Do you think Metro has grown unreliable and become downright unpleasant? Or are you happy with your commutes on rail and bus? Does the thought of the intercounty connector (ICC) keep you up at night or does it seem like it's long overdue? And what of the moves by Maryland and Virginia to encourage the private sector to build road projects, such as widening the Capital Beltway?

Washington Post staff writer Eric Weiss was online Monday, July 21 at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, feel your pain and share the drama of getting from Point A to Point B.

A transcript follows.

Discussion Archive

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Eric Weiss: Good morning, cut-through artists and all!

Lena has abandoned me for the pleasures of Duck, N.C., so it's just me today. But I'll try--oh how I will try!

Just don't ask me anything about algebra or the parking garage at West Falls Church.

So on with the questions and kvetching...

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Arlington, Va.: Have you noticed that drivers have gotten a lot worse? Is it the hypermiler thing? I've notice so many drivers in Virginia getting into the left lane and not passing anybody. In fact, they're holding up traffic by going just under the speed limit and expecting everyone else to follow suit. Maybe the Post and other media outlets should educate drivers by reminding them that the left lane is not for the slow pokes. People need to understand that the speed limit is not in actuality set by the sign on the side of the road, but by the flow of traffic.

Eric Weiss: No Arlington, you have not entered some bizarre time/space continuum. This is the everyday experience of driving around here: Left-lane hogs, HOV cheats, tailgaters and former Massachussets residents who don't signal.

On Interstate 66 they have signs for slow traffic to stay to the right. To no avail.

No Arlington, you are experiencing the normal Washington area driving experience.

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Baltimore: I know some chatters have been following the WMATA funding issue closely. They might be interested to know that S. 3297 is an everything-but-the-kitchen sink attempt to get around Sen. Tom Coburn's hold on the stand-alone funding bill.

So, if you want money for Metro and are lucky enough to have a senator, call him or her and ask that the bill be passed pronto!

washingtonpost.com: The Senate's 'Dr. No' Post, July 27)

Eric Weiss: My theory is that Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)is jealous and just wants an aging, overcrowded subway in Tulsa.

I did speak with Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), who has sponsored the bill to get Metro $1.5 bilion in exchange for permanent fuding commmitments from Md, Va and the District and he was confident.

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Bethesda, Md.: Eric and Lena,

Posting early due to meetings. As the construction starts on the HOT lanes, it once again reminds me that VA and MD are determined to stand off each other and make it worse and worse to go between the two - at least on the MoCo and Fairfax/Loudoun side of the Potomac. Is their idea of making our air more breathable, reducing fuel usage, ensuring their residents can get to jobs and productive activities (volunteering or just seeing their kids more than 2 hours a day) to make it harder to cross to Potomac? These HOT lanes dead ending at Georgetown Pike (if you want the rural road, should have never allowed the many McMansions to be built on it and kept it large farms and equestrian centers) on the most used portion of the Beltway is just going to make things worse in 5 years when they are functional, dumping more traffic towards MD. Have you seen the design? Will it enable an extension to be added on across the Legion bridge? I would be happy to pay $5 to cross the bridge to Clara Barton, where I exit, if I know it would only take me 5 minutes to get to from the Dulles toll road, not the 45 minutes it regularly take me (and that's on a good day).

People like me aren't going to quit jobs and take them in another state out of frustration - we will move away. I'm getting darn close to it.

Eric Weiss: Bethesda: If your commute is so terrible, perhaps you should consider a move closer to your job. Traffic is not going to get better anytime soon.

As far as the HOT lanes, Maryland is studying ways to place HOT lanes on the Beltway and I-270 that would link up with the Virginia HOT lanes.

But Maryland takes a long time to do things (See ICC) so I wouldn't hold your breath.

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Kensington, Md.: The Naval Hospital/Walter Reed merger, along with recent NIH changes will make travel through the area between Bethesda and the Beltway unbearable for those who live near. While there is talk of changes at the several intersections, its clear that they are insufficient to alleviate the problems.

A significant portion - some think the largest portion - or the traffic to this area comes from the Beltway. The Naval Hospital campus abuts the Beltway between Wisconsin and Cedar Lane. Has there been any consideration of adding direct access in the form of a new Beltway exit, at least from the inner loop?

Eric Weiss: While their are plans to beef up traffic intersections in preparation for a larger, combined hospital, I don't believe a new exit to the Beltway is in the cards. That would be prohibitively expensive.

But you get points for thinking big!

