My Evening Commute

[mstone]

@rcannon100 110079 wrote:

No, we’re saying there is a war on cars…. and it did not go far enough. Instead of having a useless lane at ballston for parking by people using single mode of transportation, tin cans – that lane should be dedicated to Kiss and Ride – to promote use of the subway. We’re saying Less Parking – More Public Transportation.

Is it really that terrible. Naw. I double park there all the time. It’s not a prob. But to anyone objecting to the double parkers – its not there fault to design is dense.

Yes, it is their fault that they think their convenience trumps everyone else. Whether you add a lane or not, there isn’t enough space for a significant portion of ballston metro riders to have a car idling by the station waiting for them to show up. That’s the kiss and ride model at the suburban stations, and it simply won’t work at ballston. (To put it into perspective, Vienna has 71 spots reserved for kiss and ride–I challenge you to find a way to fit 71 spots into the ballston metro footprint. They’re going to try to cram a couple of kiss & ride slots into ballston, but there’s no way there will be enough to meet any possible demand–so should we just approve of people blocking lanes as much as they want? The vast majority of ballston passengers walk, most of the rest take a bus. Insisting that ballston is a failure if people can’t idle in front of the station flies in the face of reality.)

[dasgeh]

@mstone 110082 wrote:

Yes, it is their fault that they think their convenience trumps everyone else. Whether you add a lane or not, there isn’t enough space for a significant portion of ballston metro riders to have a car idling by the station waiting for them to show up. That’s the kiss and ride model at the suburban stations, and it simply won’t work at ballston. (To put it into perspective, Vienna has 71 spots reserved for kiss and ride–I challenge you to find a way to fit 71 spots into the ballston metro footprint. They’re going to try to cram a couple of kiss & ride slots into ballston, but there’s no way there will be enough to meet any possible demand–so should we just approve of people blocking lanes as much as they want? The vast majority of ballston passengers walk, most of the rest take a bus. Insisting that ballston is a failure if people can’t idle in front of the station flies in the face of reality.)

From a practical perspective, if you need to be picked up, head to VA Square, and if there’s not a spot right at the Metro, there will almost certainly be a place across Fairfax. Worst case, walk up to the parking lot at the library. If you’re going to be multi-modal, it’s ok to walk a couple blocks, too. Or just take bikeshare

[scoot]

@mstone 110082 wrote:

They’re going to try to cram a couple of kiss & ride slots into ballston, but there’s no way there will be enough to meet any possible demand

Seems like a reasonable way to optimize usage of the limited supply might be to not allow any vehicles to wait, but allow these few slots to be used only for active pickups and dropoffs. Maybe a 20-second limit, and then you have to move?

In other words, make sure that the person you’re picking up is already there when you arrive. If not, get out of the way.

[mstone]

@scoot 110090 wrote:

Seems like a reasonable way to optimize usage of the limited supply might be to not allow any vehicles to wait, but allow these few slots to be used only for active pickups and dropoffs. Maybe a 20-second limit, and then you have to move?

In other words, make sure that the person you’re picking up is already there when you arrive. If not, get out of the way.

I think that already works without any changes. (In reality, I don’t think anyone really cares that much if you briefly stop even in a traffic lane–the problem becomes if you decide you need to sit there and wait.)

[bobco85]

Regarding the Ballston station, I think one of the issues for it relates to the following question: Is Ballston really a suburban station anymore?

Personally (and as someone who lives in the Ballston area about 1 mile from the metro station), I think it is no longer a suburban station in the traditional sense. The vast expanses of remote parking have been filled by development with parking garages, and there are many transit options available nearby that are actually viable (not normally found in suburban stations). The only mode of transit that is difficult to do to access the Ballston station is the kiss and ride because it’s very easy to walk, bike, take the bus, park in a garage close-by, do a quick pick-up/drop-off, etc. I would say that given most people have cell phones, having to park and wait to pick someone up seems outdated and unnecessary.

I usually walk/CaBi to the station, but if I happen to be getting a ride and returning from DC (usually when traveling with family), I do the following: call for pick-up when passing the Clarendon station while on the metro, walk a block to the NSF, wait a few minutes, and get picked up at NSF. No one has to park/idle/double-park, we (driver and passengers) know exactly where to be, and the all-way stop signs at the intersection guarantee that the slow-moving traffic will not be affected. I recommend this, and there are other areas that can be used in a similar way especially when there is precipitation outside.

As for double parkers, (originally a rant was here on blocking lanes like bike lanes), they need to move.

[rcannon100]

@dasgeh 110085 wrote:

Or just take bikeshare

Would love to. I am repeatedly arguing this point as to why it would be so great to have a station at Lee Heights. Would make life a lot easier.

[dasgeh]

@rcannon100 110093 wrote:

Would love to. I am repeatedly arguing this point as to why it would be so great to have a station at Lee Heights. Would make life a lot easier.

Lee Heights is on the list. It’s really awesome once your neighborhood gets one…

[rcannon100]

@bobco85 110092 wrote:

As for double parkers, (originally a rant was here on blocking lanes like bike lanes), they need to move.

