cfitzpancake

cfitzpancake t1_itr4w76 wrote

Not to add fuel to the fire of the storied DC Reddit Urban Planning Circlejerks, but for real wtf are they thinking. This only adds more clutter to a super congested area. Provide cheap alternatives to lessen this: a pedestrian bridge, built-up bus stops, dedicated bus lanes, thru lanes, loading/Uber zones, etc. I’m all for outside-the-box thinking, but this seems less helpful than the ski lift to Rosslyn.

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cfitzpancake t1_ir60ucc wrote

Reply to comment by AfghanHokie in Train to Ashburn! by albinotuba

Because the Metro was designed to be part true subway, part commuter rail. If you look within city limits (probably more helpful when comparing to Vienna, which has less of an American-looking sprawl), you see trains lines doubled and tripled up, such that (under regular operation) you get 4-10-minute headways, more similar to NY’s MTA and European systems.

That being said, is WMATA a world-class powerhouse compared to European systems? Absolutely not, and transit-oriented innovation, development, and incentives have a long way to go here.

But especially as you look out along the suburban strands of every metro line, it’s important to note that it operates like an electrified commuter rail for the purposes of an electrified commuter rail, rather than a true subway. The demand isn’t there right now for trains to serve Ashburn — an exurb over 30 miles from the downtown core — at a frequency of 4 minutes.

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