Balancing Act is by ep_jhu from the Borderstan Flickr pool.

Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.

Today’s photo, Balancing Act is by ep_jhu. The photo was taken on February 27.

If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from DC’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.

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What’s in store this summer for Metro riders? (dracisk in the Borderstan Flickr pool)

By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and let her know your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel[AT]borderstan.com.

Based on the Metro track work schedule, you could assume one of two things: if you are a pessimist, you would easily conclude that Metro decided to put its best foot forward for the throngs of tourist that escalefted, came to an abrupt stop at the top of the escalator and failed to tell their children not to sit on the floor in front of a Metro car door.

A less cynical commuter would argue that a Metro facing greater volumes of passengers wanted to quickly move those riders in and out of the system, rather than mire them in track work delays. But whether your illegal Metro beverage is half-full or half-empty, here’s the truth: if you rely on Metro, it’s going to be a very long, very slow and inconvenient summer.

Huffington Post brings a litany of unwelcome news:

1. The Red Line will continue to experience track work, with buses replacing trains.
2. Labor Day weekend is likely to be a hot mess, with the Yellow Line out of commission over the Potomac River bridge.
3. Orange and Blue Lines will enjoy the dysfunction later in the fall.

But never fear, Metro points us to “free shuttle buses” and their trusty website with update alerts. Since I would prefer to have a free Metro ride when the system experiences a failure of epic proportions, or at least an apology instead of an excuse, pardon me for not applauding Metro’s free backup system.

Then again, perhaps the bar is low enough that simply having a back up plan, or plans that are being executed according to a schedule, can be considered a Metro win?

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Strangers are just friends I haven’t met. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Candida Mannozzi. You can reach her at candida[AT]borderstan.com.

Borderstan, since a few of my recent posts were a bit more critical of some of the behaviors I’ve observed in our ‘hood, I wanted to share this anecdote with you. I was recently all the way (!) out in West Falls Church, on my way to a conference at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), waiting to catch a connecting bus from the Metro station to get to the USGS.

Now, I am one of those lucky few who “commutes” to work on foot for less than 10 minutes, so I have no daily need for Metro, buses, cars or other means of transportation, be they public or private. This means I am one of those dinosaurs who does not own a SmartCard.

So here I was, a little before 8 a.m. at West Falls Church and I realized I did not have exact change for the connecting bus fare. In fact, I was one dollar short and had the typical $20 yuppie-stamp in my wallet. Of course, there was no vending machine, deli, coffee shop or anything similar available for me to break my $20. I walked up to the bus stop and asked the only lady standing there whether she could possibly break my bill. She didn’t have enough to do that, but she offered me a single instead. She just gave it to me.

I was so grateful and also very embarrassed at not having prepared for this commute properly, being forced to ask a complete stranger for money! It reminded me of the many times I’ve passed people on the street, panhandling for change and not getting very far.  And here I, on my first request, got the help I needed and a pleasant exchange in the bargain.  Our ensuing chat, as we waited for the bus, revealed that we’d both grown up in the same mountain range in the Alps, just on different sides of it: she in Austria, I in Italy.

My one “consolation” for being unprepared was to remember that I’ve done my share of good turns to total strangers (one of these developed into a friendship with a painter from Barcelona, whom I helped as she was trying to negotiate the ticket machines in the Dupont Circle Metro station). So perhaps my turn had come to be assisted, as I had done for others in the past.

All moralizing or conjecture aside, Borderstan, I wish all of us occasions in which to receive the kindness of strangers. May we also get some opportunities to practice that kindness on others. Happy Spring!

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“down into the belly, of the beast” is by anokarina from the Borderstan flickr pool.

Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.

Today’s photo, ”down into the belly, of the beast” was taken by anokarina on February 2.

If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from D.C.’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.

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From Cody Telep. Follow him on Twitter @codywt, email him at cody[AT]borderstan.com.

The Metro Transit Police Department released 2011 crime figures last week, which showed that total serious crime was down about 16% over 2010 numbers (see coverage from The Washington Examiner). While the 1,898 total serious incidents are fewer than last year and 2009, serious crime was still higher than in both 2007 and 2008.

Serious crime on the Metro was down 16% in 2011 from the previous year. (Photo from dracisk in Borderstan Flickr pool)

Just as in 2010, none of the four Metro stations in the Borderstan coverage area were among the 10 stations with the highest number of incidents either overall or in DC. The U Street/African American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo station had 31 Part I incidents, followed by Shaw-Howard University with 23 incidents.

Dupont Circle recorded 15 incidents, and Mount Vernon Square 7th Street-Convention Center had 10. The Deanwood Station had the most incidents in the Metro system in 2011 with 67.

Part I incidents include the most serious violent (rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property (burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft) crimes. While Metro did not provide the breakdown of offense type by station, the most common Part I crimes in the system are robberies and larcenies. Since the four Borderstan stations do not have parking, motor vehicle crimes are, of course, unlikely.

Metro Station Crime Numbers

In terms of enforcement activity, there were few arrests for Part I crimes made at any of the Metro stations in Borderstan. The U Street/Cardozo station had four Part I arrests, Shaw-Howard University and Dupont Circle both had 3 and there were zero Part I arrests at the Mount Vernon Square station.

You can read the full report on 2011 crime from the Metro Safety and Security Committee online.

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Yes, you can take photos on the Metro. (Borderstan file photo)

By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and let her know your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel[AT]borderstan.com.

The law states you can take still photographs on WMATA Metro cars and at stations, so long as you do not have a tripod, special lighting, a film crew, etc. It seems clear the rule is set up to discourage amateur movie shoots or a flash mob runway show near the tunnels. But as TBD notes, plenty of people are getting grief for taking pictures in the stations or of trains while observing the letter of the law.

