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#101
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DC Metro Interconnects
"Keith F. Lynch" wrote:
Brian Robinson OR Carol Goter Robinson OR Bill Robinson wrote: And on this secondary point, you are about the only person in the DC area who considers stations like Franconia and Vandorn pedestrian-friendly. I assume Van Dorn is pedestrian friendly, but I'll admit I've never been there. I've walked between the Franconia/Springfield station and Springfield mall about a dozen times, with no problem. I will admit I did once get lost in the Greenbelt station's immense parking lot, unable for half an hour to find any road that didn't lead either to the Beltway or back to the station. Van Dorn Street Right across Eisenhower Avenue is a UPS depot, Alexandria Cities incinerator and a little further north is a bunch of townhouses, to the east on Eisenhower Avenue is a lot of light industry warehouses. Both sides of Eisenhower Avenue have paved sidewalks to the east all the way to oldtown. Greenbelt If you had gone further south along the access road you would have ended up on Cherry Lane, To the right is a large garden apartment complex, outside of the beltway is a United States District Court and a number of office buildings. Going north down the pedestrian tunnel that leads to the MARC platforms on the north side of the CSX tracks is the Hollywood section of Collage Park. If you want to see something that's pedestrian UNfriendly, I recommend walking the length of Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax County. Over much of its length it's narrow, with heavy traffic, no sidewalks, no shoulder, and either shrubs, fences, or a ditch keeping you from cutting through people's yards. During heavy rain, part of it is often under several feet of fast-moving debris-filled water. It militates against your advocacy for more suburban metro coverage; e.g. I've repeatedly cited the possibility of a Brown Line on the original proposed route, extended to serve Annandale and loop around to the north or south parallel to the Beltway; to no avail in terms of positive feedback here. I may not have commented on that specific proposal, but I've often said there should be a Metro station within reasonable walking distance of every point in the region. Obviously if the one or two militant anti-car people in NOVA don't want such a line it's not likely anyone else does, either. I'm not anti-car. I'm pro-choice on transportation. I don't believe anyone should ever be forced into an absolute reliance on any one mode. ... or like most tourists who DRIVE into DC (for the issue of entering DC via outlying Metro stations would be moot otherwise; logically, the recommendation to do so applies only to tourists who are driving in. That said, you are right that it is a tax on these people for not having the "sense" to go Greyhound.) I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. The reality is that this requirement is the latest step in ensuring that SmartTrip is so ubiquitous that it not only legitimizes its use as a tracking tool, And how can it be used as a tracking tool if people aren't required to register it? Sure, if they arrest you they can take your card and find out where you've been. But the same is true with a regular farecard, and always has been. but legitimizes driving to the Metro station as the most popular and acceptible way of utilizing the Metro system, further dragging us down the road of a BART-like commuter system in the course of government efforts to promote an entirely tangential homeland security device (SmartTrip). I'm not familiar with BART. How does it differ from DC's Metro? You need to read the article cited in the Post (Sunday, Outlook). They quoted a Mt. Pleasant restaurateur for his take on the rule in question and that was the quoted directive (and not the first time I've heard tell of it.) Fortunately, he's not in charge. The police know better than to arrest people for looking like they don't belong. They've been sued enough times for the lesson to sink in. -- Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/ Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me. -- ================================================== ==================== Ever wanted one of these John R Cambron http://205.130.220.18/~cambronj/wmata/ or Hebron MD USA http://www.chesapeake.net/~cambronj/wmata/ ================================================== ==================== --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#102
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DC Metro Interconnects
"Keith F. Lynch" wrote:
Brian Robinson OR Carol Goter Robinson OR Bill Robinson wrote: And on this secondary point, you are about the only person in the DC area who considers stations like Franconia and Vandorn pedestrian-friendly. I assume Van Dorn is pedestrian friendly, but I'll admit I've never been there. I've walked between the Franconia/Springfield station and Springfield mall about a dozen times, with no problem. I will admit I did once get lost in the Greenbelt station's immense parking lot, unable for half an hour to find any road that didn't lead either to the Beltway or back to the station. Van Dorn Street Right across Eisenhower Avenue is a UPS depot, Alexandria Cities incinerator and a little further north is a bunch of townhouses, to the east on Eisenhower Avenue is a lot of light industry warehouses. Both sides of Eisenhower Avenue have paved sidewalks to the east all the way to oldtown. Greenbelt If you had gone further south along the access road you would have ended up on Cherry Lane, To the right is a large garden apartment complex, outside of the beltway is a United States District Court and a number of office buildings. Going north down the pedestrian tunnel that leads to the MARC platforms on the north side of the CSX tracks is the Hollywood section of Collage Park. If you want to see something that's pedestrian UNfriendly, I recommend walking the length of Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax County. Over