Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Friendship Heights Metro escalator reopening delayed - again! (Photos) #WMATA #DC

Is anybody believing WMATA apologist Dr. Gridlock's prediction that this year will be the one Metro turns it around? Not if they needed to ride a subway or bus earlier this week after the storm. And certainly not if they use the Friendship Heights Metro station.

The Western Avenue/Wisconsin Circle bus bays-to-middle-landing escalator at the station has been out of service for literally years now, during the world's longest modernization project. It was originally scheduled to reopen on July 19, 2014.

That date came and went. So did another. And another. And...well, you get the picture.

Now we have another postponement. And other another date.

July 2016. A full two years after the original reopening date.

Place your bets.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what is your carefully-thought-through, constructive proposal for addressing Metro's issues?

Anonymous said...

So what's the cause? Did Metro switch from a repair to a replacement after examining the guts of the escalator? Was there a delay in finding parts? Did it take a long time to sub out the work? What's the point of saying "haha, it's not done yet!" without actually bothering to collect any facts? This blog is literally worthless 95% of the time.

Anonymous said...

This has to be the only place online where you can find commentators who think WMATA and MoCo Snow Response deserve kudos.

Anonymous said...

Does Hans Reimer also run WAMATA? This is surely tied into his being elected to MoCo office. Perhaps metromhates him too and are trying to limit access of MoCo residents to the metro?

Anonymous said...

Meh. It's all a part of MOCO's attempts to promote "rapid transport". Slipping down those stairs in bad weather is much faster than using an escalator.

Feel bad for the elderly I've seen gingerly making their way.

G. Money said...

How is requesting that Dyer actually provide information about why things are the way they are equivalent to supporting WMATA? Dyer doing a half-ass job and WMATA doing a half-ass job are not mutually exclusive.

Robert Dyer said...

G. Money, who cares what the excuse is? The fact is that they have miserably failed to deliver on this project, and they deserve some criticism and ought to be taking some heat from the media about it.

Anonymous said...

But you don't even know if they've "failed to deliver on this project." For all you know, the scope changed, e.g. from a repair to a replacement, and they're ahead of schedule. You don't bother actually collecting any facts about what you're railing about. Collect the facts and tell us what they're failing to deliver and why.

Anonymous said...

"This has to be the only place online where you can find commentators who think WMATA and MoCo Snow Response deserve kudos."

You are illiterate.

Anonymous said...

I don't care if they're hand building a new escalator, it shouldn't take over 2 years to replace a relatively short escalator.

Anonymous said...

You don't know what they're doing to the escalator. There are 100,000 different explanations, some would be reasonable and some would not be. The point is it's dumb as hell for Dyer to bitch and moan without bothering to gather facts. I love being pissed at things worth being pissed at, but being pissed while ignorant of any facts is the definition of moronic.

G. Money said...

Dyer, your readers obviously care what the excuse is, or they wouldn't be asking you about it.

Anonymous said...

G Money -
If you really want to know, then find out for yourself. Sheesh. Lazy, lazy, lazy. Do something for yourself.

Steve Hell said...

What is this Friendship Heights you speak of?

Anonymous said...

When did "if you want to know, then find out for yourself" replace "breaking news - for those who want to be the first to know"?

Anonymous said...

2:15PM Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.

Anonymous said...

Wow, is THAT why WMATA hasn't completed the escalator? ie. When the elderly folk I've seen gingerly making their descent with winter rain and ice on the stairs slip, this is not meant to paralyze them; it is only supposed to help them discover who they really, truly are.


Anonymous said...

7:55 AM - When did "Bethesda hyperlocal news" become "life's challenges that you need to figure out for yourself"? You've gone a bit around the bend during the week that you've been snowed in.

Anonymous said...

I got ya 2:15. All you haters keep askn questions and bein all demandn of this guy. Learn to do for yourself.

Anonymous said...

The escalator renovation was delayed for two years. lol. There's no excuse for that. I could build one by hand with legos quicker.

Anonymous said...

@ 12:46 PM - One can infer from your comment that the closest thing you have to engineering expertise, is having taken 9th grade physical science.