Metro Is Closing Again

Washington, DC's Metro Red Line is going through some shutdown pains again. Today, the Red Line was shut down between Silver Spring and Fort Totten. Shuttle buses were provided. The only bad thing, was the shuttle buses were located over on Wayne Avenue. While you could see them from either the Silver Spring Metro station, or from the Sarbanes Transit Center, where the other buses come in, it is still a hike to get to the shuttle buses. It's at least twice the length of a football field if not a little further.

I guess that Metro decided that having the shuttle buses enter the Sarbanes Transit Center, would have made things difficult for the regular commuters, that use the buses, even on weekends. What I did today regarding public transportation: Drove to the Bonifant Avenue parking garage, using University Blvd from my home in College Park to the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, S2 bus to Irving Street NW, H2 bus to Michigan, Avenue and 4th Street, walk to National Shrine. Took G8 bus to Farragut Square, and then took the 42 Bus to M Street, and then walk to St. Matthew's Cathedral. Coming home: 42 Bus to Irving Street, S2 or S4 to Sarbanes Transit Center, walk to my car, which is at the Bonifant Avenue garage...I'm handicapped, so I can park for free.

First Posting

This is my first posting on my new blog. I will still be adding things to my other blogs too. What this blog is going to cover is reaching the compromise between living in the older established suburbs, and the desire to live in the city, and enjoy all things urban. Even though I live in the burbs, when I first moved to the Washington, DC area, I lived in the city, and enjoyed all the perks that go along with urban living. While I owned a car, I used it as infrequently as possible. I lived four blocks from a Metro station and three blocks from a major bus line, so getting around on public transportation was a dream come true.

When I moved to College Park, MD, Metro was still a dream down the road. Bus service was sparse. You had to drive just about everywhere.While it was convenient for me to get to work. I used to take the Baltimore Washington Parkway, 295, into the District and down to Bolling Air Force Base. The trip by car only took about 25 minutes. Using the buses and Metro would have taken about three hours. Today, we have the Green Line with stations in Greenbelt and College Park. Using a combination of buses and the Green Line would cut the commute time down to about an hour and a half. However, I am retired from my Air Force job, and I am now working in Bethesda. There is very good bus service in Bethesda, with the J2 bus to Silver Spring running until after 1 AM during the week, after 2 AM on Friday and Saturday, and after Midnight on Sundays. From there, you can catch the 70, S2, or S4 buses that will take you into the city and back until the wee hours of the morning. If you live in DC and work late in Bethesda, you  don't need a car. You can rely on bus service for your transportation needs. If you live in the Langley Park area, you can catch a RideOn 15 bus to the Takoma Langley Transit Center until after 1 AM seven days per week! It's not like that where I live.

Bus service still leaves a lot to be desired in my area of Prince George's County. Therefore, I had to come up with a compromise in my transportation choices, between driving and using public transportation, as well as living in a secure middle inner ring suburb, and enjoying the excitement of the city. I call it Hybrid Urbanism.

My transportation compromise is I drive from College Park to Silver Spring and take either the bus or the rail from the Sarbanes Transit Center. I don't have to pay to park, because I am handicapped. Also, being handicapped, I pay half fare on the Metro or the buses. I can enjoy all the elements of the city, commute to work, and visit friends in the Rockville area by driving to, and then using, public transportation. My housing compromise is, I am staying put in my small four bedroom/ two and a half bath rambler, in the Daniel's Park section of College Park. I have been living in my house since 1982. I did refinance my mortgage a couple of times, and now my house payment is less than one half of what a lot of people are paying to rent a small apartment in DC, Silver Spring, or Bethesda.

I will cross post some articles at my other Urbanist blog: Transit Conservative. Thank you for joining me on my new blogging adventure.