Did Washington Post Downplay Poll's Support for Silver Line?

Polls show DC area residents support train, bus, biking and pedestrian projects much more than they support building new or wider highways. However, the Washington Post editorial board strongly supports new highways and spun a poll this week to mean that our fellow Virginians don't support the Silver Line. As Slate's Matt Yglesias points out, the numbers don't necessarily back up that spin:

But the really weird thing is that it's by no means clear that this is what the poll has found. What it says is that 32 percent of the population says the Silver Line project is "not at all important" while 32 percent deems it either "extremely" or "very" important and a further 32 percent says it's "somewhat" important. The "not important to most Virginians" interpretation is supported by lumping the "somewhat" and "not at all" categories together as "negative" responses. But the straightforward reading of the poll is that the median Virginian thinks the Silver Line project is somewhat important. And it is somewhat important! So why not just say that?

In the face of Republican political games, The New Republic's Alec MacGillis says strong support of the Silver Line can be a winner for Tim Kaine in his U.S. Senate race against George Allen.

The Alternative to Metro Aggravation is Not Zero Aggravation

When Metro has delays and safety issues, people complain about that. When Metro conducts track work to correct those issues, people complain about that. Does the complaining reflect on Metro, or do people just have more outlets than ever to register minor complaints about everyday life?

The endless cycle of complaining and complaining the complaints weren't instantly & perfectly resolved misses a few points. Metro’s doing track work on weekends and at off-peak times both to avoid direct construction delays at rush hour and to avoid the dreaded "moving momentarily" delays in the future. And it's trying to do all of it with no dedicated revenue stream from DC, Maryland & Virginia.

While dealing with construction delays – or much more annoyingly, bus bridges past closed stations – is a pain, the alternative is not a magic carpet ride. Chances for delays and frustration abound. Traffic on 66 or 395. Construction on the Beltway. And good luck finding parking in Clarendon or Dupont without paying or driving around for 10 minutes hunting for a spot ... about the same time you’d have been delayed on Metro.

And have these people taken the subway in New York City? When weekend construction is going on, the train either doesn't come at all, or you get on and the conductor says, "Due to construction, this train is going express to Nova Scotia," and somehow everyone who lives in NYC knows all this even though there are no signs anywhere.

Look, I understand when you're delayed, it sucks - but then you move on ... right? You don't get that impression reading the daily list of grievances. You get the impression people feel so wronged. Louis CK calls us The Shittiest Generation:

Metro Reduced Fare Mini-Flashmob

I got to East Falls Church Metro station this morning and was taken aback by a dozen people standing around randomly just outside the fare gates. For a second I thought I was caught in that terrible move The Happening. I approached a guy fiddling with his BlackBerry and asked what was up.

"It's 9:29," he said without looking up from his tiny keyboard. "Off-peak fares kick in at 9:30." Seconds later, the glowing red clock in the station entrance changed to 9:30 and the group poured through the fare gates.

It certainly is a good idea if the next train is still a comfortable distance from the station - I saved $1.05 on my trip to Metro Center - but I've been taking Metro for 10 years and had never witnessed this as a mass phenomenon. Is it a common thing? If you're boarding just before 9:30am or 7pm, do you ever hang out for a few minutes to get the reduced fare?

What's Next for Metro in Virginia?

From the Washington Examiner's Kytja Weir:

Metro officials are eyeing a Brown Line to join the system's existing palette.

The transit agency is planning for the future, looking at creating a train line that dips from Friendship Heights into the District and back up to Silver Spring and past White Oak. It's also studying a line along the Capital Beltway loop, diverting the Blue Line from its current route across downtown to create a midcity rail line, or running an offshoot from the Green Line to National Harbor.

None of the plans is funded or even firm. Engineering hasn't been done and land hasn't been set aside. But the transit agency is studying what it will need by 2040 to accommodate growth in the region and relieve pressure on the system.

Officials plan to discuss some possibilities with regional leaders Wednesday, then hold workshops in July to hear riders' thoughts. By next spring, Metro hopes to have a final plan identifying which projects it will consider developing.

In general, I'd support lines that get people into & out of DC's center (serving both transportation needs and security purposes) over loop lines. In particular, a new midcity Blue Line could fill in major Metro gaps in places like Georgetown & Thomas Circle.

So what would you like to see after the Silver Line is completed? Maybe a Gold Line down Route 7 as GreaterGreaterWashington.org's Steve Offutt has suggested? There's also the long-discussed Columbia Pike streetcar project.