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi Eric,

Tyson's traffic was more unbearable than ever today; it came to a complete stop at Gallows. What is going on (HOT lane work already?) and should I expect this to be the norm for awhile? Thanks.

Eric Weiss: HOT lanes, utility work for Metro extension, routine summer road construction, pick your poison.

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Tysons, Va.: Has any consideration been given to the outpouring of cars onto the American Legion bridge (and before) at the end of the HOT lanes? It seems to me that when 6 lanes (4 regular and 2 HOT) converge into 4 when the HOT lanes end at the Dulles Toll Road, there will be backups as bad or worse than those today. Am I missing something?

Eric Weiss: The HOT lane folks defined the project as basically ending at the Dulles Toll Road and then merging the remaining traffic into the regular lanes before the American Legion Bridge.

Should be fun!

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Columbia, Md.: I just started working downtown. On Friday afternoon it took an hour and a half to go from the Capitol to the BW Parkway, where it crosses the Beltway. Normally it takes 15 minutes. It turns out a car was stuck in the right lane on 295, after we passed it the road was wide open. There was a police car behind the stuck car. Why aren't cars stuck on heavily traveled roads towed away quickly? Thousands of people had to sit in that traffic mess because of one car.

Thank you.

Eric Weiss: This is something that the region says they are working on, along with coordinating traffic lights, that can make a big difference for a little $$$$.

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Washington, D.C. : I have only ever had one complaint about Metro, and that is tourists. They tend to have no concept of our mass transit "rules," stand to the right on the escalator, don't block up the doors or hold them open because half your tour group is not through the gates yet.

On Saturday I saw one group that tied up the handicap turnstile while a person on the other side who was handicapped was forced to wait for 10 people to go through, who could have used the normal exits.

Will Metro ever bring back that campaign they had a while ago explaining some of the "rules" we have for mass- transit use?

Eric Weiss: I thought they had. I see signs telling people to stay to the right on the escalators.

But many of these people are so overwhelmed with our heat, our confusing streets, long escalators and the impossible to figure out farecard system, that they can't do everything right.

My favorite tourist moments are when they just get the concept of waiting for the farecard to pop out on top and then they get a machine where it pops out where it went in.

Hilarious!

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Bloomingdale, DC: I have noticed that on the red line during my morning commute from DC to Bethesda, the noise in the tunnel often becomes unusually loud between Woodley Park and Cleveland Park. I typically listen to my iPod while reading on the train, and find that the noise drowns out whatever is playing on my headphones, meaning it must be rather loud. Is it just me, or have any other passengers noticed this?

Eric Weiss: If Lena was here, she could tell you some obscure fact about side rails and tunnels between the two stations providing auditory feedback.

My suggestion, turn up the tunes, dude!

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Maryland: Eric,

First, I hope MD does not go with the HOT. Most don't support the ICC. Roads are public infrastructure and tolls should at a minimum be used to support the roads and mass transit alternative (not put profit into an Australian corp.) I think it's cheating the public out of additional lanes on publically owned right-of-way.

Second, sign says lot closure at Shady Grove this weekend (including the motorcycle parking) but does not direct to any alternatives. Do you know anything about it?

Eric Weiss: First, I'm not so sure of your assumption that "most don't support the ICC." I haven't seen any polling, but I'm sure then-candidate Martin O'Malley did before coming out in support of the project. And the level of opposition was nowhere near the levels of earlier.

Second, Virginia wasn't exactly looking to line the coffers of Australian multinationals. Since VDOT doesn't have enough money to pave my driveway, they couldn't afford the billions to expand the Beltway or add HOV/transit lanes. This project, with all of its faults, does that.

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Washington, D.C.: This morning at the Foggy Bottom metro station there was a dangerous situation because only a single, non-functioning escalator was available to allow people to exit the station. Crowds were building, preventing people from even being able to exit through the faregates. In desperation, people even started running up the down escalator to get out.

Meanwhile, Metro officials looked on from their hut, doing nothing while people were pushing through the crowd, confused and not sure how to get out of the station.

Why didn't anyone shut down the down escalator to allow some people to walk up that escalator as well?

I think this is a perfect example of why escalators are a bad idea. Stairs would have been operational during this fiasco and wouldn't require people to run up a down escalator.

Eric Weiss: Metro officials often monitor this chat and would then be able to give the station manager a polite talking-to.

Thanks for writing in. These little things really make for a bad experience.

