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Listen, I know how you feel. Sometimes it seems that Washingtonians can barely walk, let alone drive. At least people had to pass a test to drive.

And yes, you're right about walking to the right. That's the way we do it in this country. But here's what I recommend: In any given travel situation, be the adult. Don't let the rules -- such as they are -- stand in the way. Yield to the other person to avoid a collision, just as you would when driving or biking.

This will come up a lot during the next three weeks as the tourists flood into Washington for the Cherry Blossom Festival and we start the baseball season at Nationals Park.

May 31. Originally, it was going to be January, then it slipped a bit to February. The bad winter weather really hit this project, along with some of the other major ones across the DC region.

The Chain Bridge project finally was able to do the long planned weekend closing this past weekend, and has another scheduled for this coming weekend.

I just asked Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel about this. He was in the process of issuing a statement about it. Here's a little bit of that statement from Metro:

Metro has a 15 mph speed restriction in place on the Red Line between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metrorail stations due to track work that is taking place during the overnight hours to change out rail and rail fasteners.

The speed restrictions were installed late last week after an assessment identified the immediate need to replace running rail and fasteners on both tracks between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda Metrorail stations.

Metro personnel will be working during the overnight hours when the system is closed this week to make the necessary upgrades in this particular area. Metro anticipates having trains return to their normal speeds in this location by the middle of this week.

There certainly are plenty of escalator banks to choose among to illustrate a story about problems. The situation at Bethesda continued for weeks. Riders also got plenty of exercise at Dupont Circle. The problem bank I've noticed most recently is at Foggy Bottom.

Those escalators aren't as long as the ones at Bethesda and Dupont Circle, but there are plenty of passengers trying to get out at the same time.

I know the escalators are a daunting challenge for Metro's maintenance people and for the people who have to allocate Metro's resources. But this has been a big problem for years -- long enough so that someone should have come up with a way of making serious progress. Right now, Metro lists about 60 escalators out of service. Some of them aren't slated to be back in action till April and May.

Yes, thank you. I think that dates back to our March 8 chat. (I was out of town for March 15.) Several good listeners wrote in to point out that this is an announcement about preventing "theft" rather than "death" -- although that's also a good thing to prevent.

Not sure where you're starting from, but I can tell you this about Saturday's plan:

"From 6 am to 3 pm, expect a closure in the left lane of both the northbound and southbound parkway."

My guess is you'll be okay, but it would be best to allow yourself some extra time to get through the construction zone.

I don't remember the last time I got a complaint about the Humback Bridge construction. Anyone want to offer a view on that work?

Bunch of problems for Orange Line riders last Thursday afternoon with trains taken out of service. I think you're train was having a mechanical problem. Sometimes, one car can be shut off, but there are other issues -- brakes, for example, that require the off=loading of the entire train.

Just heard some thunder come rumbling through.

Look back above to see some just-released information from Metro about the Red Line speed restriction.

Metro is starting hearings tonight in Vienna on all those budget-balancing proposals. The peak of the peak fare idea is one among many and it's not clear whether the Metro board will wind up going for it, or what all the effects would be. Generally speaking, if the fares go up, the passes will become more expensive -- same as happened in January when the surcharge was added.

Metro does some things to change riders' behavior. There's an argument that the peak of the peak fare would encourage people to spread out their travels, but the people riding at those hours are the least likely to be able to do that.

Keep it simple, stupid? A 25 percent across-the-board increase would not dislodge the time and distance adjustments made on Metrorail.

Some riders argue we should have a flat fare. Those generally are the riders who travel the longest distances and pay the most right now. The people with shorter trips oppose this. It's unlikely to happen. The suburban representatives on the Metro board certainly would not support it.

Seems to me that the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in Ward 6 and Council member Tommy Wells pay a great deal of attention to the parking issues around Nationals Park, so I'd start with them. But I've also found that the District Department of Transportation people have worked hard on trying to get the parking setup right around the stadium.

I'm not sure why this is happening, but Metro has been replacing some of the track circuitry in that area. The stops could be related to that work.

The Wilson Bridge project has just begun a major new phase of the construction around the Telegraph Road/Beltway interchange. Here's what I say about it on the Get There blog:

Work that began this weekend marks a significant new phase in reconstruction of the Capital Beltway's Telegraph Road interchange, part of the Wilson Bridge project.

Commuters will need to be extra alert for a new traffic pattern through the interchange area.

The outer loop exit to Telegraph Road north is being rerouted, and ramps for the inner loop are being realigned. This will allow workers to complete the ramps and replace portions of old Beltway bridges during the 2010 construction season.

Delays for Beltway drivers are not likely to worsen, project managers say. But traffic on the ramp from the outer loop to Telegraph Road might be delayed up to 15 minutes. Also, for the next eight months, the morning northbound rush-hour travel time on Telegraph Road could take up to 20 minutes longer.

(There's more. I'll post more on the blog.)

Chain Bridge was completely closed this weekend for work on the bridge surface and approaches. (It's scheduled to be completely closed again next weekend.) That's not the end of the project. The third lane won't be back with us till May 31, under the current schedule.

Metro can't add any more trains to the Red Line at rush hour. What it can do is make the schedule more realistic. (Try plugging a Red Line trip into Metro's Trip Planner and see how the scheduled time matches with your actual experience.)