How Should Metro Balance Its Budget? Make Your Voice Heard This Week.

DC's Metro system continues to go without a dedicated source of funding. Not coincidentally, DC's Metro continues to come up short on operating funds. So now the agency faces some unpleasant options: Cut service, hike fares, or go hat in hand to DC, Maryland and Virginia asking for more cash?

Metro is proposing a series of cost-cutting measures (PDF), including reduced service on several bus routes in DC. But as a Virginia resident, this is what caught my eye:

Rail Service

• Widen Saturday headways from 12 minutes to 18 minutes until 9:30 PM and to 25 minutes after 9:30 PM until closing; and
• Widen Sunday headways from 15 minutes to 20 minutes until 9:30 PM and to 25 minutes after 9:30 PM until closing.

As Greater Greater Washington has detailed, late-night service is no longer a perk - it's a key part of the system. Metro has shifted from a system mainly serving commuters & tourists to one that serves a mix of riders in all parts of the day. Ridership may be lower at these times, but given how valuable the service is and how infrequently trains already run, these cuts look like trying to squeeze blood from a stone.

You have several ways to let Metro know what you think of the proposal. The easiest way is through an online survey. Some key questions:

• Q5 - Local jurisdictions absolutely should be asked to provide more funding to continue existing service. Whether you ride Metro or not, we all see its benefits in reduced traffic and lower air pollution. Why shouldn't we all be asked to support it? 
• Q6.1 - Again, of the options in the survey, I'd most support "Asking local jurisdictions to provide an increase in financial support."
• Q7 - Given that taxpayers currently subsidize parking at many Metro lots through artificially low rates, raising parking fees where lots are currently full every day would be a great way to raise needed funds.

Additionally, you can let Metro know your opinion in person. There are two public hearings in Virginia this week:

Tuesday, May 17
George Washington Middle School Auditorium
1005 Mt. Vernon Ave
Alexandria, VA

Wednesday, May 18
Arlington County Board Room, 3rd Floor
2100 Clarendon Blvd
Arlington, VA

All sessions start with an open house at 5:30pm, a town hall at 6pm, and a public hearing at 6:45pm. You can see the full hearing schedule (PDF) and learn how to sign up to speak at WMATA.com/Hearings. You can also submit written statements until 5pm on May 24, 2011 by emailing writtentestimony@wmata.com (note that submissions are considered public records).

Metro Bus Saves Me From Myself

The Green Miles is always late. Always. You could give me two hours' notice to get to a place that's a 10 minute walk away, and I'd still leave home late & come stumbling in a few minutes past due. When I ran for House of Delegates, I'd make sure to plan on being at events at least 15 minutes in advance (the community centers usually appreciated the help setting up the folding chairs anyway).

So with all that being said, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that I went stumbling out the door to Wednesday's Arlington County Democratic Committee meeting 20 minutes late. I'd originally planned on walking from my apartment building in East Falls Church at Roosevelt & Wilson down to the meeting in Ballston, but that would take about 45 minutes. I thought about walking down to EFC Metro, but that wouldn't be much faster.

Then I realized there are Metrobuses that run down Wilson to Ballston that I'd never taken before. I walked to a stop to get its ID number, then used my Blackberry's internet browser to get to Metro's Next Bus service. Sure enough, there was a bus coming in less than 10 minutes. The ride was smooth and I didn't just make it to the meeting on time - I was a couple of minutes early. Really weird feeling for someone who's chronically tardy.

Growing up in Boston, I always had to deal with buses that were loud and smelled like exhaust and had no shocks and you never knew when they were coming. Plus, my first experience with Metrobus didn't exactly endear me to it.

But the pleasant ride and Next Bus feature made the trip a lot smoother. Maybe I'll give the bus another shot as the evenings get nicer and I'm looking for a way to get from Upton Hill Regional Park to Clarendon without a car.

Metro's Olden Days: When We Were Willing To Pay For Nice Things

Do you think some day, my grandkids will temporarily turn off their GoogleApple iMmersion Suits 2053 and say, "Grandpa Grant, will you tell us the story again of how Metro used to have carpeting and nice seats?"*

Since DC, Maryland and Virginia (well, mostly Virginia) can't get on the same page about a dedicated funding source for Metro, the transit agency continues to cut wherever it can. Most of the changes aren't visible to riders, like slashing funding for maintenance & long-term improvements.

