Congratulations to our good friend Kurt Erickson, who runs the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. Kurt was just presented with the 2006 Public Service Award from the folks at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. WRAP is the group behind the successful SoberRide program that we have been so happy to support. In giving Kurt this award, the group cited a report from WRAP and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments detailing that for the first time in half a decade, the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities, injuries and crashes all declined in the Washington metropolitan area in 2004.
Details on prepaying your parking meter fees
Last month, Arlington County introduced something called the iPark, which is a way to prepay your parking meter fees. This system uses a device about the size of a credit card and looks like one of those old solar-powered calculators. You pull into a parking space, select on the device the type of meter you are parking at, hit the start button and place it on your dashboard. In theory, the parking enforcement officer will know to look there before writing you a ticket for an expired meter. It sounds like a nice, tidy, no-need-to-carry-coins idea but … there is a $20 one-time fee upfront for which you get no parking time. The device can be recharged with additional parking monies in increments of $25, $50 or $100. You will be charged a $5 recharging fee. The float alone on the balance you might keep on your device would seem to negate any advantage this card might give you to say nothing of the various fees. Perhaps it’s appropriate that the program is being run through the county’s treasurer’s office because this thing is little more than a moneymaker for them.
Dulles rail vs. buses/cabs
On the ongoing issue of rail to Dulles, Doug writes: “If some locals would rather have a straight-shot subway, no matter how long it took, think of the many international visitors who are not locals. Whenever I go to a new city in a foreign country, the first thing I look for at the airport is a train into town. Yes, I can pay for an exorbitant cab ride from a cabbie who knows he has someone that hasn’t a clue about the local area, but I feel more comfortable with a train. Not a bus. Either a bus or a cab is fundamentally not predictable. The train lines, especially subway lines, have definite stops and readable maps. You know they won’t take the long way around in order to jack up a fare, or suddenly veer away from the direction of your destination, as buses are wont to do. A well-marked train option, subway or not, short or long, always appeals to me. My friends in Europe say the same thing, and they are often our visitors here. I can’t prove this, but I am convinced a subway downtown from Dulles would be very popular with riders.”
Who was it that said: “People in hell want ice water but that doesn’t mean they’re going to get it?” In order to be economically viable, this rail line must also provide a significant commuter service.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
