It’s sad that Metro has gotten so decrepit that months-long shutdowns and single-tracking are necessary. But they are. And kudos to Metro for admitting this and coming up with a detailed plan to fix it.

Photo by nevermindtheend on Flickr.

Honestly, we’d feared the shutdowns would be far worse. This plan seems to concentrate them into as narrow a place as necessary while getting work done where needed (as far as we can tell, anyway).

It’s going to be painful for riders, but we’ll need to manage, because it’s clear that the previous maintenance scheme, of shutdowns just over nights and weekends and bouts of single-tracking, hasn’t been working.

As Maryland delegate Marc Korman said on today’s NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt, Metro leaders have to make sure the maintenance that gets done, gets done right. The connectors in the Orange/Blue/Silver tunnel through DC, which caught fire earlier this year and forced the day-long total shutdown, had just been supposedly inspected and repaired. Riders are not going to tolerate having their lines shut down and then learning the maintenance wasn’t actually done correctly.

Also, the tracks aren’t the only problem for Wiedefeld to tackle. Rail cars have been down for maintenance much more often than they should be, forcing Metro to run lower levels of service than promised. These shutdowns won’t fix that. But managers may need to focus intensely on one problem at a time, at least until Wiedefeld can replace some of the poorly performing managers and employees, as he’s promised to do.

Hopefully, though, the shutdowns will get Metro back to a place where, at the very least, we can be confident in its safety. That’s important.

Virginia has a few bus lanes. It needs many more. Photo by Dan Malouff.

Jurisdictions have to help

These shutdowns will affect huge numbers of people. According to Metro’s presentation, the closure from NoMa to Fort Totten will affect 108,000 people; East Falls Church to Ballston, 73,000; Eastern Market to Minnesota/Benning, 61,000; and on and on. That is, let’s be clear, a lot of people.

If they all drive, it will mean massive gridlock. Many will telework or shift their hours and such, but unlike with the one-day shutdown where a lot of people could stay home for a day, that can’t work for weeks or months on end.

Buses can replace some service, but if those buses are just stuck in major gridlock, then there won’t be enough buses and little incentive for anyone to take them. There will need to be temporary bus-only or HOV-3/4 lanes.

Many more people will be trying to walk and bike, and many jurisdictions can do much better to make sure people feel safe and are safe on these other modes.

It would have been nice for jurisdictions to have started planning bus lanes and other measures long ago, but the shutdown plan is here now and there’s no luxury of time. Some areas have 6-9 months to prepare, while others (like Alexandria and southern Fairfax, or northern Prince George’s) will be hit soon.

We can’t wait for the typical interminable studies. Just as the region made extraordinary changes for the inauguration, this also calls for unusual measures. Local DOTs should make aggressive plans for temporary bus lanes and then try them out, making changes over time to ensure they work.

Photo by Kevin Harber on Flickr.

We want to hear more about the late night

If ending service at midnight is really necessary, then maybe it’s necessary, but we’d like to hear more. Does it have to be system-wide? And if it’s going to be permanent, as Metro is considering, then we really want a more thorough analysis of the pros and cons.

Paul Wiedefeld has said that Metro will not open early or late for any special events over the next year. There’s some sense to that, but some of these special events, like the Marine Corps Marathon, draw huge crowds with little alternate way for many people to get there. We’re worried about what the impact will be.

Fretting about the effects of shutting down Metro in the past has led to Metro needing bigger shutdowns now, and so if it’s needed, it’s needed. But we think the case has to be made in more detail first.

We’ll have more on contributor reactions to the late night issue in an upcoming post. Meanwhile, we’re planning to organize residents to push for measures like bus lanes. If you agree or just want to find out more, sign up below.

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Tagged: bus lanes, metro, metro shutdown, service disruption, track work, transit, wmata

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.

Aimee Custis is a transportation nerd and activist. Her writing represents her own views. When she's not writing about WMATA or curating the GGWash Flickr pool, you’ll find Aimee at home in Dupont Circle, or practicing her other love, wedding photography.

Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington area since 2007. He has a Master’s in Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He lives in Dupont Circle. He’s a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and is an employee of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. His views are his own and do not represent those of his employer.

Dan Malouff is a transportation planner for Arlington and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. He has a degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado and lives in Trinidad, DC. He runs BeyondDC and contributes to the Washington Post. Dan blogs to express personal views, and does not take part in GGWash's political endorsement decisions.

David Meni works as a Research Analyst in the DC Council Committee on Human Services. He is also a volunteer writer and editor for 730DC, a daily local newsletter. As a graduate student at GW, he studied housing policy and welfare administration, and uses that background to advocate for a more inclusive and equitable DC. David lives in Park View.

Kelli Raboy works as a federal contractor supporting research on vehicle automation and communications. She loves all things cities, public transit, and rail. She lives in Navy Yard.

Stephen Repetski is a Virginia native and has lived in the Fairfax area for over 20 years. He has a BS in Applied Networking and Systems Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and works in Information Technology. Learning about, discussing, and analyzing transit (especially planes and trains) is a hobby he enjoys.

Edward Russell is an air transport reporter by day with a passion for all things transportation. He is a resident of Eckington and tweets frequently about planes, trains and bikes.