Is it Time for Washington to Develop a Skyline? (to live, zoned)
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Well, you're bringing an entirely new topic in: suburb to suburb. Up until now, this has been about DC alone. Obviously, you can't live without a car in the suburbs of DC and the purple line will not change that - it will only mitigate it somewhat. But, for the record, I see a whole lot of people carrying big bags on the Metro away from the Target et. al at Columbia Heights. They're pretty "average" looking people as well.
Bottom line is that people who live in DC don't want it to become, for example, your namesake city (Orlando). Orlando and DC are both tourist towns, but Orlando was built to accommodate the lowest denominator of American traveler, whereas DC asks those tourists to accommodate themselves to what it is. There's a reason why people love DC and give it such high housing values. I think what concerns you is the fact that you live in the suburbs and depend on your car, so you view the city from that "LA" perspective. DC metro area really sucks when experienced that way, imao. I've done it and sympathize with you. Taking what's bad about DC (the suburban commute / expensive lifestyle without the accompanying culture) and cramming it into the city that actually functions pretty well all in all simply isn't the answer.
I see some of your points. The purple line won't eliminate driving, but it would be a nice alternative sometimes.
The problem is, being forced to do your grocery shopping at a bodega on Mt. Pleasant Street and then having to carry those groceries home four blocks is not fun. That's why I recommend a car to anyone unless they're within walking distance of Dupont Circle metro.
I've gotten used to the car culture of Orlando and prefer it. And Orlando is very walkable in many parts so we have the best of both worlds.
I see some of your points. The purple line won't eliminate driving, but it would be a nice alternative sometimes.
The problem is, being forced to do your grocery shopping at a bodega on Mt. Pleasant Street and then having to carry those groceries home four blocks is not fun. That's why I recommend a car to anyone unless they're within walking distance of Dupont Circle metro.
I've gotten used to the car culture of Orlando and prefer it. And Orlando is very walkable in many parts so we have the best of both worlds.
The last thing most people who live in DC want is the Orlando car culture. Washington at one time planned the typical American city infrastructure of mass dehumanizing freeways plowed through existing neighborhoods. The population of DC and the close in suburbs rejected that approach overwhelmingly. The city's solution was Metro, which was designed to bring commuters into the city. Metro does a very good job of that. Metro was not planned to be a suburb to suburb transportation route, but that certainly makes sense. Maryland and Virginia can implement those routes any time they please.
If you like to drive a car, you should probably live and work in the suburbs. DC is for people who aren't in love with their cars.
The last thing most people who live in DC want is the Orlando car culture. Washington at one time planned the typical American city infrastructure of mass dehumanizing freeways plowed through existing neighborhoods. The population of DC and the close in suburbs rejected that approach overwhelmingly. The city's solution was Metro, which was designed to bring commuters into the city. Metro does a very good job of that. Metro was not planned to be a suburb to suburb transportation route, but that certainly makes sense. Maryland and Virginia can implement those routes any time they please.
If you like to drive a car, you should probably live and work in the suburbs. DC is for people who aren't in love with their cars.
In Orlando, we also have our own public transportation system, Lynx. So it's not all car culture.
It was a mistake to make metro in a hub and spoke design, and now I don't know how they can undo the mistake. It's not just suburb to suburb that's a problem. Try going on metrobus from palisades to Mt pleasant, it takes forever. Trying to get anywhere on public transportation from Foxhall, Georgetown, Chevey Chase Circle, AU or Mt. Pleasant takes a very long time. So that's why I recommended for most people to buy a car.
In Orlando, we also have our own public transportation system, Lynx. So it's not all car culture.
It was a mistake to make metro in a hub and spoke design, and now I don't know how they can undo the mistake. It's not just suburb to suburb that's a problem. Try going on metrobus from palisades to Mt pleasant, it takes forever. Trying to get anywhere on public transportation from Foxhall, Georgetown, Chevey Chase Circle, AU or Mt. Pleasant takes a very long time. So that's why I recommended for most people to buy a car.
I've lived in Orlando. It's an intellectual wasteland. It's more about what not to do that what to do. Lynx is a joke compared to Metro. It's about 1/10 the size.
Making Metro a hub and spoke was not a mistake. It accomplishes it's original mission. IMO we need to plan for the Metro needed in 20-30 years and that planning is behind, but to suggest a system that moves 3/4 million riders a day is a mistake is moronic.
We know what you recommend. The issue of freeways in and through Washington has been decided. The decision is NO. We recommend you move.
Four blocks to a grocery store is bad? I guess in Orlando you have huge supermarkets on every corner huh? I live in Mount Pleasant and there is no problem with grocery shopping at all. Other than those bodegas, there's a Giant on 14th and Park. Then a Harris Teeter on 16th and Euclid. I don't see how other cities are really better in that aspect.
The public transit in Orlando still isn't anything like DC's Metro. Only NYC has a system that's used by more riders daily. I think that Metro is definitely doing good.
About the suburbs... how many can you live in anywhere else in the country without a car? If anything, DC is superior in this as well. Some of the close in suburbs like Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and others are extremely urban and walkable. Most places don't have anything like that.
[quote=DCSailor;12837797]
Making Metro a hub and spoke was not a mistake. It accomplishes it's original mission. /quote]
Maybe the mission was defined incorrectly back in the day, then?
It doesn't seem like metro is flexible enough to adapt. So many areas of the city are completely inaccessible from Metro, and metrobus runs so infrequently, especially on Sundays.
Making Metro a hub and spoke was not a mistake. It accomplishes it's original mission. /quote]
Maybe the mission was defined incorrectly back in the day, then?
It doesn't seem like metro is flexible enough to adapt. So many areas of the city are completely inaccessible from Metro, and metrobus runs so infrequently, especially on Sundays.
Sorry you don't like the city. Write when you get back to Orlando.
I do like the freedom of being able to drive everywhere in Orlando and have ample parking.
I like DC, but I really feel the builders of Metro should have followed the model of the New York system, or London's "Tube". Maybe then it would be possible to live in Foxhall Road, Palisades or Georgetown without a car.
Maybe the mission was defined incorrectly back in the day, then?
Not in the 1970s, when people were vacating the city like mad and the only traffic was into and out of the city.
The mistake has been in not keeping up with population shifts within the DC region. While Metro still does a reasonably good job moving people from population centers into central DC, it is inadequate to serve the nearly-6 million person metropolis that DC has morphed into.
And, for the record, a Georgetown stop on the orange line was considered, and rejected. The reasons for the rejection are a continuing part of DC folklore.
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