Roads and Rails

Eric Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 11, 2008 11:00 AM

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, Aug. 11 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

____________________

Eric Weiss: Good morning, traffic freaks!

Welcome to our chat on all things roads and rails.

However, my parter in crime, Lena (Big Shot)Sun has browbeat her bosses into taking yet another week of vacation, so I'm riding solo again.

Questions, my friends:

1. Reaction to the Bay Bridge debacle.

2. I got lots of reaction to my story about how the suburbs may be dying? Agree? Disagree?

3.Does anyone definitely plan on using the new Beltway HOT lanes frequently?

Now on to your questions, comments, and gripes...

_______________________

Construction and Pedestrians in DC: I've been working in downtown DC for the past more-than-a-decade and have always tried walking through any part of the city that I can as part of my commute. This limits me mostly to NW but my company has offices/facilities elsewhere and I've done some walking elsewhere too.

I have seen a dramatic improvements in pedestrian accessibility through blocks with construction in that period. Maybe, just maybe, part of that is related to ups/downs in the real estate market and construction, but I've been here through at least two and a half cycles of that and I don't think that this is reason things have gotten better.

I believe that some of the stuff I've seen you write about DC involvement in coordinating sidewalk closures in construction zones is probably more relevant to the improvements I've seen.

And the improvements are remarkable. 7 or 10 years ago walking down Mass Ave from, say, Dupont Circle to Union Station was a zoo. Every other block was closed off to pedestrians. Often both sides at the same time were closed to pedestrians. Today, wow, it's almost a perfectly clear straight shot through, and never are both sides completely closed down at the same time. Same applies to F Street, H Street, and several other zones too.

So, thanks for writing about the incremental changes in the past, but as a "slap on the back" to congratulate everyone responsible for these improvements, it'd be really cool if you could have a summary about how all the changes have worked to get to the improved situation we have today, and what remains to be done. Ten years ago I knew the situation was bad but couldn't tell you how to improve it - folks smarter than me have to come up with the improvements from where we are now!

Eric Weiss: You would have to direct your back-slapping to the District government. Noticing that other big cities force builders to build wooden tunnels to keep the sidewalks passable in front of construction zones, they have gone and forced that.

But it seems to be hit-or-miss. What's up with that building on 14th and P that has taken 10 years to build and takes up the sidewalk and two lanes of 15th Street?

_______________________

Kingstowne, Va.: On Saturday afternoon, and then again this morning, I was driving on the Franconia-Springfield Parkway. This road has ramps that lead to the I-95 express lanes, but none to the regular lanes. I've driven the road many times, but what really struck me this weekend was that NOWHERE on the Parkway are there ANY signs that indicate that the interchange is with I-95. The signs ONLY say "Restricted Lanes" with no road number anywhere.

This seems kind of silly to me. While I know that the express lanes are used mainly by local residents who know which road they're using and where they go, it seems to me that the purpose of road signs is primarily to provide direction to people who DON'T know the road very well and who need assistance finding their way. Surely omitting any indication that the ramps lead to I-95 is not beneficial to people who aren't from this area. Why in the world are those signs designed like this?

Eric Weiss: I have written extensively about the confusing, missing or misleading signs around the Springfield area and Mixing Bowl.

I think part of the problem comes from the problem of engineers who work with the project too closely. Antother is a blind adherence to the rulebook that prevents common-sense solutions.

The engineers should sit in the passenger seat while a out-of-town driver tries to navigate around the area and see it from their perspectives. It might give the MIT grads a lesson or two.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: I'm sure most of the questions and comments today will be about the horrific bridge accident (and the coincidence of this exact phobia being discussed in the Sunday Source!), but I'm writing to respond to something submitted in Dr. Gridlock's chat last week.

A person wrote about pedestrians and their ability to cross the street, and he or she made the comment that the "Don't Walk" sign is not an indication for drivers to turn, the implication being that walkers have the right to cross even when that sign is flashing.

Excuse me, but that is unbelievably rude on the part of the writers. That may be the only time drivers have to cross. At all the intersections by my downtown office, the signals have a countdown that starts at 46 seconds. They don't turn to "Don't Walk" until 15 seconds are left.

That is the only amount of time left-turners (who can't turn left on red in the District) have to make their turns.

If pedestrians cross the entire time until the light changes, drivers would never turn. I'm not saying that drivers aren't rude and don't need to pay attention, but pedestrians have to do their part, as well. If you can't make it across the street in 31 seconds, maybe you need help walking.

