WMATA Silver Line Phase I to open 26 July (was: Delayed Indefinitely)

[jis]

This is what happened:

http://discuss.amtraktrains.com/index.php?/topic/60729-hi-yo-silver/

 

[afigg]

For those interested in photos and local comments. the Greater Greater Washington blog posted a report on the Saturday debut: The Silver Line's opening day, in 41 photos.

@WMATA tweeted earlier today for the first round of weekday traffic on Monday morning that "Wiehle-Reston East is the 12th busiest station in the Metrorail system (based on entries) as of 10am today, out of 91 stations." So the Silver Line is off to a busy start.

 

[XHRTSP]

Checking this website which has neat same scale maps of metro systems around the world (as of 2004?), the NYC subway and DC Metro system pre-Silver Line are not different in total extent on a broad scale, but the NYC subway system is, of course, far more dense with many more lines.

If I were a psychiatrist I'd totally use those as my version of the Rorschach test.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Now that folks are riding 'out west' they are having problems when they hit the ground...

From this article at Greater, Greater Washington:

Tysons now has four Metro stations, but workers trying to get from those stations to nearby offices often have no choice but to cross wide, high-speed roads without any crosswalks.

I saw several Tysons Corner workers walking across streets with up to 9 lanes of traffic in order to take the Silver Line this morning, due to the continued lack of crosswalks in Tysons. It's a matter of time before a Silver Line rider is struck by a car in Tysons Corner.

Way to go Fairfax County! :angry2:

 

[Ryan]

That newfangled "train" thing surprised them, they didn't realize that actual people would need to get to and from the stations.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

That newfangled "train" thing surprised them, they didn't realize that actual people would need to get to and from the stations.

The planners who were around for the opening of the Blue, Yellow and Orange Lines must have all retired... :mellow:

...Or been promoted and it is no longer is their department to worry about such things.

:lol:

 

[afigg]

Now that folks are riding 'out west' they are having problems when they hit the ground...

From this article at Greater, Greater Washington:

Tysons now has four Metro stations, but workers trying to get from those stations to nearby offices often have no choice but to cross wide, high-speed roads without any crosswalks.

I saw several Tysons Corner workers walking across streets with up to 9 lanes of traffic in order to take the Silver Line this morning, due to the continued lack of crosswalks in Tysons. It's a matter of time before a Silver Line rider is struck by a car in Tysons Corner.

Way to go Fairfax County! :angry2:

To be fair, the county or road department added wide sidewalks and timed pedestrian crossings along Rt. 7 and some of the access roads off of Rt. 7 last year. New sidewalks and some crossings were added around the Tysons Corner and McLean stations. But the county planners and road department are starting from a deep hole with so much of Tysons Corner built around the car with no thought given to pedestrians or people riding bikes on the roads or between the isolated office building complexes.

What we see in Tysons is a very much a work in progress with big plans to rebuild it into a walkable, ok mostly walkable small city, over the next several decades. It will be years before some of the projects that will improve access from the Metro stations get built. Tysons is a grand experiment and we will see whether Fairfax County can achieve the goal of a walkable edge city or will the goals get eroded over time as politicians and county planning staffers come and go with developers and VDOT opting for lower cost "pretend" pedestrian access or plazas and walkways that few will use. Link to the Fairfax County website on the plans for Tysons with many document and maps for those interested.

 

[afigg]

WMATA issued a news release with ridership stats for the first 2 months of Silver Line Phase 1 operation: Metro: Silver Line ridership remains strong. Silver Line is off to a good start. Extended excerpt:

Metro today provided updated Silver Line ridership information showing that, less than two months after opening, the new line is already performing at 60 percent of its projected ridership for the end of the first full year of service. As of last week, an average of 15,000 riders are entering the system at the five new Silver Line stations on weekdays for a combined 30,000 trips to or from the new stations.

In the planning process, Silver Line ridership was projected to reach 25,000 boardings at the five new stations after one full year of service.

Metro estimates that the Silver Line is currently adding approximately 6,000 new riders -- making roughly 12,000 trips -- to the Metrorail system each weekday. The balance, approximately 9,000 riders, are primarily former Orange Line riders who have switched to the Silver Line.

Wiehle-Reston East remains the Silver Lines commuting powerhouse, having already surpassed first-year ridership projections with 8,400 boardings, or 16,800 weekday entries and exits. With convenient bus transfers, a secure bike room and a large parking garage, Wiehle-Reston Easts commute makes up around half the lines ridership.

Tysons Corner Station is one of the few stations on the Metrorail system where ridership is higher on Saturday than regular weekdays. The station is the second busiest new station on weekdays with about 5,300 entries and exits, but Saturday ridership has been even higher. This past Saturday (September 20), there were 7,449 entries and exits at the station.

In addition to being a great way to travel in Virginia and DC, we are pleased to see the Silver Line is also connecting the region more broadly, said Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles. On weekday mornings, nearly 10 percent of riders entering at the five new Silver Line stations are bound for stations in Maryland, and 17 percent of the riders exiting at the five new Virginia stations start their trips in Maryland.

Ridership Highlights:

• 23 percent of Silver Line riders are transferring from bus and using SmarTrip.
• 12 percent of Silver Line riders are parking at the Wiehle-Reston East parking garage.
• 57 percent of Silver Line riders are going to the District of Columbia.
• The top five destinations for Silver Line riders are (in order): Farragut West, McPherson Square, Ballston, Foggy Bottom, and Metro Center.
• Reverse commuting ridership on the Silver Line is also strong at 3,000 riders per day.

Boldface is mine on the Saturday ridership being higher at the Tysons Corner station. That is from people going to the Tysons Corner Center megamall and a few to the upscale (but not as close) Tysons Galleria mall. The elevated walkway from the Metro station to the new plaza and the Center mall upper level opened a week or two ago, so it is now a level walk from the mezzanine into the mall. The mall, already busy, could be a busy Metro destination on weekends and evenings during the Christmas shopping season.