Saturday, March 23, 2013
Weekend track work on Metrorail will take a break for four consecutive weekends.
Metro takes a break from its rigorous weekend track work schedule during the cherry blossom season, according to a statement on Metro's website. This year, the break occurs on four consecutive weekends: March 23-24, March 30-31, Apr. 6-7, and Apr. 13-14. "The only planned weekend work during that time will take place late Sunday evenings, when ridership is light," Metro reported. "While the work we do almost every weekend is necessary to get the system back to a steady state of safety and reliability, we are in a position where we can take a short break to let everyone enjoy the season," Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles said in the statement. "The spring break will give people an opportunity to experience the type of system …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Plans are in the works for a new $50 million, 6,500 seat arena near Shady Grove Metro, The Gazette reports.
Plans for a $50 million, multi-purpose arena slated to be built on an 8-acre property adjacent to Shady Grove Metro Station are being sketched by a local developer, The Gazette reports. Potomac native William Askinazi, principal for the development company D&A Sports and Entertainment, said he envisions a space "where indoor lacrosse championships could take place simultaneously with antique roadshows," according to the report. "A Taylor Swift concert could dominate the space one night, he said, and a Disney show could take center stage the next night." The project was presented to members of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce in January, and the developers are working on a lease with WMATA, according to the report. “We’re …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
System to be on Sunday schedule starting this afternoon.
Officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced that Metro will resume limited bus and rail service today beginning at 2 p.m. Normal service is expected to resume by Wednesday morning. "Residual effects of the storm are still possible. Customers traveling today should allow extra time. Buses may encounter detours due to downed trees, power lines or flooding," reads a press release from WMATA. Both the rail and bus lines will operate on their Sunday schedules through closing time tonight. Bus routes which do not run on Sundays will resume on a normal weekday schedule. However, MetroAccess service will remain cancelled throughout Tuesday, with normal service expected to resume on Wednesday. MARC Train, Bus …
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
The prevention program costs about $250,000, according to The Washington Post.
Metro is hoping a new ad campaign will help prevent suicides at its stations. This program is a direct response to incidents since 2009 in which 33 people jumped in front of Metro trains, according to a Washington Post report. Twenty-six of those died, the Post said. One of the latest deaths occurred in early August, when a man jumped in front of a train as it approached the Rockville station. The man intentionally placed himself in front of the Red Line train headed northbound toward the Shady Grove station, officials said. By the end of September, 13 stations will have signs posting prevention hotline numbers and other ways to get help. About 300 posters will be posted throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
A proposed arena near the Shady Grove Metro station would require a master plan amendment before it could be built, according to a report by The Gazette.
Plans to build an 8,000-seat, multi-purpose arena near the Shady Grove Metro station are not without significant planning obstacles. The arena, which could be built on eight acres of Metro-owned land currently used for parking, would require a master plan amendment before it could be built, according to a report by The Gazette. Master plans are typically rewritten every 15 to 20 years, but the Shady Grove Sector Plan was approved in 2006, the report states. An amendment to the master plan is yet to be proposed. The amendment can be submitted through what is called the minor master plan amendment process. "The minor amendment process allows the planning board and county council to revisit certain aspects of a master plan and address current…
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Revived plan for an arena could add a new dimension to an area on the verge of growth.
An investor group has renewed its effort to build an arena in Montgomery County. The plan calls for an 8,000-seat arena at the Shady Grove Metro station. County officials are backing the effort. Steven A. Silverman, the county’s economic development director, told The Washington Post that the arena could solve a longstanding problem for county high schools: There isn’t a facility in the county large enough to host most graduation ceremonies. This graduation season, 21 of 32 graduations from county schools and programs are being held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, according to a news release from the county school system. The Shady Grove Sector Plan, which calls for mixed-use development centered around the Metro station, and …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Investors, backed by the county, have renewed their push for an indoor facility.
The parking lots at the Shady Grove Metro station could become home to an 8,000-seat sports arena that could host sports, concerts and graduations under a plan once again being pushed by a county-backed investor group, The Washington Post reported. William Askinazi and Tom Doyle say they have investors lined up to fund the arena's construction. They sent a proposal to build at the Shady Grove station to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority on May 22, The Gazette reported. Click here to read the full story. Askinazi is an attorney from Potomac who owns D&A Sports and Entertainment Group. The group was formed in 2006 with the aim of bringing an arena to Montgomery County, The Gazette reported. The group later won the …
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Transit group: Postpone scheduled track work on Saturday.
Transit advocates are calling on Metro to postpone track maintenance scheduled for Saturday when Metrorail is expected to see an influx of riders to big games for Washington’s hockey and baseball teams. With the weather warming up, Saturday also is expected to be a busy day for tourists using the transit system to visit Washington. “With trains running only once every 24 minutes on most of the Red Line, and four stations shut on the Green Line, the system will not be able to meet the need for its services,” Action Committee for Transit President Tina Slater wrote in a letter sent Tuesday night to Metro General Manager Richard Sarles. The track work and two home games for DC sports teams could make the Saturday midday ride a long one for …
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Weekend repairs part of NTSB recommendations from 2009 collision.
As trains roared in and out of the Shady Grove station Friday, hoards of people hopped on trains just as fast as the rail cars emptied out. Ernesto Mendoza came up the escalator and walked to the first open door he saw on a train heading downtown. He relies on the Red Line to get to and from his job at a Washington restaurant. With track work preventing full train service, Mendoza, 38, said he has to leave his Gaithersburg home at least 45 minutes earlier in weekends to make sure he arrives at work on time. “I don’t mind it too much especially now that the weather is changing,” Mendoza said. “I just wish they would hurry and finish the track work.” The weekend track work will jumble commutes around Washington at least through 2017. Each …
connie fagan
2:18 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
oh no...more traffic :( more ›