Metro can do things to ease station pileups Re: “Metro studying ways to relieve Galley Place overcrowding,” Sept. 23
As one who uses the Gallery Place Metro station on a daily basis, your article was of particular interest. Metro obviously cannot change the station’s “T” configuration. However, there are certain things it can do to make the station more passenger-friendly.
Most of my fellow travelers still haven’t figured out how having all trains (whether six or eight cars long) stop at the most forward position saves time. But at Gallery Place it doesn’t make any sense for the Red Line trains heading in the direction of Shady Grove to move to theforward positionof the platform when the transferees are coming from themost aft position.
The other way to make life easier for passengers has to do with the escalators, and I do not mean their maintenance.All the righthand escalators move in the upward direction, and all the lefthand elevators move downward.Passengers who need to ascend or descend two levels must cross through the line of passengers going in the other direction, creating a jumble. In most other places such as department stores, it’s just a simple “U” turn for patrons who wish to transit two or more floors.The same should be done at Metro stations.
Ralph D. Day
President,
State Board of the D.C. Ancient Order of Hibernians in America
Cars are hardly symbols of freedom
Re: “Cars gave Americans mobility, prosperity, greater freedom,” Editorial, Sept. 22
I was truly disappointed with the editorial denigratingCar-Free Day, which completely forgot obesity and other illnesses associated with America’s car-only culture. The car is not a sign of freedom, but a sign of enslavement. Most Americans can’t get anywhere without one.
Living in country without public transportation, our car would always break down and throw my family into a complete predicament, such as getting a $600 bill from the auto mechanic and not having the money to pay for repairs. My best friend in college had to drop out because a reckless motorist ran into him.
Smart growth is inevitable.Even the Washington Examiner had an article stating the Washington area’s population will increase by more than 15 million people.How are they all going to get to work? Even if we had billions of dollars to double-deck the highways, traffic would only move to the state roads. I hold The Washington Examiner in very high esteem, and you really let me down.
Jared Fontaine
Arlington
Complacency is now our biggest danger
Re: “Al Qaeda was never an existential threat,” Sept. 13
This is the kind of thinking that can open the doors for other attacks.Certainly, the departments and agencies created post-9/11 are often stifled by bureaucracy and have implemented expensive, reactionary and sometimesineffectivepolicies and procedures in the pursuit of robust national security.
However, the fact that 10 years have gone by without a major follow-up attack on American soil can undoubtedly be attributed to improvements in communications among intelligence/security agencies, legitimate improvements in security policies and procedures, and more cautious and informed citizens who are not hesitant to take necessary action.
Complacency is now our biggest danger. Since Sept. 11, 2001, at least 30 planned terrorist attacks have been foiled by law enforcement andcivilians, according to the Heritage Foundation.
Adria Stoliar
Washington
