In every crowd there is bound to be someone who will question a healthy-looking person sitting in seats reserved for the disabled and elderly while pregnant or obviously disabled people are forced to stand. I suggest you carry a cane.
Delivery Double-Park
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
To facilitate downtown traffic flow, I'd like to see the District change its building code to require that all new commercial buildings include appropriate loading dock space to accommodate all deliveries, including the overnight delivery companies who are the most flagrant double-parkers.
To cut down on double-parked private vehicles, the District could increase the number of sidewalk cutouts in front of buildings, allowing space for three to four delivery vehicles to pull up.
David King
Washington
Cutouts should be looked at. However, experience tells me delivery people will park closest to their mission, cutouts or not.
How about alleys? Anyone know why the District's downtown core has so few alleys? Alleys and loading docks could help prevent the delivery trucks from blocking rush-hour traffic.
More and More Metro
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Virginia should push not only to extend Metrorail to Dulles (although I think a monorail system would be cheaper and more efficient), but also to continue the Orange Line to Manassas and then link Manassas to Dulles by rail.
Similar considerations should be made for areas such as Sterling and even as far south as Fredericksburg.
More roads will not solve our growing congestion. Giving people more travel options will, as long as those options are easy and convenient to use.
Marcus Walther
Washington, Rappahannock County
Rail to Dulles is about as far as anyone should foresee, given budget considerations. The $4 billion or so needed to build that line has not been identified. I don't see it being completed until 2020, if then. Sorry.
Step On It
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