But last night I got to experience one of the most visible changes for the first time - new cars with dark wool fabric seats instead of the usual orange/brown fake leather and hard floors instead of carpeting:

When Metro first opened, carpeting & padded seats were seen as a good investment to lure finicky DC commuters out of their cars. Now, the theory goes, Metro has plenty of customers and can scale back on the luxury items.

I'm torn on the carpeting - while it does seem unnecessarily expensive, the car felt cold & barren without it. The fabric seats were a bit more alarming. How can I put this? I'd much rather my seat repel whatever was spilled on it rather than absorb it.

* - Of course they'll never turn off their iMmerison Suits. If anything, I'll have to turn on mine to talk to them. Right after I make sure the sea wall's still holding. I told you people about the global warming! But you didn't listen! (Shakes fist at cloud.)

Update 9:11am: Michael Perkins of GreaterGreaterWashington.org adds on Twitter, "I'm telling my grandkids how we used to run trains more than once/hr outside of peak of the peak of the peak of the peak time." But running trains more often, getting more people to work on time & getting more cars off the road would require raising taxes on Virginians each year by $1! SOCIALIST.

DC Metro vs. NYC Subway

The Green Miles spent last weekend in New York City. Riding the subway, I couldn't help but notice the comparative advantages of DC's Metro:

• Much smoother
• Much quieter
• More seats
• Padded seats
• Most seats face forward or backward instead of the constant sloshing of sideways seats
• Carpeted floors
• Vastly cleaner due to the ban on food & drink
• Escalators (I only took one escalator on the NYC subway all weekend, at Times Square, and of course people stood on both sides of the escalator so you couldn't walk up)
• A lot less in-car advertising
• A lot fewer construction detours & delays

Obviously the NYC subway is a much older system tasked with carrying a lot more people on a lot more lines that service a lot more stops and they're doing the best they can. But it was a good reminder that, for all the complaining, we have it pretty good here in the DC area.

Congressional GOP Targets DC Commuters

The DC region's Metro system is already facing a $72 million budget gap. Now, to close .01% of this year's federal deficit, Republicans in the U.S. House want to slash another $150 million from this year's Metro budget:

House Republicans have proposed a "continuing resolution" to fund the federal government with deep cuts, including no federal payment for Metro repairs and cuts to many federally-funded DC services including the courts.

The list of cuts removes the entirety of the $150 million annual capital contribution to WMATA, which just began last year. The federal government makes no other contribution for Metro beyond general formula transportation dollars that go to states and localities.

But hey, why should House Republicans & their staff worry about Metro? Taxpayers fund their free parking.

And if Metro breakdowns force more commuters onto the roads? That's not really such a big deal for the GOP either - they have to come into work less these days anyway. Under Speaker John Boehner, the GOP is taking fewer votes & spending much less time in session than did their Democratic counterparts.

Of course, the Metro cut is just the tip of iceberg of suckitude that is the House Continuing Resolution. It slashes funding for education & health care while protecting billions in subsidies for Big Oil & hundreds of millions more in pork barrel spending for Speaker John Boehner's district.

How Much Time & Money Does DC's Metro Save?

Here in the DC area, we spend plenty of time talking about how much our Metro system costs. But how much does it save in time, money & imported oil?

A new report from the Texas Transportation Institute puts some numbers on transit savings:

Washington ranks 6th in the nation for "operational treatment savings" -- services like management of road incidents, street signal coordination and access to HOV lanes that help mitigate traffic. These save D.C. commuters 14,315 hours of delay, the report says.

Even better, D.C. is 3rd overall for preventing delays through public transportation alternatives. Local residents save more than 34 million hours of delay at a cost of $766.6 million, and 24 million gallons of gas, according to the report.

Those numbers are actually higher than Metro itself has estimated. Its FY2012 budget (PDF) estimates annual savings of $520 million & 26 million hours of travel time.

When you add the cost of the gas (about $75 million) to the $766 million savings figure ... and think about how much money & land it would cost to accommodate the 500,000 cars Metro takes off the road ... and events like inaugurations that would be impossible without Metro's ability to move people quickly ... and all the pollution Metro keeps out of our air & water ... suddenly Metro's $1.5 billion annual budget seems like a bargain.

Update 1/22: Great analysis on how the TTI's road traffic model is flawed from GreaterGreaterWashington.org's David Alpert.

