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What you said about what we said last week
What were we thinking, putting forward ideas about how to fix Metrorail? Did we believe for one brief, hopeful moment that District denizens would come together in agreement and have a civil conversation about solutions for our distressed transit system? Were we so innocent once? Based on our comments section, no one can agree on anything, ever, so let’s just wade right into it.
We got plenty of grief from readers about our decision to talk to Randal O’Toole from the Cato Institute, whom several readers in the comments characterized as anti-transit. Ben wrote, “Why give one of these spots to an individual who is openly hostile to transit? You might as well include the thoughts of a vegan in an article on how to grill meat.” Last we checked, hearing from the opposition was part of the whole journalism thing, so our hand was sort of forced.
Other ideas thrown out there: placing WMATA into receivership; more advertising inside train cars; glass doors to prevent passengers falling onto tracks; please stop shouting (really); fare increases; no fare increases. The list of readers’ suggestions was effectively endless. There were a few, less orthodox ideas that we hadn’t found in any of our interviews with experts. Velo Guy suggested, for example: “Allow bikes on Metro during rush hour. The transit planner mantra is ‘first mile, last mile,’ well here is the chance to prove it. And with ridership down there is plenty of [room] to fit bikes on board.” But Leeran wasn’t convinced: “To the first commenter suggesting bikes onboard during rush hour — it sounds like you don’t ride metro. Ridership is down, but the amount of trains running is moreso, so trains are insanely crowded.” Not to editorialize too much here, but: That’s a pretty bad idea.
Department of Corrections
Last week’s arts section opener originally stated that Lisa Gold left for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in September; she left in August. This article also stated that the WPA is moving in December; they’re moving in November.