Eric Weiss: Okay, here are rules as I understand them. You are allowed to cross when dude depicted on the crossing light is flashing white. Once he turns red, you can finish your crossing if in the middle of the street but you should not step off the curb on red, even though there is time left on the countdown clock, because that is technically jaywalking.

The "red dude" period is designed partly to warn pedestrians to hurry up and partly to give drivers a chance to turn left. But the peds have priority.

_______________________

Silver Spring, Md.: Apparently, everyone is on vacation this week. Saw hardly anyone on the roads this morning. That, or, like my father, everyone is still stuck on the Eastern Shore because of the bridge accident.

Eric Weiss: There are worse things than being stuck on the Eastern short on an August Monday.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: During this past weekend, and especially on Saturday, there was scheduled track maintenance on the Red and Orange lines with lots of single tracking on the Orange line. How well do you think Metro performed with the crowds aboard the trains? Yes, I saw those crowds, as I was on my way to rendezvous with a friend at New Carrollton to visit Annapolis for another friend's b-day celebration, especially on various above-ground Orange line stations in Maryland.

Eric Weiss: I live on the Red Line and have suffered dispairingly long waits on the weekend.

This is the price we pay for progress. The switch-changing process is something that has to be done. Maybe their plan to do it on weekday nights will affect fewer people.

_______________________

Arlington, VA: Coming back from Rehoboth Sunday afternoon, they had electronic signs posted way back by rt.1, advising of heavy delays at the bridge and to take rt.1/13 north to 95. I hadn't heard about the accident yet but chose to take 13N and ended up on 95 by New Castle, DE where traffic was at a standstill leading up to the delaware tollbooths. Took me a good 4.5hrs to get home but I guess that's better than sitting in a 13 mile backup by the bridge? I don't really know. It was awful either way you look at it.

Eric Weiss: Arlington, you are one savvy driver.

We took 95 back from the Jersey Shore yesterday and flew through--even through cursed Delaware--despite the rain and the fact that it was Sunday.

_______________________

Eric Weiss: The computer people tell me there are technical problems on the site, so please be patient. Or don't be patient, it's pretty much up to you, right?

_______________________

Alexandria, VA: Another instance of silly road signage in VDOT is on the Beltway at the Dulles Toll Road exit.

The signs, on both the Inner and Outer Loops, say "267 West--Toll Road" on top and "Dulles Airport--No Toll" underneath. What's conspicuously missing are any references to Reston, Herndon, Ashburn, or Leesburg--i.e., all the places the Toll Road goes! There is a SEPARATE sign, notably on a SEPARATE sign gantry, that lists Reston and Leesburg, but to me this seems unhelpful to drivers who don't know the area because the goal of good highway signage is to provide the information on a SINGLE sign so that the driver can quickly determine where to go!

Eric Weiss: Yeah, once again it's enough to drive you crazy. But after interviewing enough traffic engineers, they are loath to put too much info on a single sign because it might slow traffic as drivers slow to take in the signs. Go figure.

_______________________

Maryland: I have always thought the walls on the Bay Bridge were low and very scary. The lanes seem very tight and close. After this least casualty on the bridge, do you think any improvements will be done to the bridge. Is it possible for a car to go over the wall also?

Eric Weiss: These are questions that the intrepid reporters here at The Post will be working on today...

The question, I think, is not that a car will go "over" the wall, but whether the wall is designed to prevent a fully loaded truck from crashing through when it crossed a lane and hits head-on.

_______________________

Re: Flashing "Red dude": Yeah, when the dude is flashing red (sounds dirty!), peds still have the priority. But when that stops and it's a full red palm, it means pedestrians can't cross, even if the light is green (for 15 seconds). As the previous poster said, that's the only time a driver can turn. As a pedestrian in such intersections, I know to park is when I get the hand.

Eric Weiss: My understanding is that the driver can turn at any point that pedestrians are not in the crosswalk. And true, if the dude/palm is solid red, you cannot cross--even though no one's around and a cop can't be seen.

_______________________

DC : At least the building at 15th and P has put in a pedestrian pathway along P street. The worst offender in my mind has to be the building under construction at 11th and F, right across from the H&M. They have the whole block on F from 11th to 12th blocked off (one lane of traffic and the sidewalk) and they have most of the block on 11th b/w F and G blocked off (a lane of traffic and the sidewalk). This project has also taken away the metrobus stop nearest Metro Center. Recently, I have noticed that in the morning, the construction crew puts cones out and parks their pick up trucks in a lane of traffic meaning that they have taken over the sidewalk and two lanes of traffic. There doesn't seem to be any enforcement whatsoever which is particularly galling b/c there are frequently metered spots open early in the morning and given the amount of pedestrian and vehicular space they already take.

