Wednesday, March 28, 2007
ANC 6A Requests Dedicated Buses
They've sent a letter to DDOT expressing support for a dedicated special busline (like the circulator) that would run down H Street (but wouldn't run the entire route that the X2 covers) until the streetcar arrives. The idea is to get peopple used to using transit on the corridor (and it can't hurt the businesses on the far east end).
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17 comments:
excellent idea!
somebody's on the ball.
I'd support it. the X2 is a nightmare on wheels. Most residents bear it simply because they must in order to get to and from work. But getting folks from outside the neighborhood to venture here on transit is going to require something a bit more elegant than the X2.
i dont know why they didnt just extend the circulator down h st (from union station) at the same time they extended it to georgetown
Rya,
That would require too much thought and an attitude of actually caring about H Street NE and Near Northeast.
Sorry, pessimistic this morning after dealing with DC agencies on a couple of ongoing problems...
Both suggestions are excellent ideas to help during the construction. Extending the Circulator may make more sense, as it would link destinations farther West to H Street.
Best,
Alan Kimber
Commissioner, ANC 6C05
One note on the Circulator thing, the Circulator only runs until 9pm. Daytime stuff would be good (perticularly on weekends), but we're also going to need night time service (it can be hard to get a cab around here) because stuff in the east end, like the Argonaut, Palace of Wonders, H Street Playhouse, the Majestic, ect. draw a nighttime crowd.
I fully support this idea. The X2 bus is the most convenient for me to commute on (drops me right in front of the office), but I can't bear to take it anymore. In the past month, someone has spit on me, called me a "m*****fin' cop", and it is always late, too full, and often smells. Just can't do it anymore.
I feel you anon 11:13. I've only been in the neighborhood for a year but when I bought my house the fact that I would have a crosstown bus line 1 block from my door step was a big selling point. Then I started to ride it. it is consistently the worst part of my day. The lateness and overcrowding I can suffer through with the rest. But being verbally accosted, having to sit through a drunken dice game in the ``accordion'' section of the extra long bus, and a variety of other interesting incidents in the past 13 months has been too much for me. Including yesterday morning when a guy with a portable DVD player and NO HEADPHONES decides to watch some stand up comedy show that had some of the most vile and vulgar language I've ever heard. I like a good dirty joke as much as the next guy but at 7 in the morning I really don't need to hear somebody cracking jokes about dealing drugs, getting herpes and having abortions. I frequently find myself driving to work a couple days a week now because I don't want to be bothered with it anymore and on occasion I will hoof the almost 10 blocks to the metro station. I would really prefer to support public transit as its cheaper than driving, but the X2 has gotten to be too much.
I find that biking is by far the fastest and easiest way to get downtown from our part of the city. It's pretty flat and easy and certainly faster than walking, driving, biking, or the metro. This is such a small city and becomes more bike friendly everyday with more and more bike lanes being added. Save driving or public transport for those days when it's just too nasty out. You'll be a much happier person.
Why aren't drivers and their supervisors being held accountable for: lateness, illegal activities, and trash on their buses? It fix this system someone needs to lose their job.
Wow, I ride the X2 almost everyday since I bought a place on K in November, and I've never had any of these issues. Yes, it's crowded and not the cleanest, but I never have to wait long and half the people get off at No. Capital anyway.
BTW - The Mayor's FY 2008 budget includes the funding to purchase two street cars for H Street.
Two? Service needs to be fairly regular for the idea to catch on. I guess two is better than none at all, but not much. What will the city do about breakdowns and regular maintenance outages?
Best,
Alan Kimber
Commissioner, ANC 6C05
Two is some pretty serious progress over none. Do we know how many people they can each hold and how long it will probably take them to run the circuit?
It was just a little over a year ago when they didn't have the funding for the tracks in ANY budget. I am very happy that the new Mayor was able to fit in two streetcars in his first budget. Should there be more, well yes there should. But it takes more than two years to build the cars, so getting two is a nice first step.
As to the design and capacity, we are working with DDOT on that. I don't have any other details than the fact that there are two cars in the budget.
And of course, we don't have the funding for the maintenance facility yet either. But, there is a pattern here - tracks, street cars, facilities then operation. We are taking this one rail (and one street car) at time...
I'm going to assume that the ordering of two cars is strictly for testing purposes. It is smart to try the cars out before ordering 500 and not being able to use them..
and yes, the X2 is terribly annoying in the morning and non-existent in the evening. It is to the point now where I walk home from Union station after work to 14th & H instead of waiting for the bus at Gallery Place.
Last week after waiting for 15 minutes at Gallery Place i decided to walk a few stops... I made it all the way to 13th and H, NE before i saw a bus.
For those of us who can't bear the X2, there's always the X8, which is usually on time, and much cleaner... it runs up MD ave to Union Station
One of the initial ideas for the circulator type bus was to loop from 7th street, Verizon Center to Hechinger Mall...this circulator could extend to RFK for game events.
Are there any other end point ideas out there?
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