Dr. Gridlock: Inauguration Edition

Robert Thomson is The Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock. He was online Monday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. ET to address your inauguration travel needs and all your traffic and transit issues.

The transcript follows.

The Dr. Gridlock column receives hundreds of letters each month from motorists and transit riders throughout the Washington region. They ask questions and make complaints about getting around a region plagued with some of the worst traffic in the nation. The doctor diagnoses problems and tries to bring relief.

Dr. Gridlock appears in The Post's Metro section on Sunday and in the Extra section on Thursday. His comments also appear on the Web site's Get There blog. You can send e-mails for the newspaper column to drgridlock@washpost.com or write to Dr. Gridlock at 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

____________________

Robert Thomson: Hello, travelers, and Happy New Year, since this is my first discussion with you in 2009.

Already, it's a busy year. Metro dropped the paper transfers and is pushing riders to use SmarTrip cards. All the transportation agencies are in tough shape financially and have been announcing or proposing cuts in service or in construction plans. Meanwhile, many are looking to the new administration for a stimulus plan that's heavy on transportation development, popularizing the term "shovel ready."

And how about that little gathering we're having here on Jan. 20?

_______________________

Fairfax, Va.: I'll make this easy. Bottom line: should we come into the city for the festivities next week or just stay home on the couch? I can deal with the cold and lack of bathrooms and the fact that I probably won't really see anything. But is it worth cramming into the Metro?

Robert Thomson: Fairfax, if you've decided you can endure all those other inconveniences, then you probably can handle the Metro hassle, too.

Now, I think if I were going to Washington as a spectator from Fairfax, I'd take a bus to Vienna Station very early. The trains start running at 4 a.m. I'd bring a portable radio and a mobile phone. (Radio to tune in WTOP's traffic reports and mobile phone for our Web site's "Get There" information.)

I wouldn't transfer from the Orange Line, but rather would walk toward the Mall from any station starting at Foggy Bottom.

But don't have just one plan. Have at least two, and be ready to adjust to changing conditions. For example, you might get off the Orange Line at Rosslyn, and grab a bus heading in. Or walk across the Key Bridge. Or transfer at Rosslyn to the Blue Line and get off at Arlington Cemetery to walk across the Memorial Bridge and reach the Mall that way.

But I'd love to hear what others' are thinking for routes. (Sara Wilson, an assistant general manager at Metro, said it best last week: When it comes to traveling to the inauguration, "There is no Best Bet.")

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: We have a small child, and we'd love to come to the inauguration but the logistics seem too difficult, so we were thinking of coming down for the Sunday event at the Lincoln Memorial. Do you think using Metro for that will be okay?

Robert Thomson: Yes, I think Metro is likely to be okay. But that's the same way I think Metro is okay for reaching the Mall on the Fourth of July.

Metro will put on extra trains around the event time, but the trains still are likely to be crowded. Few of the street restrictions scheduled for Tuesday will be in place on Sunday, so some people might drive. I'd stick with Metrorail, getting off at Foggy Bottom and walking south.

_______________________

Arlington, VA: I heard a rumor that I-66 will be closed on Inauguration Day. Is this true? There is nothing on VDOT's website. I commute from Arlington to Tysons and am concerned about how traffic will be on that day going in this direction. Any predictions? Thanks!

Robert Thomson: The planned restrictions in Virginia apply to inbound traffic. This is what VDOT says:

Beginning at 3 a.m. Jan. 20, only authorized vehicles -- emergency vehicles, buses, taxis, and for-hire limos and car services -- will be permitted to travel northbound on Interstate 395 and eastbound on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway/Interstate 495.

All other traffic heading to Washington on Interstate 95 will be diverted at the Springfield interchange (exits 170B and 170C) onto I-495 North (Inner Loop) or I-495/I-95 East (Outer Loop).

All general traffic traveling eastbound on I-66 and toward Washington on the Dulles Toll Road will also be diverted to the Capital Beltway/I-495.

So you should be relatively okay heading out to Tysons. The restrictions are supposed to be lifted at about 7 p.m. (Maybe you should have dinner in Tysons?)

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Will any parking be available at the Pentagon for the general public? Since most people won't be working there on Monday and Tuesday, it seems like a good place for some extra parking.