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Arlington, VA: RE METRO FUNDING

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop the old wise tale about Metro not getting enough funding to do this and do that. It is their employee agreement, which is just about as big of a criminal rip off one labor union has done to an entire region in the history of our country.

The salaries, benefits and pensions are where all the dedicated money metro gets each year. If they get more, do you think service will improve? No, the greedy employee unions will demand mover overtime, less years worked, and larger pensions. Please do a report on this issue.

Thanks

Eric Weiss: Last I checked, new rail cars, rail switches, hybrid buses and the like were pretty expensive, too.

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Arlington: In response to Washington's comment on tourists - a friend recently in town pointed out the generally poor human usability of Metro. The different ejection locations for farecards are one example but there are others - signs with small fonts, confusing farecard machines. She even pointed out that unlike stations in Boston, Metro's outlying stations don't even mark, directly, which platform goes towards town and which goes away.

Eric Weiss: There is a new signage initiative underway (you can see it at Gallery Place). But Metro style is to give the last stop of each line, such as in Paris.

Hey, I'd pick Paris over Boston any day!

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Alexandria, Va.: In honor of Lena, a "get out of town" question for you.

I just did a long weekend out to Deep Creek Lake, which besides being just beyond the town of accident, is also a three-hour drive outside of the region.

In that three hour span of driving, I saw exactly one on-highway rest stop, on I-70 past Frederick, and it was closed for the next year and a half.

Why is it that there are no on-highway rest stops anywhere on the interstates in Western Maryland. Getting off the highway to find a bathroom and a soda at a random exit and then trying to figure out how to get back on the highway at that random exit slow the drive considerably. I'm not looking for New Jersey Turnpike frequency of every 15 miles, but why not every 50 or so have a place on the highway to take a break? Wouldn't this increase road safety since drivers will take the convenient break point rather than try to gut it through to their destinations?

Eric Weiss: We New Jerseyans just have to "go" more often.

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Silver Spring, MD: MD and VA: I believe the official stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I have arrived at the acceptance stage that Maryland will do everything it can to keep its residents from working or using an airport in Virginia. I will never see a new bridge for cars or Metro between the two states. I sometimes see listings for jobs across the river and I must discard them unless I choose to leave my home, take my kids out of their school and circle of friends and tell my wife she must change jobs as well.

It stinks but I accept it as truth, just like summer heat. I will no longer yell as I drive past the State House in Annapolis.

Eric Weiss: One of the major reasons for building the ICC was to link the jobs and residents of the I270/70 corridor with BWI Thurgood Marshall.

Silver Spring, you are not to take advantage of any convenient flights out of Dulles. That's just the way it goes. Besides, what are you complainging about, you have Southwest.

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Superior, Wisc.: As a non-Washingtonian, but frequent visitor, I am fascinated by the fact that you cope with these kinds of traffic frustrations day in and day out. Does the traffic situation alone ever cause citizens to think of relocating?

Eric Weiss: Every day.

But then again I lived in Hartford Conn. for seven years, where the only news was layoffs and corporate closings.

But it was traffic-free. I suspect you find traffic in vibrant, growing areas. So embrace the concept of waiting three cycles to get through a traffic light.

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Alexandria, Va: Driving HAS got worse lately and there is a reason - CELL PHONES.

Saturday morning, driving into the city on 395, I encountered a guy going about 50 on the left lane and weaving onto and off of the shoulder.

Sure enough, when I was forced to pass him on the right, he was chatting away on his phone.

Eric Weiss: Anyone speaking on a cellphone while trying to navigate our area's highways is a, well, no so smart.

With all our cupholders, video displays, Blackberries and phones, we consider our cars as our cubicles. They are not.

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Tourists on Metro: There's nothing funnier than a tourist standing on the left of the escalator, and a row of locals behind him, seething and getting antsier by the second.

Have we all forgotten the magic phrase, "Excuse me?" All you have to do is cheerfully say, "Excuse me, in DC we stand right and walk left!" and 90 percent of the time, the tourists are happy to move out of the way.

Now, if we could only ban massive tour groups from clogging the Metro during rush hour, I could die happy.

Eric Weiss: I agree. Tourists quickly respond to an "excuse me." You can even skip the lecture.

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long-distance driving: Do you do faraway roads, too? I'm headed to southeastern Mass. this weekend (next to Rhode Island) and wondering if there's any alternative to crossing the Bronx. I have no boat at my disposal.

How about on the return trip, from southern Vermont?

