Photo by mbirdex.

Ten-car Green Line train, oops

Metro accidentally ran a 10-car train on the Green Line in late July. The train went from Greenbelt to Fort Totten before someone noticed and they took the train out of service. One of the staging personnel tested positive for drugs in the ensuing investigation. Michael Neibauer quotes me pointing out that while this is troubling, little “near-misses” happen all the time between cars, and Metro is still far safer than driving. (Examiner)  

Bus driver not on phone while driving after all?

Remember the driver who was supposedly talking on the phone instead of driving? An MPW source says the driver was reporting an injury, only after trying the communication system on the bus and finding it not working. That source adds that the photo taker had been asleep and not aware of the background, though the driver could have done a better job of informing riders about the situation.  (Tip: kreeggo)  

Some finding driving easier

A Dr. Gridlock writer switched from Metro to driving and found it faster and $2.75 cheaper. Sadly, he’s right about faster, but maybe not cheaper: Factoring in total cost of car ownership, the round-trip drive from Aspen Hill to downtown would cost about $6.90 in marginal costs (i.e. assuming you’ve already bought the car).  

Transit is far more land efficient

If roads and bridges replaced all of Manhattan’s subways, the lanes crossing the East River would take up nearly the entire river, and the necessary parking would cut out about half the CBD. A map envisions what the city might look like. (Frumin.net, Chris R)  (Tip: Chris R)  

Laser bike lane has working prototype

Remember the concept idea for a bicycle that projects its own bike lane around it using lasers? There’s now a working prototype, including video showing a cyclist riding around town using the device. (Worldchanging via @AlexSteffen)  

Roanoke riders in car-sized bikes

A group of Roanoke cyclists rode around with metal frames the size of sedans, to illustrate how much less room bikes take up. They followed the laws that apply to cars, and also found that when you’re that big, cars are more likely to yield when they’re supposed to. (Roanoke Times, Carter)  (Tip: Carter)  

City spends $6 million, gets empty garage and vacant lot

Cleveland

Cleveland Heights spent over $6 million to build a huge garage at the request of a private developer in an area that already had plenty of parking. But the development fell through, and now they have an empty garage and an empty lot. They’ve also started overcharging for parking in the garage in a misguided attempt to raise revenue. (Extraordinary Observations, Michael P)