Robert Thomson: No, there's no general public parking at the Pentagon. All the planning is going into making it as difficult as possible to bring a private car into close-in Northern Virginia for inauguration events.

_______________________

Rockville, Md.: Can you please explain to me why two Silver Spring trains would pass me before a Glenmont train arrives? It's so frustrating to watch these trains go by so empty and then have my packed Glenmont train stop. And why is this not mentioned on the Metro maps, like it is for the other side (trains stopping at Grosvenor)?

Robert Thomson: It should be on the Metro maps. The Red Line turnbacks at Grosvenor are on the maps, why not Silver Spring?

In understand why Metro does the turnbacks: It concentrates more trains in the busiest part of the Red Line. It won't end till Metro has more operating money and more train cars.

Tell me something: If the Silver Spring trains are relatively empty, why not board one of them, get a seat, then get off at Silver Spring, wait a few minutes, and get on a Glenmont train, which should have more room by the time it reaches Silver Spring?

_______________________

Catonsville, Md.: As a MARC rider, I was disheartened to see that WMATA no longer honors MARC tickets on the Circulator buses. Is this really the time to make things even more difficult on the average commuter?

Robert Thomson: The Circulator bus is very convenient for many MARC and VRE riders. But as of Jan. 4, the rail passes aren't honored for the bus trips. The Circulator is cheaper than a Metrobus ride.

Now, the VRE and MARC riders need to get a SmarTrip card or a monthly Circulator pass, which costs $40. I was sorry to hear that the pass use was discontinued.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Will Route 110 be open around the Pentagon? For those living in Crystal City and South, it will be one of the only ways to access 66 West to hit the Beltway.

Robert Thomson: I've heard of no plans to close Route 110. I phrase it that way because specific things we've told you could change this week, or even on Inauguration Day. We had a lot of unhappy commuters in Arlington on Sept. 11, 2008, when the memorial was dedicated at the Pentagon. Roads we had been led to believe would be open were closed for security on the spur of the moment and word didn't get around.

Expect similar things to happen on Jan. 20, and keep listening to traffic reports.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: I'm going to repeat what I said in the Travel chat several weeks ago: Take some time to study DC area maps and to learn how to navigate the city using Metrorail. Key: Numbered streets are North & South, Lettered streets are East & West, and State name streets are diagonal, NW to SE direction, or SW to NE direction. Note that I street, NW is spelled "Eye," and there are no J streets. Use the Mall as the dividing line navigational purpose. Also, buy lots of farecards now to be prepared for Monday & Tuesday.

Robert Thomson: That may be basic, but I'd say it's real good advice for locals as well as out of towners.

Even though I plan to get around mostly by transit, I still know I'll be doing a lot of walking. And I'm not counting on being able to get anywhere near a fare card vending machine on Jan. 20.

_______________________

Mount Rainier, MD: Submitting early due to today's schedule:

I just wanted to add a KUDOS to Metro today. While commuting home last Friday (Red Line Silver Spring - Ft. Totten; Green Line to West Hyattsville) I was stuck in the middle of slowed operations due to a cracked rail. I knew that because Metro was making frequent announcements about the problem, how long the repair would take, and how much time to add to my commute. I could hear the announcement clearly in all three stations. So, at least for me, they provided a lot of good information.

Which brings me to a question - are all the problems with people not getting the information they want from Metro really due to Metro, or are people so tuned out to Metro announcements they don't hear perfectly good information?

Robert Thomson: First, I'm really glad to hear know you were getting information you needed during the Red Line delays on Friday evening, because Metro has been working on improving its communications. I've seen progress, too. Sometimes, the performance slips back, but overall, I think it's going in the right direction.

Those announcements still aren't always clear -- though the station speakers have been upgraded. And I know people tune out the messages; I find I do it, too. It's a good idea to sign up for Metro's eAlerts. In fact, with Jan. 20 coming, it's a real good time.

_______________________

Dillsburg, Pa.: I will be staying in Cheverly, Md., on the night of Jan. 19 and want to take the Metro to and from the National Mall for the swearing-in ceremony. What station should I get off at and how far will I have to walk to get to the Mall?

Robert Thomson: I'd get off at Capitol South or Federal Center Southwest. Probably, the latter. Smithsonian will be closed.

The walk toward the Mall shouldn't be too bad, but I guess it's a question of how far out on the Mall from the Capitol you'll have to walk.

