D.C. offers light-rail comparison

Getting There is getting out of here, on a getaway to Washington, D.C.

It’s been a few years since I’ve visited our nation’s capital, and while I’ve seen all the highlights, I am eager to watch a baseball team that makes the Diamondbacks look like world-beaters*. But this trip also carries some professional interest, as it offers me the opportunity to contrast the Valley’s modest and nascent light-rail system to the sprawling, established Washington Metrorail subway.

Comparing the two is like drawing distinctions between a country road and a 12-lane freeway. Our Metro system measures 20 miles, all at street level; the five lines in D.C. run more than 106 miles, many of them deep underground. We’re in our seventh month of operations; Metro first carried commuters in 1976. On an average weekday, riders in Washington outnumber those here by a ratio of 25 to 1.

What I want to see is how Washington developed itself around the Metro. For example, are businesses clustered around the stations? How about residences and mixed-use development?

I’ve heard stories about Metro’s early days, and it seems that the Valley’s growing pains of malfunctioning fare readers and the occasional free rider are nothing compared with how Washington was introduced to this transit alternative.

Apparently, mechanical breakdowns happened with regularity in 1976. One beleaguered commuter told me the first subway cars were designed without taking into account passengers’ weight; the vehicles sagged in the middle, so the doors wouldn’t shut, which meant the train wouldn’t run.

With these problems routinely cropping up, tempers flared. An angry rider must’ve flashed back to his days protesting the Vietnam War, because he marched up to a Metro official, pulled out his fare card and, just as he did when denouncing the draft, set it on fire.

We haven’t had any problems like that, but the Valley can learn from cities that have embraced light rail. What lessons there are, I’ll report back next week.

seattle gets light rail

Speaking of light rail, we no longer have the nation’s newest system. That honor now goes to Seattle.

Opening last weekend was Sound Transit’s 14-mile line. According to Seattle newspapers, startup costs were $2.3 billion — $900 million more than we paid here.

Judging from reports, it doesn’t sound as though people turned out in force like Valley residents did when Metro began service last December. During our opening weekend, more than 200,000 riders jammed stations; in Seattle, traffic was about half that. Also, on the first Monday, when the curious gave way to commuters, some cars were only half-full.

galvin parkway closed

The following news concerns a road a little out of our range, but I figure enough people travel to the Papago Park/Phoenix Zoo area that it’s news you can use.

Galvin Parkway, which runs through the picturesque red rocks between McDowell Road and Van Buren Street, will be closed for the next two months. You can still access the zoo from the south, and the Desert Botanical Gardens can be reached from the north.

According to Phoenix, the closure of Galvin allows for the installation of a new water transmission main. Also, a roundabout will be built at the entrance of the Desert Botanical Gardens. (it’s a good idea to slow down traffic; some drivers treat Galvin like a NASCAR road course.)

* Adrian Gonzalez! Ryan Zimmerman! Padres! Nationals! SUNDAY! I have a hunch these won’t be hard tickets to find.