Eric Weiss: Take the NJ Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway to the NY Thruway to the Tappan Zee and then the Cross County to the Hutchinson to the Merritt and then take the crossover to I-95.

How's that for free service?

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Silver Spring, Md.: Re: Foggy Bottom Metro escalator When the escalator situation becomes dangerous, we all have choices; make the best of it, complain to the station manager or just hit the emergency stop button that is located at each end of the escalator.

Eric Weiss: Good point, SS.

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Excuse me...:...you do have to add the, "In DC, we stand right and walk left." You just have to keep it courteous and non-lecturing. Otherwise, they look at you like you're crazy and mutter about how everyone's in such a gosh darn hurry here in the city. And then they stand on the left at the very next escalator.

Eric Weiss: Ok, as long as it is not done in a rude manner. Lena would never advocate doing anything in a rude manner.

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NOVA: The person who complained about slowpokes in the left lane said, "People need to understand that the speed limit is not in actuality set by the sign on the side of the road, but by the flow of traffic." Really? Would that explanation get you out of a speeding ticket?

Eric Weiss: Slower drivers, based on the flow of traffic, should stay to the right. Let the speeders in the left lane deal with the police. Don't create a dangerous situation by requiring people to pass you on the right.

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Alexandria, Va.: Eric - Who is responsible for monitoring the "kiss and ride" areas at Metro stops? For example, I regularly pick up my husband from Springfield Metro and have to wait AT LEAST 2 cycles of the light at Franconia-Springfield Parkway because people just STOP in the travel/traffic lanes, throw on their hazards and wait for their passengers. I can't even get down the the 'kiss and ride' waiting parking lot .. YES, they do have one, and it's always empty. I have to add at least 15 minutes to my pickup b/c people just block the lanes. Who is responsible for making sure traffic keeps moving?

Eric Weiss: You should complain to Metro and Fairfax police.

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Chantilly, Va.: As a former Massachusetts resident, I resent the implication that I don't signal. Of course I signal: it lets everyone know which lane I just came from.

Eric Weiss: HA!

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Upper Marlboro, Md.: Happy to see the article in the Metro section about teleworkers. Certain agencies and private companies have been doing this for years. I studied the GSA centers on my previous contract, and a few people were working out the arrangements with their managers as I was moving on to another task.

My current contract is finally moving on to telecommuting and alternate work schedules in a big way; everyone interested can submit their paperwork, as long as we have adequate in-house coverage on a given day for some areas and/or the job will allow for telecommuting (no classified or hands on workers -- obviously, no senior senior managers -- poor babies). We are using "hot-seating" extensively. The reasons for the move were many, including the fact that the agency that we work for is running out of office space. They combined that with quality of life issues (even for contractors!), retention (our company), environmental concerns, and the fact that the infrastructure has been available for years, and decided after a short pilot to jump in with both feet. We should be taken about 100 people off the road on any given day. Hooray!

washingtonpost.com: Teleworkers Say It's A Gas-Gas-Gas Saver (Post, July 27)

Eric Weiss: The federal government can do so many things to make life more liveable in the area. They can get rid of free parking and instead use the money to subsidize transit. And they can walk the walk when it comes to working from home or telecommuting.

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Mt. Pleasnt, DC: I know there has been some work on reconstructing the 14th Street bridge corridor, and I know the NCPC has some ideas about it. When do you think it would be likely that this project would get started? Are there government task forces between DC and Virginia set up to plan it out?

Eric Weiss: The process is due to be finshed next year, and a lot of people are expecting miracles.

http://www.14thstreetbridgecorridoreis.com/

Unless we invent Jetsons-like flying cars or strap on personal jetpacks (my favorite idea) I don't know how much they can do with the overtaxed infrastructure now in place.

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Metro signs: There's nothing wrong with using the end of the line as the "direction" for a train. But is there a reason that Metro can't supplement that with signs in each station that point to "downtown"? Or highlight the "core" stations like Metro Center and L'Enfant plaza on the signs?

Yes, metro has a nice aesthetic, but Boston has us beat in explaining whether Alewife or Park Street is downtown.

Eric Weiss: Riders will know they are in the District because of the ridiculously long station names, like Woodley Park/Zoo/Adams Morgan or U Street/African American Civil War Memorial/Cordozo.

Seriously, I agree there is room for supplementary signs. "Downtown Washington" would sum it up simply.

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Eric Weiss: Thanks folks!

Sorry I coudn't get to all your questions, but for that you can blame Lena, who is on a beach somewhere.

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