We really have no clear idea on how many people are going to show up on Jan. 20. Here we are, announcing all these scary-sounding things about the crowding. What if everybody actually listens to us?

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Any idea when the post inauguration traffic bans will be lifted? I have folks taking flights out that night from Dulles and National around 5 p.m., commuting from DC.

Robert Thomson: The bridge restrictions on private vehicles don't apply to outbound traffic, but there are other road restrictions that will be in place until 7 p.m.

Here's the guidance from the Airports Authority about reaching Reagan National: Motorists will only be able to drive to the airport via Route 1 in Virginia. The best alternatives to reach the airport are Metrorail, taxicabs and SuperShuttles.

And this for Dulles: Motorists coming to Dulles will be able to use the Airport Access Highway but will not be able to use Interstate 66 going eastbound toward Washington. Taxicabs, SuperShuttles, Washington Flyer Coach Service and buses will be able to use I-66 eastbound.

Remember that lifting the restrictions is one thing. Easing the traffic congestion may be quite another.

_______________________

Alexandria: Why did they shut down all of the central DC yesterday for the mock parade without well publicized notices? They didn't even have any signs up as you came into the city or anywhere around the mall saying what streets were closed.

Robert Thomson: Yes, I heard many driver complaints about this Sunday morning exercise. I believe that's part of the performance that planners are reviewing.

_______________________

Washington, DC: I got caught in Friday's Red line delays when the cracked rail was discovered between Woodley Park and Dupont Circle at 4 p.m.. My ride from Union Station to Friendship Heights took over 1 hour. Two questions for you:

1) Doesn't Metro inspect its rails so that a crack doesn't suddenly get discovered right at the start of rush hour?

2) If single-tracking were to be required on 1/20, would the entire Red Line just grind to a halt as hundreds of unfamiliar riders continue to pack the platforms?

Robert Thomson: Metro GM John Catoe has no higher goal than the safety of the transit system. And yes, Metro does routinely inspect the tracks. But as was the case Friday, rail cracks sometimes are discovered at the worst times for commuters.

If this happened on Inauguration Day, it would be a nightmare. And it could. It doesn't take a cracked rail. A very sick passenger would do it. Meanwhile, Metro's equipment is going to be stressed to the max by 17 straight hours of peak level service. It's never been pushed like that before.

Have a Plan A. Have a Plan B.

_______________________

LAST MINUTE arrival to inauguration: Robert

As a long time resident, I learned that if you wait until the last possible minute to get downtown for July 4th festivities you usually have an easy time of it - no one is moving, they are already settled in. Smooth sailing.

Would I be foolish to try to leave work at the Reston Town Center at noon (or even 1 PM), hop a bus to the Metro, and head on in?

Robert Thomson: It's not like July 4. (In fact, the lack of precedents is one of the things that has bugged the planners. They can't reach in a drawer, pull out an old plan and just double or triple it. They say this is a unique scenario in many ways.)

July 4, it's nice and warm, people can drift down to the Mall all day. The fireworks go off, everybody leaves. Very predictable for both spectators and planners.

We don't know what the weather is going to be on Jan. 20. We don't really know how big the crowds are going to be. The space in front of the Capitol for the swearing-in is huge, stretching back to the Lincoln Memorial. The space for the afternoon parade along Penn. Ave. is much more restricted.

We've got highways and bridges blocked in ways we haven't seen.

Hop on a bus from Reston at noon, or 1 p.m., I think there's a good chance you'll miss everything but the crowds.

Or not.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: I have a non-inauguration question for you. Is Metro going to do anything about the absurd backups after Caps games they are starting to have? It seems like they barely schedule any extra trains at all. Last week for a sold out game against the Flyers there was a 15 minute wait between trains towards Metro Center, directly after the end of the game. This is unacceptable.

Robert Thomson: Metro swears it adds extra trains for the games, but I keep hearing complaints about the crowding in the station. (By the way, I don't believe that tells us anything about what's going to happen Tuesday. I think Metro will go all out on Tuesday to make that work. I think they want it to work, but they also know how bad Metro will look if it appears to be part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.)

Tell me this about the post-Cap game situation: Given what you know about the crowding, would it make sense to walk over to Metro Center?