Eric Weiss: Yeah, it's pretty hit-or-miss.

We're a real city and we can now demand that these developers allow the city to continue while they put up their condos and lobbyist nests.

Now I'm amped!

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: Eric, I was heading back from the Philadelphia area on I-95 yesterday afternoon and also found traffic to be much lighter than expected. I've grown used to what should be a three-hour drive taking at least four hours in recent history, and even with the rain, I was surprised to find that the southbound lanes were moving well yesterday afternoon. Why do you think it was less crowded than usual?

Eric Weiss: The gods were with us, Alexandria!

I don't know. The 95 widening project in Delaware is not not complete and the construction north of Baltimore is still in full swing.

Don't worry, the angry Delaware gods will make it up to us next time.

_______________________

State: Despair: OK. So I went to NY this weekend from West Falls Church area. Hit major traffic at the Delaware tolls on the way home. Took us 7 hours instead of 4 - but I do understand it could have been worse.

Going to NY 2 weekends from now, and then again 4 weekends from now. Am purse conscious, but hate sitting in that traffic. What do you foresee, oh wise one? Will I have the same problems, or will kids be back at school so not as many vacationers, etc.?

Eric Weiss: If I could predict, I would set up my own tollbooth to give advice.

If you are going anywhere else buy NYC, you might try going through Penn., but there's not much time savings there either...

_______________________

Rockville, Md.:"the suburbs may be dying?"

Houses are always useful. If they are too far away let people who do not have to commute live in them. Older retired people would be ideal as would be unemployed or even people with telecommuting jobs. Use some imagination. They could be the new slums.

"Gladiator at Law" was a good sf story about suburban slums.

Eric Weiss: Interesting and good points.

What is "Gladiator at Law?"

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: As it happens, yesterday was my first time ever driving west-bound across the Bay Bridge at the end of a weekend. From the outlet mall to the toll plaza took 3.5 hours.

My question is, how far off is this from a normal Sunday afternoon? I'm going to have to do the same in a few weeks, and I'll feel much better knowing I can blame this all on the accident.

Eric Weiss: Another reason to buy retail.

Scientifically, the drive back from the Eastern Shore is a nightmare, but not nearly a nightmare as this weekend.

Got that?

_______________________

Springfield, VA: I don't know if this question is more your bailiwick or Dr. Gridlock's, but I'm curious what (if anything) you've heard about how the variable speed limit experiment has been working on the Beltway in Virginia.

Eric Weiss: There's been variable speed on the Beltway for years. Slow down, speed up, stop.

Okay, that was a joke.

Hopefully, the new technology will reduce the number of rear chain accidents. But people ignore speed limits anyway and go as fast as they can in stop and go traffic, oftentimes adding to the problem.

_______________________

buildings under construction : It is my understanding that construction that was already underway when the law was passed were grandfathered in. This might account for the examples mentioned here.

I, too, have noticed an improvement in more sidewalks being covered in construction and, in fact, was surprised by one just north of the FBI Hoover building. I almost did not see it behind the chain link fence.

Eric Weiss: Good point. since that building at 15th and P has been under construction since the Carter Administration, it must have been grandfathered in.

_______________________

Going to NY 2 weekends from now...: Try taking US Route 1 through Delaware. We've done it several times when coming back to DC from events west of Philly. Of course, if everyone does it, it will become slow, but at least there is no toll!

Eric Weiss: Or route 40, which, if you don't mind lights, can move and puts you back on 95 across the Susquehanna.

_______________________

Rockville, Maryland:

The plot of "Gladiator-At-Law" is as follows: this future world is ruled by Corporations that control economic and political power. Population is roughly divided in three segments. Top level is the Titans (industrial and/or financial). Middle class (professionals, administrators, technicians) bonded to the Corporations by a contract.

They live in permanent danger to loose their job AND housing. Being the housing the key issue of this nearly servitude status. Finally at the bottom of the pyramid a huge mass of dispossessed are nourished and entertained by the state and lives into pauper neighborhoods without law.

A lawyer that is barely able to keep into the second class is contacted by a mysterious couple of siblings. From there on action rage without respite allowing the reader to get in touch with a nightmarish world.

This book is a wonderful example of a turning point in sci-fi literature from traditional technological spaces operas to a more humanistic and sociological subjects.

Eric Weiss: Hmm.

Reporters would fall into the categories of being bonded to corporations but living in pauper status...

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.