Right.
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| Give these crooks $15 billion more? HELL, NO! |
"Today, our escalators are the most reliable they've been in six years and an example of the investments we are making to improve service for customers."
Now Wiedefeld is asking for $15 billion more, with no new financial oversight to ensure it isn't just flushed down the WMATA toilet like all the money we've given them up until now. Please.
The "surge," "SafeTrack," and rider-gouging fare hikes have all failed to show any results in safety, reliability, or customer service. They couldn't even restore automatic train operation, after years to work on it. Until there is an independent financial control board in place, Maryland's response to any request for new taxes or funding should be, "Hell, no!"
Don't you think this might be just a little bit over the top, for a two-week delay opening this short escalator?
ReplyDeleteConsidering how many local private construction projects have run months or years behind schedule?
I wonder how much money they could save by just eliminating unnecessary escalators like this one? Just make it a staircase and those who can't walk the stairs can use the elevator instead.
ReplyDelete(3) I agree with 6:43. This escalator is so unnecessary. In fact its downtime makes it more of a nuisance. An extra stair case, hell maybe some plants too, would go a long way.
ReplyDelete6:33: No, not at all. It's this apologist coddling of WMATA in recent years that has allowed them to get away with murder (sometimes literally, when it comes to safety for employees and passengers). Unlike the Montgomery County Council, who fawned over Wiedefeld, I have concluded he yet another inept GM in way over his head.
ReplyDeleteThe Post reported in April that "During the 45-minute meeting, council members praised Wiedefeld." FOR WHAT? He has shown no results whatsoever!
"I have concluded he yet another inept GM in way over his head."
ReplyDeleteYou a word out.
6:33 AM If you used the Bethesda Metro station at all, you'd know this escalator is regularly out of service for extended periods. This has been going on for quite awhile, so it's reasonable to question why.
ReplyDelete6:43 - The elevator is at the south end of the station. The escalator is needed to access the bus terminal.
ReplyDelete"Council members praised Wiedefeld"
ReplyDeleteProbably because they found a public official less popular than they are :)
Dyer, you were taking one hell of a chance taking that picture from the top of the escalator. You were very lucky that an angry Bethesdian did not give you a shove.
ReplyDeleteAlso, did you get permission to use the second and third images?
@ 6:57 There is an elevator from the street level plaza down to the bus terminal. The escalator is not necessary.
ReplyDelete"He has shown no results whatsoever!"
ReplyDelete#DyerTheLiar
8:18: So what are the "results?"
DeleteI think Wiedefeld has done a good job. He inherited a system that's an absolute mess. He made bold decisions like shutting down the entire system for a day for a safety inspection, and also SafeTrack. Those don't settle well with politicians who face angry constituents, but that's leadership -- making the decisions that are unpopular, but necessary.
ReplyDelete9:02 AM Shutting down the entire system for a day was grandstanding.
ReplyDeleteWas Wiedefeld in charge when that poor woman choked to death on fumes in a Metro car stuck underground? Totally preventable.
@ 9:17 - The deadly fire at L'Enfant Plaza was in January 2015. Wiedefield did not become head of WMATA until November 2015. Too lazy to look that up yourself?
ReplyDeleteMust have been, also too lazy to log in. #UnsignedDyer
ReplyDeleteFact of the matter. All escalators are not necessary. They are not ADA. They are simply a luxury. Some luxuries aren't worth the price and this two flight escalator is one of them.
ReplyDeleteUnless you're coming from the Hyatt, the location of the street-level-to-bus terminal is not particularly convenient.
ReplyDelete"Troubled Bethesda Blogger Misses Another Big Local Story"
ReplyDeleteThe Senate Appropriations Committee on which Chris Van Hollen serves cancelled two GAO reports on the effectiveness on Federal Transit Administration spending and WMATA's repairs in particular in the recent FY17 Continuing Resolution. Why? What are they hiding from us?
ReplyDeleteA safer operating system than it was in 2015.
ReplyDelete3:51: Have you been asleep for the last year? Have you read the federal reports and inspection results? Metro is no safer today than it was in 2015.
ReplyDeleteYes I have. Obviously you only read parts.
ReplyDeleteDyer @ 4:38 AM - You couldn't be more wrong. The primary goal of the maintenance "Surge" was to replace defective crossties - and 90% of those documented at the start if the program. Also, the mobilization of track repairs is much more efficient - instead of having single-tracking starting and stopping every night for several weeks, an entire section is shut down completely, but for days instead of weeks.
ReplyDeleteAnd fire and smoke incidents are down sharply since two years ago.
Oh, God, please. You're drinking the Kool Aid right from the new WMATA report. Even Metro apologist Washington Post acknowledged there are no tangible results. Efficient? Would have been if they actually did something, like stopping water in the Red Line tunnel.
ReplyDeleteInstead, they used the closures as an excuse not to run trains, which saves them mucho dinero, and reduces failures and incidents that only happen when you - duh! - run trains.
#FakeNews