Washington Metro Takes Action!

In an article worthy of The Onion, the Washington Post proclaims that “Dupont Circle escalator incident prompts Metro to take action.” The incident in question was the breakdown of the giant, 130-foot escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro station, which forced patrons to walk or, in some cases, crawl over handrails to adjacent escalators. The escalator problems were compounded by inadequacies in Metro’s radio network that prevented employees from communicating with one another about the breakdown.

Video by Twitter user @giveit2lloyd; view the original here.

It is also common in men, who regularly watch online porn or sex images. viagra 50mg canada This drug has been buy viagra online cute-n-tiny.com developed to act as a safe guard against clotting impacts. generic levitra online Women of all ages can consume it, but if you are looking for an organic one, Organika Milk Thistlecan provide the nutritional benefits that you need. order levitra online There are so many factors that cause trouble in having an erection and physical pleasure. The Post noted that Metro’s interim general manager, Richard Sarles, admits that “Metro had failed to maintain the conveyances adequately. ‘These escalators are old; they have not been kept in a state of good repair, so we’re behind the curve on that,'” said Sarles. Sarles took over from the previous general manager, John Catoe, who resigned in disgrace on April 1, saying he was “taking the fall” for the deaths of 9 people in a maintenance-related accident last year.

So what great action is Metro taking to deal with the escalators it has failed to keep in a state of good repair? It is providing bullhorns to station employees so they can do better crowd control and communicate with one another the next time the escalators break down. That’s proactive!

The Post also notes that Metro has been having some other problems of late. The air conditioning on scores of its cars has been overloaded, leaving passengers gasping in distress. Metro officials sagely noted that this problem was “related to high temperatures.” They plan to solve it by waiting for winter to cool off the trains and tunnels.

Finally, Metro is taking action in response to the case of a 19-year-old boy who borrowed a bus driver’s uniform for a Halloween costume, then borrowed a bus, picked up some passengers, and drove the bus into a tree. Transit buses don’t require keys to start because it would be too much trouble to keep track of which keys go to which buses, so anyone can just hop on a bus and start driving. In a decisive response to this event, Metro promised to review its policy of loaning out uniforms as Halloween costumes. Perhaps it will also ask that all trees along bus routes be cut down as well.

Somehow, the Antiplanner doubts that these decisive actions will reassure Metro patrons. Even the greenest environmentalists admit they are riding Metrorail “less and less” due to its unreliability. All of which illustrates something the Antiplanner has stated many times before: rail transit is financially unsustainable because no matter how much money you put into it, it will never be enough to keep the system going.

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About The Antiplanner

The Antiplanner is a forester and economist with more than fifty years of experience critiquing government land-use and transportation plans.

11 Responses to Washington Metro Takes Action!

  1. C. P. Zilliacus says:

    The Antiplanner wrote:

    > In an article worthy of The Onion, the Washington Post
    > proclaims that “Dupont Circle escalator incident prompts
    > Metro to take action.” The incident in question was the
    > breakdown of the giant, 130-foot escalators at the Dupont
    > Circle Metro station, which forced patrons to walk or,
    > in some cases, crawl over handrails to adjacent escalators.

    Randal, I think you understate just how tall (or deep) these escalators really are. I believe 130 feet is not correct (an article on Wikipedia here says 157 feet (57 meters) at the north entrance (20th and Q Streets, N.W.)), and I believe that to be correct.

    In any case, even walking down these escalators when they are not running (and I have walked up and down when they are out of service) is a pretty good workout.

    Alice Reid of the Washington Post wrote an article way back in 1998 which discussed the problems associated with the Washington Metro’s design and its aging escalators which is online here.

  2. Andy Stahl says:

    Antiplanner,

    I rode the world’s deepest subway in Leningrad, circa 1968 (I was one of few American tourists in the Soviet Union at that time). Today, according to Wikipedia, the St. Petersburg metro is operated by a private corporation (yes, it does receive some public funding). I wonder if the escalators work well?

    Andy

  3. Frank says:

    What? No Dan to berate Randall for his logic? For several days?

    Maybe it’s because Dan is presenting “New Opportunities for Expertise: Land-use and transportation changes and you” to the International Society of Arboriculture Conference & Trade Show.

    I guess consulting gives him more opportunity to troll this blog than presenting papers. I personally liked the Dan who as a city planner for Castle Rock. Back then, his comments were generally few, short, and mostly polite.

    Oh well. Maybe he’ll find some time tonight to berate me and others or to use one of his Danisms, like “small minority” or “hand flapping.” If you do come on, Dan, I’d sure like to hear your explanation for your housing and vehicle choices.

    And I hope the old Dan returns. You know, the one who said “thank you in advance” and who even wrote on this blog:

    “Here’s a hint for you: you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Knock off the certitude if you want to be considered as something other than an ideologue.”

  4. C. P. Zilliacus says:

    Andy Stahl wrote:

    > I rode the world’s deepest subway in Leningrad, circa 1968 (I
    > was one of few American tourists in the Soviet Union at
    > that time). Today, according to Wikipedia, the
    > St. Petersburg metro is operated by a private corporation
    > (yes, it does receive some public funding). I wonder if
    > the escalators work well?

