Speak Up, Metro, So Your Riders Can Hear You

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

In response to your Feb. 24 column on Metro's proposal to reroute some trains along the Blue and Orange lines, I, too, am curious as to how Metro plans to notify riders about which train is going where. You say that "the rerouting would challenge Metro's customer communications." I agree, although calling it a "challenge" is being kind.

Metro's ability to provide information to its customers in a clear, accurate, helpful and timely way is abysmal, at best. I am a seasoned rider, and I often see inaccurate destination signs on the sides of Metrorail cars.

I recall, years ago, having boarded a designated Blue Line train only to find that I was actually on an Orange Line train. No clear announcement had been made that would have clued me in. It's only when I found myself at the Court House Station that I knew I was headed in the wrong direction.

There are far more serious problems that might arise from splitting the lines, particularly when trains with mechanical problems are taken out of service or trains are single-tracking. Fewer trains running the tracks equals more people on the platforms, particularly at heavily congested stations such as Rosslyn, Farragut West and Metro Center.

I understand the need to alleviate congestion along the various lines, but Metro needs to dramatically improve its communications and other operations systems before adding another challenge.

Sheri Gordon

Woodbridge

The day this letter came in, I was on a rush-hour train stopped at Union Station for what seemed like a long time. Announcements were being made on the platform and in the train, but it was impossible to hear them. The voices sounded fuzzy, and the volume was low.

I pulled out my cellphone, checked Metro's e-mail alerts to customers and discovered that a disabled train was causing delays. The e-mail alert is a fine service, I thought, but why must I use it to figure out what's happening to the train I'm already aboard?

One positive note about customer communications: The transit authority staff plans to spend a few months talking to riders and reviewing their thoughts about the Blue Line split before returning to the Metro board with a refined proposal. Metrorail riders boarding at King Street, Van Dorn Street and Franconia-Springfield are among those who will be consulted.

But they aren't the only ones who should get in on this. Blue Line riders on the Largo side and Orange Line riders from Vienna also would be affected by a new train pattern and probably would have ideas about how best to designate trains to avoid confusion.

Baseball in Transit

A major transportation challenge is coming to the District in the spring: how to get travelers to, from or around the new Nationals Park on South Capitol Street.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I wish to address the problem of getting spectators to and from Nationals games. It is expected that spectators would take the train and get off at the Navy Yard Station.

This is a rinky-dink little station and platform that handles only one line. One solution is to use buses to take the pressure off Navy Yard, and it has been suggested that everybody be encouraged to take the N22 Metrobus. The problem with this is that to find the stop, you have to be on the east side of Navy Yard Station (the side that has not been upgraded), and spectators must endure a long ride through uncertain neighborhoods before they get to Union Station.

Instead, I propose that a special Circulator shuttle be set up in a continuous loop from the stadium to L'Enfant Plaza and Judiciary Square Metro stations. This shuttle would run every 15 minutes at the beginning and end of each game, and would quickly get spectators to and from the larger stations, where the excess passengers could easily be absorbed. These buses are new, large and easy to board, and they could easily handle many passengers with coolers and other sports-watching equipment.

Eleanor Lawson

Springfield

Extending the routes of the distinctive red Circulator buses to the new Nationals Park is a good idea, but it won't happen this year. Instead, Metro and the District plan to enhance service on the N22 Metrobus line to serve much the same purpose. That's a fine idea, too, because there must be many alternative ways of getting to games.

I have no qualms about taking this bus route through the Navy Yard, Eastern Market and Capitol Hill neighborhoods.

Right now, the N22 is a commuter bus for the burgeoning office and residential district around the Navy Yard along M Street. The transit authority plans to enhance that service so that it will serve as a baseball shuttle, providing fans with a bus link to the Blue, Orange and Red lines.

What are your thoughts on getting to and from the games? Is a bus or train ride to the game practical for those of you who take your cars to work?

Which Way?

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Thank you for the interesting comparison between driving and riding Metro from Myers Circle SW in Vienna to Fannie Mae corporate headquarters [on Wisconsin Avenue near Van Ness Street NW].

For you, the driver, I see another option after you get onto Interstate 495 from Interstate 66: Exit at Dolley Madison Boulevard, cross Chain Bridge and turn right onto Canal Road, left onto Arizona Avenue and right onto Nebraska Avenue to Tenley Circle.

As the chickadee flies, this looks infinitely shorter than going up I-495 to the American Legion Bridge and then down River Road.

I am a veteran shunpiker and have found other ways to avoid I-495 while driving from upper Northwest Washington to Virginia.

Pat Howell

Takoma Park

For our "Which Way?" feature on the Feb. 17 Commuter page, I used the Google Maps driving directions program to choose my route. That sent me on an 18.8-mile trip that took 55 minutes during the morning rush.

I'm always glad to hear from a human with a better idea.

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursdays in the Extras and Sundays in the Metro section. Send e-mails todrgridlock@washpost.comor write to Dr. Gridlock at 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. Include your name, community and phone numbers.