WMATA says it’s totally legal (except at Pentagon) so snap away! The number of complaints in the piece seem to indicate that more than a few WMATA employees may be unaware of the legality of photography; hopefully the attention this piece drew will lead to formal or informal training of said employees. For those that like to stir the pot, I challenge you to (without a tripod!) take photos this week in Metro stations. If you get any grief, tell me when, where and what was said. Post the pics in the Flickr pool and we’ll even pick a winner for a lovely prize!
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xxxxxx

By Michelle Lancaster. Got news, a hot tip or want to complain about what is or isn’t in this? Let her know on Twitter @michlancaster or via email atmichellel@borderstan.com.

Washington Examiner reports that WMATA has already had to use their emergency plans for the Dupont Circle Metro station twice since closing the south entrance (on the south side of the Circle).

The first problem occurred when a train broke down — WMATA closed off access to the station to prevent crowding. That makes some sense, because it can easily escalate from a crowded platform to a dangerous platform.

Less tolerable is the malfunction that caused all three escalators to become stairs for thirty minutes during the evening commute.

The likely culprit? A false fire alarm that automatically shuts down escalators. When I rode past the station on Thursday, there was a little mobile unit for emergency response outside the south side entrance.  Here’s hoping for a smoother rest of the year.

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“No Pants Metro Ride” is by thisisbossi from the Borderstan flickr pool.

From Luis Gomez. You can follow Luis on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos and at One Photograph A Day.

Photos of the Day are pulled from the Borderstan Reader Photos pool on Flickr.

Today’s photo, “No Pants Metro Ride,” was taken by thisisbossi on January 8. From thisisbossi: “The 2012 DC No Pants Metro Ride, an off-shoot of Improv Everywhere’s own. This was DC’s fifth year, contrasting with NYC’s 11th of the annual event.”

If you don’t already have a Flickr account, you will need to sign up for one, and then join the Borderstan Reader Photos group. Already a Flickr member? Join the group! You can submit up to five photos per day in the Borderstan reader pool. We are looking for photos from D.C.’s Dupont, Logan and U Street neighborhoods.

DC Police are promising to issue more tickets to people in park in bike lanes. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Maggie Barron. You can reach her at maggie@borderstan.com or on Twitter @maggiebarron.

More Tickets for Blocking Bike Lanes

With new bike lanes (hopefully) on their way, it looks like Policy Chief Cathy Lanier is on board to support them. “We’ve quadrupled the number of tickets we’ve issued for people who block bike lanes,” she told WTOP in an interview last Thursday. Lanier says that they issued 2000 tickets in 2011, but “it’s going to take a while for the culture [shift] to kick in.”

Look Metro, No Pants!

I avoided Metro all weekend due to the single tracking, only to realize that I also missed the 5th annual “No Pants Metro Ride DC.” For those of you unfamiliar with this yearly occasion, run by Capitol Improv, the name is fairly self-explanatory. On Sunday afternoon, several hundred Metro riders boarded trains and rode around without pants on (though PG-13 underwear is encouraged).

During this season of protest, organizers on the event’s Facebook page were quick to remind people that the No Pants Metro Ride is not political. The page says, helpfully, “the point of the day is not to ‘protest pants.’” Good to know. The event came full circle to our neighborhood with an afterparty at Nellie’s.

DC Historic Preservation Review Board Lacks Members

As a history major, I get excited whenever I read about history professionals being in demand. Last year Mayor Vince Gray dragged his feet on nominations for the Historic Preservation Review Board, and it looks like those delays are about to cause some big headaches.  According to City Paper, two of Gray’s nominees have said they don’t want the position.

With other members’ terms expired or expiring, the nine-member board might be left with only one current representative. In a recent letter to the Mayor, Councilmember Tommy Wells reminded him that by law, the board must have experts in history, architectural history, and archeology, or risk losing its federal funding. “With our significant number of landmarks and historic districts, the critical role of the HPRB cannot be overemphasized,” Wells wrote.

Walk when you’re on the left! (ep_jhu in the Borderstan Flickr pool)

From Mike Kohn. Got an urban etiquette ‘wrong’ that needs to be righted? Find Mike on Twitter @mike_kohn or drop him a line at mike@borderstan.com.

I swear, sometimes it’s the simplest things out there that create the biggest problems. Is it really that hard to ride an escalator? The concept is easy enough — you stand and ride or you walk up the moving staircase until you get off. And yet, how many times have I walked up or down an escalator to find someone blocking my path, like an obnoxious Parcheesi opponent?

Just last week as I was descending into the Dupont Circle metro, I had to jump to the side to avoid barreling into someone who decided that it would be a good idea to stop directly at the bottom of the escalator. Apparently we could use a little clueing in.

• Stand to the right, walk on the left. This is posted everywhere, so you have absolutely no excuse not to do it. I’m a walker, so I’ll be racing by you on the left. When you stand in the middle of the escalator or, even worse, block the left lane, you irritate everyone.
• In a similar vein, if you have bulky items or just a lot of them, keep them close. Yeah, I’m sure there’s something about security and watching your stuff, but really, just don’t block my way up the side.
• When you finish your chariot ride up or down, move out of the way. There are people behind you and believe it or not, they have nowhere to go if you block their way off of the escalator.

This is DC, people. We move fast and we get things done. We don’t have time to wait for people to figure out how to use something as easy as an escalator.

Recently, Metro coined a new phrase: “escalefter.” Definition: a person who stands on the left side of the escalator when he should be standing on the right.” I think it’s time we respect those signs, don’t you think?