Frankly, I don't understand the problem some people have with this. We already have it, it works, and we should support anything that moves some cars around and alleviates everyone's traffic nightmares.
Kyle Thompson
Leesburg
I couldn't agree more. What is being studied is the construction of two extra lanes on the Beltway, in each direction, between the Springfield Interchange and near Route 193 (Georgetown Pike). These lanes would be free to HOV-2 vehicles and accessible to single-occupant vehicles for a toll, to be deducted through an electronic transponder mounted on the vehicle.
The new lanes would be built by private enterprise, with reimbursement from tolls.
Single drivers could make a choice: Stick with the conventional lanes or pay a toll to use the faster-flowing (in theory) HOT lanes. I don't see how anybody loses here.
Metro's Sign Outages
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Why are the Metro overhead arrival signs so frequently not functioning or not functioning properly, especially for the Red Line at Van Ness going south, the Yellow Line headed toward Huntington at Gallery Place, and all of the signs at Reagan National Airport, which rarely work?
At Gallery Place, the Green Line signs operate perfectly. The Yellow Line is ignored except when the train enters the station.
As soon as the Green Line train leaves that station for Branch Avenue, another message pops up immediately telling the wait time for the next Green Line train, when it should let passengers know what the wait time is for the Yellow Line train.
Carol Woodard
Washington
Consider this, Ms. Woodard: Metro is an agency that has had no idea how much money had been collected from its parking lots and had no idea what it was owed. That went on for years and led to a significant loss of revenue.
To cure the problem, the agency decided to eliminate cash transactions and force customers to buy a SmarTrip card for $5 and use that -- and that alone -- for parking transactions.
However, once the new policy was announced and the public started buying the SmarTrip cards, Metro discovered it didn't have enough cards. Now you're reporting all sorts of cockeyed signs. I ask you, considering the above, are we surprised?
I'm beginning to wonder if Metro's problems are deeper than just a lack of enough dedicated revenue.
Transportation researcher Diane Mattingly contributed to this column.
Dr. Gridlock appears Sunday in the Metro section and Thursday in Extra. You can write to Dr. Gridlock at 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. He prefers to receive e-mail, at drgridlock@washpost.com, or faxes, at 703-352-3908. Include your full name, town, county and day and evening phone numbers.