Frank Wolf: Fraud Peacock

Rep. Frank Wolf wants you to think he's taking a bold stand against fraud, loudly squawking for an independent auditor on the 2nd phase of the Metro to Dulles project, estimated to cost as much as $4 billion:

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), whose district encompasses much of the route for the new Metrorail extension into Loudoun County, is requesting that the agency overseeing construction of the line bring in an outside auditor to monitor design and construction of the second phase of the project.

The project, of course, hasn't even begun taking bids yet. But reality has never stopped Rep. Wolf from trying to get attention! Why wait until the project has actually begun to issue ominous warnings about waste, fraud & abuse to divert attention from the fact that you're holding up tax cuts for everyone to get even bigger tax cuts for your wealthiest donors? Caw!

Strangely, I haven't heard the fraud peacock squawk about this billion-dollar transportation expenditure:

By the end of the December, the Virginia Department of Transportation will have advertised $1.1 billion in construction and maintenance projects since the fiscal year began on July 1, Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) told the Dulles Area Transportation Association at a luncheon Monday. About $500 million of that figure will be advertised just this month.

Why no dire warnings from Rep. Wolf about waste, fraud & abuse on this project? Oh, right. Because this project is supported by Virginia's Republican governor. And Frank the fraud peacock is partisan above all else, only getting his feathers up about Democrats - never members of his own party.

Deep Thoughts on Metro & Lunch

Amazing how the same people who complain about a 10 minute delay or 10 cent fare hike on Metro gladly wait 20 minutes to fork over $9 for pile of warm lettuce at Cosi.

Clearly, Metro's mission is to define expectations down to lunch line level. (Or: start handing out lettuce.)

Hearing on Metro Budget Proposals in Arlington Tonight

As Metro officials face a $189 million budget gap for the 2011 fiscal year, this is their paradox:

• If they propose service cuts, commuters will scream bloody murder.
• If they propose fare increases, commuters will scream bloody murder.
• If they ask for more funding, local politicians will scream bloody murder.

Metro officials are holding a public hearing tonight at 7pm at the Arlington County Board Office (2100 Clarendon Blvd, 3rd floor, above the Courthouse Metro). If you can't make the hearing, Metro has created an online survey to get public input about the budget options (note: the survey link didn't work for me just now, but I'm leaving it in the post in hopes it's a temporary glitch). The questionnaire only takes a few minutes & the results will be incorporated into the final staff report to the Metro Board later this month.

Both fare increases & service cuts are unfortunate options that will only discourage transit usage. So why is Metro even considering them? 

It certainly doesn't help that Metro has to ask three different jurisdictions for money, while most major transit systems are controlled by only one. That regularly leaves Metro short on cash, forcing them to squeeze resources from their riders & their budget (often cutting preventative maintenance funding). As today's Washington Post editorial points out, "Metro's ridership contributes about 55 percent of the system's $1.4 billion operating budget, more than the ridership of virtually any other major transit system in the nation. That contribution is set to rise as a result of stiff fare increases."

Looking at the big picture, local officials continually prioritize spending on new & existing roads over funding for Metro. Virginia officials have been practically begging Arlington to let them spend $75 million for "spot improvements" in hopes of improving traffic flow on I66, which carries only about 100,000 cars per day. But the Virginia General Assembly regularly balks at a dedicated funding source for Metro, which carries 1.2 million passenger trips per weekday at vastly lower costs to our public health & environment.

You get what you pay for. And if Virginia, Maryland & DC can't come together to give Metro the support it needs, the system will continue to struggle.

Photo via Flickr's ElvertBarnes

Beer Summit Needed for Metro & Google

I ran the Arlington 9/11 5K a couple of weekends ago. Posted my worst time ever, but given the late summer heat, satisfied to have managed to run the whole thing.

Given Metro's track work, I was looking for an alternative way to get to the Pentagon. I went to Google and looked at the driving route, then changed the method of travel to "public transit." Google told me my search "appears to be outside our current coverage area."

When I looked at their map of participating public transit agencies, I noticed that the DC area looks like it has a spotlight on it. But the light is actually a blackout -- an area that isn't covered by Google's public transit search (and it does include the District).

Over at GreaterGreaterWashington.org, Michael Perkins has been tracking a prolonged back-and-forth between Google and Metro on this issue. At last check, Metro claimed to be studying the issue while claiming wmata.com is just as good as Google Maps, which is like claiming Hardee's is just as good as Ray's Hell Burger.

Yes, I know Metro is trying to get revenue anywhere it can. And yes, I know profit margins for online businesses like Google can be razor-thin.