much of its length it's narrow, with heavy traffic, no sidewalks, no shoulder, and either shrubs, fences, or a ditch keeping you from cutting through people's yards. During heavy rain, part of it is often under several feet of fast-moving debris-filled water. It militates against your advocacy for more suburban metro coverage; e.g. I've repeatedly cited the possibility of a Brown Line on the original proposed route, extended to serve Annandale and loop around to the north or south parallel to the Beltway; to no avail in terms of positive feedback here. I may not have commented on that specific proposal, but I've often said there should be a Metro station within reasonable walking distance of every point in the region. Obviously if the one or two militant anti-car people in NOVA don't want such a line it's not likely anyone else does, either. I'm not anti-car. I'm pro-choice on transportation. I don't believe anyone should ever be forced into an absolute reliance on any one mode. ... or like most tourists who DRIVE into DC (for the issue of entering DC via outlying Metro stations would be moot otherwise; logically, the recommendation to do so applies only to tourists who are driving in. That said, you are right that it is a tax on these people for not having the "sense" to go Greyhound.) I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. The reality is that this requirement is the latest step in ensuring that SmartTrip is so ubiquitous that it not only legitimizes its use as a tracking tool, And how can it be used as a tracking tool if people aren't required to register it? Sure, if they arrest you they can take your card and find out where you've been. But the same is true with a regular farecard, and always has been. but legitimizes driving to the Metro station as the most popular and acceptible way of utilizing the Metro system, further dragging us down the road of a BART-like commuter system in the course of government efforts to promote an entirely tangential homeland security device (SmartTrip). I'm not familiar with BART. How does it differ from DC's Metro? You need to read the article cited in the Post (Sunday, Outlook). They quoted a Mt. Pleasant restaurateur for his take on the rule in question and that was the quoted directive (and not the first time I've heard tell of it.) Fortunately, he's not in charge. The police know better than to arrest people for looking like they don't belong. They've been sued enough times for the lesson to sink in. -- Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/ Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me. -- ================================================== ==================== Ever wanted one of these John R Cambron http://205.130.220.18/~cambronj/wmata/ or Hebron MD USA http://www.chesapeake.net/~cambronj/wmata/ ================================================== ==================== --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#103
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#104
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#105
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#106
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#107
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#108
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DC Metro Interconnects
OK, as a long time DC Tourist, we always drive, it is much cheaper
than any other way for 3 or 4 people. In addition we always use a "fringe" hotel, cheaper than downtown and no parking fee. Our current preferred location seem to be Tyson's Corner. There are a couple of Metro stations with in easy drive of the hotel complex out there. It seems to me that the parking is oriented towards commuters, no charge on a weekend, no pay after 10:00 pm. It is quite a long ride back out of town but it gets us off our feet for a while, not a bad thing after walking the Mall, etc for 6 or 7 miles and supper. Doug. .. "Keith F. Lynch" wrote in message ... I figured most tourists arrive by Amtrak or by plane. Union Station and National Airport are already on the Metro. Dulles and BWI are finally acessible by a regular city bus. BWI is also on MARC and on Baltimore's light rail. And the main Greyhound terminal is adjacent to Union Station. Sure, a tourist can bring his own car to DC, if he has one. He can also bring his own stove to a restaurant. But both are foolish choices. --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#109
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DC Metro Interconnects
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Brian Robinson OR Carol Goter Robinson OR Bill Robinson wrote: but legitimizes driving to the Metro station as the most popular and acceptible way of utilizing the Metro system, further dragging us down the road of a BART-like commuter system in the course of government efforts to promote an entirely tangential homeland security device (SmartTrip). I'm not familiar with BART. How does it differ from DC's Metro? I'm not sure about the salient differences, but as a one-time BART commuter (and a BART user as recently as three weeks ago) there's no problem paying with cash for a paper ticket just like DC Metro. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
#110
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DC Metro Interconnects
Keith F. Lynch wrote:
Brian Robinson OR Carol Goter Robinson OR Bill Robinson wrote: but legitimizes driving to the Metro station as the most popular and acceptible way of utilizing the Metro system, further dragging us down the road of a BART-like commuter system in the course of government efforts to promote an entirely tangential homeland security device (SmartTrip). I'm not familiar with BART. How does it differ from DC's Metro? I'm not sure about the salient differences, but as a one-time BART commuter (and a BART user as recently as three weeks ago) there's no problem paying with cash for a paper ticket just like DC Metro. miguel -- Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu --multiplaza.nl.nu-- |
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