Live Q&As

I was thinking about the escalator problems this morning. Just wrote a post for the Dr. Gridlock blog saying that the Bethesda escalators -- the two between the platform and mezzanine -- are working again, after a maintenance project that lasted half a year.

This is something Metro should have figured out how to fix by now. There are many problems with the escalators, but they've been known for more than a decade.

At the same time, I'm not sure that one guy should be the focal point. (Metro has gone through plenty of top managers over the past few years. Do you think Metro service has gotten better?)

The Post's Ann Scott Tyson did interview David Lacosse over the summer. Here's one graph from her July 21 story:

"If I could have 1,000 escalator mechanics, we would be in nirvana, but the budget is not going to pay for that," said David Lacosse, director of Metro's Office of Elevators and Escalators. "So you are struggling with the number of people you have and the amount of area."

I'm not sure why this is, but I agree that the e-alerts from Metro are spotty. I try to follow what's going on with all the lines, by receiving Metro's e-alerts and looking at its Twitter feed.

Sometimes, there are plenty of advisories about a disruption, and other times, nothing. The gaps don't seem to involve any particular line. Recently, during the morning rush, there was nothing about a lengthy disruption on the Red Line.

For all, the marathon's Web site has course maps on this page:

http://www.marinemarathon.com/race_info/Course_Maps.htm

The annual event is Sunday morning and will affect travel in DC and Arlington near the Potomac River. I'd allow about an hour for that trip, and wouldn't count on cab drivers to know where they're going.

Are you really sure they can't handle getting to the Metro station at National? That seems like a good bet, even with luggage. It does involve a change at Metro Center, but it's not that complicated.

There's no reason the HOV lanes should have been closed on the weekend on I-66. Are we talking about the far left lanes in each direction? Or might you be thinking of the shoulder lanes, which are open only during the weekday rush hours?

I'm sorry you got stuck. Are you thinking of the posting I do each Friday morning on the Dr. Gridlock blog? The one I call "The weekend and beyond"? To do that, I review the announcements from the local transportation agencies and also whatever I picked up in driving or riding around the region.

I think it's the most comprehensive preview in the DC area, but it's still only about 10 items for the entire region. So I try to spread out the items to cover all parts of the region.

Also, I welcome any suggestions about what travelers would like to see in that guide. If you're worried about a particular upcoming event, or you just think your part of the region isn't getting enough attention, let me know at drgridlock@washpost.com.

For this weekend, I'll probably highlight the Marathon, the Jon Stewart rally and Halloween, but there will be plenty of other stuff.

Those are good questions. Travel on Route 267 is affected by two of the biggest transportation projects in the country: The HOT lanes and the Dulles Metrorail construction.

The airports authority, which operates the toll road and is managing the rail project, is holding a public meeting tonight to discuss issues affecting drivers. Here's how we described it on the Dr. Gridlock blog:

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates the Dulles Toll Road, is holding an informational meeting for the public tonight.

The forum will provide information on the road's finances, operations and planned improvements. Airports officials said there will be exhibits and representatives from the agency to discuss tolls, increases that have already been approved and financing for the Metrorail extension to Dulles and beyond.

The meeting is scheduled for from 5 to 8 tonight at the South Lakes High School Cafeteria, 11400 S. Lakes Dr. in Reston.

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association offers great guides about the rules. They are helpful for cyclists and for motorists:

http://www.waba.org/resources/laws.php

On the crowded streets in downtown Washington, cyclists are supposed to stay on the streets, not the sidewalks. That doesn't happen, and it's dangerous. Cyclists come at pedestrians from all directions. You'd have to have Linda Blair Exorcist style 360 degree vision to be ready for that.

Police do enforce the traffic laws, which cyclists are subject to. But they're not going to be in enough places to stop all the bad behavior that you're seeing.

I think what Metro should do is make sure that its station managers are alert enough to discover problems on their platforms and have the means to quickly post signs warning incoming riders about severe delays.

Right now, riders don't necessarily have a way of knowing what's going on before they see the platform. (We talked about this a moment ago regarding the lack of consistent e-alerts about disruptions.)

For all, the Jon Stewart rally is scheduled for noon to 3 p.m. Saturday on the National Mall, between 3rd Street and 7th Street NW.

It's hard to say how many people are going to attend. I haven't heard anything about Metro putting on extra service for that. I think the event sponsors would have to pay for it. (As is the case with the Marine Corps Marathon.)

Metro says it's going to be working on the elevated tracks at Rhode Island Avenue again this weekend. That suggests you should add 20 minutes to your regular travel time getting downtown.

Even though the parkway extension has opened, we're still about two years away from having all the planned connections constructed.

Yes, I think that will be a problem in the early going concerning the BRAC relocations. But I'm more worried about what's going to happen farther north at the Mark Center.

That's a good idea. And in fact, there are plans to add staircases at some stations, such as Foggy Bottom. But that's still a fairly expensive undertaking. I think the local governments would have to kick in extra money -- taxpayer money -- to finance some projects, or deals would have to be worked out with private developers who want to build by the Metro stations.

Saturday night in Adams Morgan I watched as a cyclist blew threw a stop sign into the path of a pedestrian in a crosswalk. Didn't even slow down.

But I can't conclude from that -- or other incidents we all could describe -- that "most" cyclists do any one particular thing. I watch traffic for a living and can't conclude that "most" drivers do any one particular thing either.

What I notice is that many travelers -- motorists and cyclists -- will obey traffic rules when they have no other choice and ignore them when they can.

I'm not sure what the "rules" are but that certainly doesn't sound like a safe setup. I'll ask the project about the lighting. I'm sure they have no interest in blinding drivers entering a work zone.

I can't believe that any Metro employee turned off the escalator while people were on it. Certainly, that's not what's supposed to happen.

The escalators have sensors that will stop the machinery if there's a lot of pressure from riders. Most often, it happens when people run on the escalators, but I think it could also happen if they are extremely crowded.

You're certainly correct that Metro often stops escalators to use them as stairways under crowded conditions, but the normal procedure is to place a barrier across the entranceway and let everyone get off the other end before stopping the escalator.