I don't see any downside to Metro making the schedule look more like reality. The schedule doesn't account for the longer times the trains are spending at downtown platforms and it doesn't even account for the opening of the New York Avenue Station.

What I wish Metro would do is fulfill the long-standing commitment to making half of the rush hour trains eight cars long.

I think part of what you're seeing is the result of the HOT lanes construction. Even though the new lanes are being built off to the sides of the Beltway there are still some adjustments in the existing lanes that slow things down, plus, there are off-peak lane closings. Also, it's possible that with the economy emerging from the recession, the traffic volume is beginning to creep back up again.

Metro's leaders are not optimistic about making more money from advertising. They say the last contract -- which is expiring -- was pretty good. They expect to make less from the next one, because the economy has yet to rebound fully.

I've got a lot of questions today about the western side of the Red Line. Look above for my earlier response, and see the posting by Ann Scott Tyson on the Get There blog.

I don't like the Yellow Line proposals either, and think they probably won't happen. I think Virginia and DC reps on the board are likely to oppose them.

Likewise, I can't imagine mothballing the rail line through Tysons to Reston, once it's ready to open in the middle of the decade. Metro is about to order the new rail cars for that $5 billion investment.

You mean the plans for more SmartBike stations and new bike lanes on places like Pennsylvania Avenue? I don't have exact dates, but this is something DDOT director Gabe Klein is committed to. I think DDOT plans to move very aggressively on these things.

Yeah, Metro still has a lot of work to do on rider communications. I think information doesn't always move swiftly from one part of the transit bureaucracy to another.

I've got so many comments and questions in the mailbag today, that I'd like to post here on the chat what we're saying on the Get There blog about what's going on. This is the report from Ann Scott Tyson, our Metro transit reporter:

If travel on the western end of the Red Line seems to be dragging, it is not your imagination. Speed restrictions are in place on Metro's Red Line between Friendship Heights and Bethesda stations, the transit agency said in a release Monday, due to overnight track work to replace rails and rail fasteners.

A 15-mph restriction is also in place on the Glenmont-bound track between Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations. Metro performed extensive work in the stretch during the weekend, including installing 3,200 feet of new track. The transit agency hopes to resume normal service on that stretch by Tuesday morning.

Metro said the 15-mph restrictions between Friendship Heights and Bethesda were implemented last week after an evaluation determined there was a need to perform immediate replacements on both tracks. Officials said crews will work on the stretch during the overnight hours this week and hope to resume normal speeds by the middle of the week.

Have you noticed the slowdowns, or have they impacted your commute? Comment below or e-mail us at transportation@washpost.com.

Others experiencing this?

The riders on the parkway have been a problem for drivers for a long time. Cyclists -- the high speed riders -- don't like to use the trail in that area because it's so crowded.

Thanks for the response to earlier question about Humpback Bridge construction and whether an alternative route to the airport would be best this Saturday morning.

I get many complaints about the behavior of young people on the trains before and after school. Metro transit police work with the schools and ride the trains looking for these problems. It's not enough. I'd like to see the transit police force expanded into a more visible presence on the trains and buses.

Thanks for highlighting this new traffic issue related to construction of the Intercounty Connector. I'll post some more information about it during the week, but here's what I'm saying right now on the Get There blog to describe it:

A new traffic pattern will affect motorists using the Shady Grove Road/Interstate 370 interchange in western Montgomery County. Beginning Saturday afternoon, drivers heading west on Shady Grove Road toward westbound I-370 will make a left at a new traffic signal.

They will merge with the eastbound Shady Grove Road drivers heading for I-370 on a new ramp. Variable message signs are in place to alert motorists to the new traffic pattern. Lane closings on both Shady Grove Road and I-370 will begin about 8 a.m. Saturday through the afternoon until the new traffic pattern is in place.

As an alternate route for motorists on west/southbound Shady Grove Road currently using I-370 to get to I-270, motorists may continue on Shady Grove Road beyond I-370 and turn right onto MD 355 (Frederick Road).

Drivers heading for I-270 south traveling from points north should consider MD Route 118 (Germantown Road), Middlebrook Road or MD Route 124 (Montgomery Village Avenue/Quince Orchard Road) to reach I-270 and avoid Shady Grove Road.

The traffic switch allows crews to continue bridge construction within the I-370/Shady Grove Road interchange.

I think Metro really needs the support of its riders during this budget crisis. Metro needs to get more money from the jurisdictions that finance the transit authority. But who else is going to back the transit system and push for this if not the people who use it?

Parents don't seem to have any trouble pushing for more money for their public school systems, but Metro riders don't seem to have the same engagement in the transit system's future.

The commenter here makes a fair point about that. Metro doesn't have much good will left among the riders when it most needs it.

Yeah, not much in the rule book on this, though it's quite a common experience. Happens on stopped escalators and happens on stairways, too. Not sure there's anyway out of this, other than for people to get a sudden attack of politeness -- or a poke from an umbrella.

I think we're all saying the same thing, including about not getting all worked up about someone making an error. Capitol Hill, I believe, was talking about how to pass someone coming in the opposite direction.

But the main thing is not to get worked up or confrontational -- despite the numerous opportunities that arise even in a short walk on our crowded streets.