_______________________

Washington, DC: We're going to one of the state society balls downtown on Monday night. Now that Metro is closing at midnight, I guess we have to drive??? Any thoughts on the parking situation? What about taxi availability?

Robert Thomson: If I were going to one of those things, I'd drive and use valet parking if it were available, or reserve a cab ahead of time.

Many people are asking why Metro needs to close at midnight on Monday night. GM John Catoe says he's got to have a few hours of downtime for the equipment before service starts up again at 4 a.m. Tuesday and continues running at rush hour levels until 9 p.m. (See previous discussion of what happens if trains break down on Tuesday.)

_______________________

Rockville, MD: I find myself wondering whether Metro is going to have huge problems running lots of 8 car trains on the 20th. I understand they have been testing it out to see if their power infrastructure will work, but aren't they doing it with the normal number of people? Won't the eight car trains draw more power absolutely filled to the brim with visitors?

Feels like they might have a "we built the library but forgot to take into account the weight of the books" issue.

Robert Thomson: I think Metro will get a pretty good idea about that tomorrow and Wednesday. Metro will operate half of all trains with eight cars during morning and afternoon peak periods on all lines. During the off-peak periods, all trains on all rail lines will operate with eight cars trains.

You're right to think of the power issue. That's of great concern to Metro, which has been trying to upgrade its power supplies.

_______________________

Washington, DC: Dr. G:

Lucky for us, my wife and I live a few blocks north and east of the northern charter bus parking block. But assuming we did live in the charter bus area...just where the heck would the Secret Service and DC expect us to move her car on inauguration day?

If I were a resident of one of these bus parking zones, and someone told me I had to move my legally parked car off the street, I'd tell them to take a walk.

Robert Thomson: The restrictions will be very inconvenient for many DC residents and for many workers. The charter bus parking areas were placed around the perimeter of downtown for a decent reason: If we're really going to get about a thousand of them, you don't want to put them all at outer Metro stations and have those people packing the trains. Better to park closer and have the passengers walk the last few blocks.

There's no bus parking in front of residences, by the way. And do be careful what you say to security people on Jan. 20. It's unlikely they'll have much of a sense of humor.

_______________________

East Capitol St: This weekend, the Post published a map of "pedestrian only" streets for access to the inauguration and included East Cap between the Capitol and Lincoln Park. Nothing on either the USSS Web site or anywhere else indicates whether there are parking restrictions on those pedestrian only streets as well. Any insight or should I just move my car to be safe?

washingtonpost.com: Walking to the Inauguration

Robert Thomson: I'd move the car, just to be safe. Things will happen on Jan. 20 that we're not predicting now. Streets will get blocked off that weren't on lists, etc.

By the way, kudos to Post sports graphics designer Bonnie Berkowitz on the Sunday walkers guide on our Commuter page. She personally inspected all those bridges and walked nine of them.

_______________________

Friendship Heights: So Obama wants to throw some 750 BILLION in money towards infrastructure in the US and the best WMATA can come up with is asking for some money for track ties and new buses?!?!?

Can they seriously not come up with legit plans to say immediately connect the Faraguts and to connect Metro Center and Gallery Place? The engineering on that one simply cannot be that complicated.

Or what about tunnelling thru Tyson's - that issue and its engineering and costs has been examined in great great detail and surely it would not be hard to ask for that money and that is a project whose construction is slated to begin immediately.

Or what about extending a couple of the lines - eg orange line to Bowie and Centreville? Or getting the money to get metrorail out to Ft Belvoir?

Or how about asking for the money to conduct the extensive engineering studies for actually doing the building of these extensions?

I just can't fathom how afer hearing nothing but the excuse that there is no money to build anything for the past 15 years when all of the sudden the money is out there and WMATA has no imagination or courage or simply organizational skill to be a lot more ambitious and aggressive and organized?

Robert Thomson: I think Metro and our other transportation agencies are trying to go with the "shovel ready" concept -- projects that can get started within 90 days after they get the okay from the feds. We do need more money for our roads, rails and paths, but that should come separately from a stimulus package, designed to spur the economy right now while still building some worthwhile stuff in the short-term.

_______________________

Robert Thomson: Thank you all for joining me today. This has been very interesting. Many of the remaining questions I see in the mailbag have to do with inauguration travel issues, so I'm going to copy them and see how many I can get to this week in the Get There blog.

_______________________

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.