I find this hard to put into context, to understand, to rationalize, but the state of Maryland has just dedicated a portion of a road to a retiring state senator. This seems to be an honor that is becoming more and more common. Many years ago, a portion of the Baltimore Washington Parkway was dedicated to Congresswoman Gladys Noon Spellman. Recently, Interstate 270 was dedicated to Sen. Charles “Mac” Mathias. Now, the stretch of New Hampshire Avenue between Powder Mill Road and Lockwood Drive has been named in honor of state Sen. Ida Rubin.
I have nothing against Rubin, but I find this whole dedication of roads to be silly and so obviously political. Who really benefits? Traffic reporters aren’t going to suddenly start referring to a broken-down car blocking the right lane of The Rubin just south of White Oak. Who is served and who benefits? I guess that it can be rationalized as a small extra payment or recognition to those who’ve dedicated their life to public service, but I wonder where it’s going to end, if it ever ends at all.
Walk signs
Barbara writes: “Back in June, I called the Mayor’s Call Center and requested pedestrian walk signs with second counters be installed at two intersections within blocks of two Red Line stops — Van Ness and Tenleytown — 1215997 and 1215996- 4500 block of Reno Road, 3400 block of Yuma Street.
“I called again in September and was told my request was referred to Team 3. To date, there has been no action on my request. The only information I was able to obtain from a Mr. DeReggi is that all signals are supposed to be upgraded and that this will be attended to in the normal course of business.
“Meanwhile, hundreds of commuters and visitors (Yuma intersection is near a Days Inn) have to guess when the light is going to change. Is there any way we can put my request on a fast track — pedestrians deserve to be protected!”
Unfortunately, there seems to be two speeds in the District when it comes to issues like this: slow and stopped. Based on what you’ve told us, I imagine that your request has ended up in between departments. One is planning the changeover of many lights and the other is responsible for evaluating requests such as Barbara’s. Each thinks the other will take care of it, and nothing gets done in the interim. There are hundreds of signals in the city, and it will take years for the upgrade to be accomplished.
Parking
A number of you have written over the last year about the sad condition of several of Metro’s parking garages. Well, Metro has just announced that it will spend $17 million to renovate the following five structures: Prince George’s Plaza, Shady Grove (South), Glenmont, Huntington (North), and Franconia-Springfield (West). While this is certainly good news, it also means that a good number of spaces will disappear for a while as the work gets done.
Questions, comments, random musings? Write to [email protected].
