten.
Customers using shuttle buses should allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time.Blue line and Green line work after the jump. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Barbara.K
“Dear PoPville,
At the Pentagon City metro station, a no passenger train drove into the station. The first two cars were dark, but I could see large metal pushcarts inside. When the train stopped at the end of the platform, the doors opened, and men began unloading some of the carts from the front of the train. There was another man standing with what I thought was a gun in the last door of the second car. It was probably the strangest, and creepiest, thing I have ever seen. It reminded me of something out of like 1984. No one else seemed too worried or surprised. I imagine it’s routine, I have just never seen this before. Do you have an information?”
I believe the carts are used to collect the money from the ticket vendor machines. Anyone know if that is that right?
Photo of construction via WMATA
From a WMATA press release:
“Bike commuters looking for a more secure way of protecting their ride will soon have a new option at the College Park Metrorail station, with the addition of Metro’s first “Bike & Ride” facility.
Once completed, the new Bike & Ride—essentially a 2,400-square-foot room with steel mesh walls—will provide a bright, access-controlled area for locking bikes up to 120 bikes. If successful, the facility’s capacity can be expanded in a future phase.
Currently, about one-third of customers who park at College Park Station travel short distances (less than three miles) by car. Only about one percent travel to the station by bike, a percentage Metro hopes to increase once the new facility is completed.
“We want to do everything we can to encourage bike access to the Metro system,” said Nat Bottigheimer, Metro’s Assistant General Manager of Planning. “By providing customers with enhanced security and convenience, our hope is that more College Park customers will consider bike access.”
“The cycling community is extremely pleased to see Metro taking its planning efforts to improve bicycle access to the next stage by starting work on a new type of bike parking solution,” said Shane Farthing, Executive Director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. “We look forward to seeing this facility open and well-used in the near future, and we hope that the lessons learned in College Park can be used to provide better, safer bicycle parking options throughout the system.”
Constructed using see-through steel mesh walls, the facility will feature bright lighting, multiple cameras and card-controlled access. Customers who sign up for bike parking will receive an access card or fob that allows them to enter. Customers using the new Bike & Ride will be charged a nominal fee (about 3-5 cents per hour). Free racks will continue to be available at the station.
The facility is being constructed within the existing College Park parking garage, using a space on the southeast corner of the building that was originally programmed for retail use.
Bike & Ride Features
24-hour card controlled access
Capacity for up to 120 bikes
Docking space for oversized bikes
Enclosed space provides protection from weather
Security features, including steel mesh walls, cameras, lighting
Emergency egress door and intercomConstruction is expected to be completed by early 2012.”
This sounds pretty sweet.
And in other metro news – just a reminder that the Shaw, U Street, and Columbia Heights stations be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through system opening Tuesday.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Caitlin H. Faw
From a WMATA press release:
“Metro will advance major track work on sections of the Green, Yellow and Orange lines over the three-day Columbus Day weekend.
To advance NTSB-recommended safety improvements, three stations on the Green/Yellow lines — Shaw, U Street and Columbia Heights — will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through system opening Tuesday. Shuttle buses will operate between Mt. Vernon Square and Georgia Avenue stations, making stops outside each of the closed Metrorail stations. During this time, Metro personnel will install new “Guarded #8” switches outside U Street Station.
On the Orange Line, buses will replace trains between East Falls Church and West Falls Church as work continues on the Dulles rail extension project.
Customers should take note of the following service impacts:
Green and Yellow Lines – 10 p.m. Friday through closing on Monday (Columbus Day)
From 10 p.m., Friday, October 7, through closing on Monday, October 10, the Shaw, U Street and Columbia Heights stations will be closed as Metro installs new track switches outside U Street station, which is part of a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation.
Green Line trains will operate in two sections, between Greenbelt and Georgia Avenue and between Branch Avenue and Mt. Vernon Square.
Free shuttle buses will operate between Mt. Vernon Square and Georgia Avenue.
The last train will depart Greenbelt 30 minutes earlier than usual—at 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights and at 11 p.m. on Sunday and Monday nights.
Customers using shuttle buses should allow 20 minutes of additional travel time.
Yellow Line trains will operate between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Square.
Normal rail service will resume on Tuesday, October 11.Orange line delays after the jump. (more…)
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They are not screwing around up in Chevy Chase (DC side just below the circle). (more…)
From an email:
Celebrate Capital Bikeshare’s FIRST birthday and Car Free Day all at one celebration at the Capital Bikeshare Birthday Bash! Please join us on September 22 in The Yards Park from 6-9 pm and enjoy the festivities.
- Live music from 80’s band The Reflex
- Food trucks, including Red Hook Lobster Pound, Doug the Food Dude, Eat Wonky, Rolling Ficelle, Carnivore BBQ and Dippin’ Dots
- Free cupcakes from Sprinkles
- Free drinks from Honest Tea
- Games and craft brews from New Belgium Brewing to celebrate their launch into the DC market
- Giveaways, including exclusive CaBi Birthday Bash t-shirts to the first 1,000 guests, water bottles from Whole Foods, Capital Bikeshare helmets and bike lights from BikeArlington
- Paper boy and slow bike races
- Moonbounces, bungee run, gladiator joust and wrecking ball
- Raffle prizes
- Hoola hooping garden with HooperNATURAL
- The Natmobile on site with signups for free giveaways from the Washington Nationals
- Photos courtesy of Smilebooth
The event is free and open to the public, so bring your friends and help us celebrate the success of Capital Bikeshare. Plenty of bike racks (bring your own lock) and a Capital Bikeshare corral will be available for anyone riding by bicycle to the event. For other ways to get to The Yards Park, click here. Be sure to take the pledge to go car free on September 22, and then come celebrate with Capital Bikeshare. We can’t wait to see you there!