    I have not been there myself, but I understand it’s very deep because of the boggy nature of the land.

    Stockholm, Sweden has some very deep stations for other reasons.

    The “tallest” escalator in the Stockholm subway system is at stop Västra skogen (“Western Forest”), 66 meters long and 33 meters tall (image here). In my opinion, the escalators in the Stockholm system are significantly better-maintained than those in the Washington Metro. Maybe because operation and maintenance of the Stockholm system is also contracted-out to the private sector?

    Getting back to Washington, the tallest and longest escalator in the Washington Metro system is not at Dupont Circle, but at Wheaton, in Montgomery County, Maryland (image here).

  5. Spokker says:

    “What? No Dan to berate Randall for his logic? For several days?”

    Not only do people not refrain from feeding “trolls,” but are disappointed when they don’t show up. Haha. My God, you can’t live without the guy.

    Hey, I’m looking for some cast members for a musical. Care to read for the following part?

    “Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!
    I’ve grown accustomed to her face.
    She almost makes the day begin.
    I’ve grown accustomed to the tune that
    She whistles night and noon.
    Her smiles, her frowns,
    Her ups, her downs
    Are second nature to me now;
    Like breathing out and breathing in.
    I was serenely independent and content before we met;
    Surely I could always be that way again-
    And yet
    I’ve grown accustomed to her look;
    Accustomed to her voice;
    Accustomed to her face.”

  6. ws says:

    I used to work in a mall and the escalator broke down regularly. Maybe once a week on average. And this is an indication that DC’s metro is “broken”…some escalators not working?

  7. Frank says:

    No. Not just “some escalators not working”. Read closely:

    Metro’s interim general manager, Richard Sarles, admits that “Metro had failed to maintain the conveyances adequately. ‘These escalators are old; they have not been kept in a state of good repair, so we’re behind the curve on that,’”

    Metro hasn’t properly maintained the escalators. With proper maintenance, escalators don’t break down. According to the Transportation Research Board, “proactive maintenance programs…ensure safe and reliable elevator and escalator operation during all hours of transit operation.”

    Proactive. Something Metro apparently is not.

  8. ws says:

    What am I reading closely, again? It’s a fairly general response to DC’s escalators and their need for maintenance needs.

    I’m not here arguing that DC maintains things well enough, no, but I guarantee you even with great maintenance escalators will break down from time to time. Even if they were maintained in better condition, ROT would be on here showing how transit is a failure because of a broken escalator when it would occur. Maybe that’s the bigger issue at hand.

    (Meanwhile a bridge in Minnesota failed not too long ago, regardless if it were a maintenance or design flaw that caused it).

  9. Spokker says:

    Pranksters also enjoy hitting the emergency stop on escalators.

  10. the highwayman says:

    ws said: Even if they were maintained in better condition, ROT would be on here showing how transit is a failure because of a broken escalator when it would occur. Maybe that’s the bigger issue at hand.

    (Meanwhile a bridge in Minnesota failed not too long ago, regardless if it were a maintenance or design flaw that caused it).

    THWM: WS, O’Toole is paid to attack mass transit regardless of what ever is going on.

    It’s all part of his plan! 😉

  11. prk166 says:

    “I’m not here arguing that DC maintains things well enough, no, but I guarantee you even with great maintenance escalators will break down from time to time. Even if they were maintained in better condition, ROT would be on here showing how transit is a failure because of a broken escalator when it would occur. Maybe that’s the bigger issue at hand.”-ws

    If this was just about escalators, then fine. But read the post. It mentions the air conditioning problems, a 19 year nabbing a bus with a halloween uniform, etc, etc. It’s not just one issue being nitpicked but issue after issue after issue leads one to wonder why

    “Oh well. Maybe he’ll find some time tonight to berate me and others or to use one of his Danisms, like “small minority” or “hand flapping.” If you do come on, Dan, I’d sure
    like to hear your explanation for your housing and vehicle choices.” – Frank

    While it felt intrusive to post this, I have to say I’m a bit confused. Most of use feel we have to make compromises to our ideals in our every day lives. I didn’t expect that Dan would make a big one like that and choose to live out in the the nether regions of Aurora south of Buckley where the closest bus stop is a mile and half away. It’s not a walkable neighborhood unless you consider a 3 1/2 mile round trip walk to Taco Bell a walkable neighborhood.

    I would assume though that he has other things to take into consideration when choosing where to live. It’s probably not just about how nice of a place for how much money but also what schools his kids go to, what his spouse wants for housing, crime issues facing the area, future appreciation – if any – on the value of the home he’s buying, etc, etc. And with Dan having a relatively specialized job – something a lot of professionals have – the opportunities for it are limited. So it’s probably not easy to live close to work.

    So I would’ve blame him for living where he does. But I am quite curious as to how it all came about. He’s about the last person I’d expect to find living on the sprawl’s bleeding edge.

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