Why? To be clear, not blocking a bike lane. And not even blocking a lane of traffic (as the road is three lanes wide in one direction at that point). Circling the block actually causes more traffic problems. That’s the station that’s closest to our house and when I pick up my family – if there is no curb lane parking, I double park.

Again, the real solution is to lose the curb lane park – which is of almost no value – and either let it be kiss and ride – or something like 15 min parking.

But I am sort of confused as to why people are so upset. The road where people double park, about the only thing it is good for is picking people up from the metro. Traffic isnt being blocked (unless they go three wide). Bikes arent being blocked. So why are you upset?

[scoot]

Just to clarify, you are talking about the block of N Stuart Street between Fairfax and 9th, is that correct?

[rcannon100]

@scoot 110096 wrote:

Just to clarify, you are talking about the block of N Stuart Street between Fairfax and 9th, is that correct?

Good question. Apparently we are talking about the same place. The road deadends both on the north side and the south side. It is basically two blocks long here. Most of the traffic on N Stuart is picking up traffic from the metro. And, as you can see from the pic, if a car double parks, traffic still can get by. That’s not to say people dont behave like schmos and block traffic. But double parking itself can be done without blocking traffic.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7998[/ATTACH]

[bobco85]

@rcannon100 110095 wrote:

Why? To be clear, not blocking a bike lane. And not even blocking a lane of traffic (as the road is three lanes wide in one direction at that point). Circling the block actually causes more traffic problems. That’s the station that’s closest to our house and when I pick up my family – if there is no curb lane parking, I double park.

As I stated in my post, it seems unnecessary to have to park and wait (Edit) or circle the block (/Edit) when everyone has cell phones. It’s far easier for the passenger(s) to wait an extra minute or two while a coordinated pick-up is on the way.

@rcannon100 110095 wrote:

Again, the real solution is to lose the curb lane park – which is of almost no value – and either let it be kiss and ride – or something like 15 min parking.

I disagree. The parking there is all metered which is paid for (usually by food trucks during lunch) and serves the neighborhood businesses on that block; in comparison, if enforcement stays the same that it currently does for double parking, the kiss and ride would essentially become free parking. You could always pull into a spot and pay the meter if the wait is really expected to be that long.

@rcannon100 110095 wrote:

But I am sort of confused as to why people are so upset. The road where people double park, about the only thing it is good for is picking people up from the metro. Traffic isnt being blocked (unless they go three wide). Bikes arent being blocked. So why are you upset?

I’m not upset, but to be brief, people double parking is a selfish act by definition (i.e., I’m not condemning the act, but I am judging it on face value) even if it does not personally bother me or inconvenience me, and I was starting to go off track with my rant (double parking -> blocking a lane -> delivery trucks blocking bike lanes -> condemnation; a bit disorganized and weak, really) so I cut it off.

My point is, why would someone need to double park anymore when pick-ups can be easily coordinated by cell phone?

[dasgeh]

@bobco85 110100 wrote:

My point is, why would someone need to double park anymore when pick-ups can be easily coordinated by cell phone?

I actually tend to agree with you – I don’t like double parking just because roads weren’t designed for it.

But Metro sucks. So you may think the train is coming in 10 minutes, when really it takes 12 or 15. And you may hit every light green on your way to the Metro stop. So I see the need to have a place to wait for a short time, especially given that there isn’t bikeshare everywhere, some people are coming with luggage, kids, etc, bus service isn’t great.

[scoot]

The metered parking collects a few bucks, but it is almost certainly vastly underpriced. We could raise the rates enough so that there are a handful of open spots at any given time. (Variable or hour-dependent pricing would probably be necessary to accomplish this.) Any vehicle waiting more than a minute should have to find a curb and feed a meter.

Then you could eliminate the double-parking by widening the sidewalks and shrinking the unnecessary waste of real estate in the middle of the road.

[dplasters]

I don’t think anyone is pro double parking here. But like a good Idaho stop, there can be a time and place where illegal things are done in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone too much, if at all.

Its a city/urban environment. I take double parking as something that is just going to happen. No amount of kiss and ride will ever satiate demand. When you have that many people in a small space, we inconvience each other.

The franconia/springfield metro has an incredibly long Kiss and Ride lane. Despite its length, it sometimes backs up pretty far. Even when not backed up, people with double park the “good” spots. If its raining, people will triple park the good stops and stop traffic completely. If you build it, someone will abuse it.

[Boomer Cycles]

I rode home today from the Kennedy Center to Falls Church via TR bridge, Custis and WOD (mile on my roadie with 700 x 25 slicks without problem nor portage. Still some rideable ice on the WOD at mile 6 shelter and mile 7.5 Popular Heights tennis courts. After dinner, I went back to mile 7.5 with a shovel and cleared a single track lane through the ice sheet before fresh snow falls and it becomes a buried minefield. As I was shoveling, DKel came through on his commute and was the first beneficiary of my labor[emoji4].

https://instagram.com/p/z1H-hLuveK/

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