But from what I've seen so far, this seems like a classic case of the public interest coming in last. Can't someone lock Metro and Google in a room and not let them out until they solve this?

World Carfree Day 2008 Hits a Snag on the Orange Line

Let's give this one the Ms. Jackson Memorial "You Can Plan a Pretty Picnic but You Can't Predict the Weather" Award.

It wasn't such a great World Carfree Day 2008 on the Orange Line this morning. As I was waiting at Ballston to catch a train out to West Falls Church, I noticed the other side of the platform was much more crowded than usual with people waiting for a train into DC.

Sure enough, when I got to work, several friends instant messaged me to say that a broken down train between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom had slowed their commute into DC by as much as 40 minutes.

Can we finally give Metro the dedicated funding it needs to keep the system in working order?

Monday: World Carfree Day 2008

Just a quick reminder that Monday September 22nd is World Carfree Day 2008! If you usually drive to work but there are public transportation or carpooling options available, here's a day to give one of those a try.

The Green Miles will be taking a Metro rail then bus out to work in Reston tomorrow. Takes a little longer, but saves money on gas, lets me catch up on reading, and saves me a big headache battling traffic on I66 and the Dulles Toll Road.

More Oil Runoff Problems at Metro's Ballston Bus Lot

Remember Metro's Ballston bus lot? The one that had oil runoff problems? Well, they're not getting better. In fact, they might be getting worse. Here's a picture from July:

Heavy rains had washed oil and trash from the lot out one corner and into the grass between the sidewalk and the street, then into the street. There had been a tree at that corner of the grass, but it's long since died and been removed. Gee, I wonder why?

The only oil collection method in that corner are some curb-high white tubes. I sent the above picture to Metro asking what they were doing to reduce the oil runoff but never heard back, so I sent the picture to Arlington's Department of Environmental Services.

Magically, the next day the corner looked like this:

It's a miracle! Everyone stand up and shout hallelujah! The oil-soaked grass had been replaced, the sidewalk had been washed, and you can see new white oil-collecting tubes next to the wheels of the bus.

Wait.

Worst miracle ever:

The new grass is oil-soaked and trash-covered again. And when the remains of Tropical Storm Hanna come through this weekend, I'm sure the lot will get a nice power-washing -- with the wastewater going right out the corner of the lot into the storm drain, where it will go straight into an Arlington river or stream untreated, like all of Arlington's storm drain runoff.

Metro's feeling seems to be that since the bus lot will shut down anyway in March to make way for a major redevelopment of the block, it's content with what it considers stopgap measures. But as the continuing oil runoff problems show, that gap ain't gettin' stopped. It's up to Arlington DES to decide if and how the problem should be addressed.

Bush to NoVA: Drop Dead

Hate sitting in traffic on Interstate 66 or the Dulles Toll Road? You ain't seen nothin' yet. Yesterday the Bush administration's Federal Transit Administration pulled the rug out from under the plan to extend Metro to Dulles Airport.

Would rail to Dulles cut the current congestion on Northern Virginia highways? Probably not. The region is growing so fast, the "Silver Line" as it's referred to would likely just keep things from getting a lot worse. Which is what they're going to get every year this project gets put off.

Was the plan perfect? Of course not. It would've been very expensive and without a dedicated funding source. The tunnel through Tysons was scrapped in hopes of cutting costs, ironically enough, to please the FTA. The line would've been built by Bechtel, one of the contractors that botched Boston's Big Dig.

But in a region that's already in violation of federal air quality standards, the project would take thousands of cars off the road every single day. And as Marc Fisher points out, "the feds were only asked to contribute 20 percent of the cost of this project, compared to the usual 50 percent or even 80 percent on other big transportation jobs around the country."

So why did the Bush administration move to kill the project? Just three days before the FTA's announcement, the Washington Post's Fred Hiatt hinted at the true motivation -- an ideological opposition to federal funding for transportation:

"We believe, however, that a failure to properly align supply and demand, not a failure to generate sufficient tax revenues, is the essential policy failure," the Bush dissenters wrote. "When consumer demand determines supply, it will engender funding sufficient to meet the demand."

This is an astonishingly radical view of government's role in transportation. Cast backward, it would suggest that President Dwight D. Eisenhower never should have built the interstate highway system; it should have been left to private companies to build roads wherever tolling could generate a profit, and nowhere else. The result -- an incomplete, disconnected patchwork of highways -- might indeed have suited [Secretary of Transportation Mary] Peters, given that another of her goals is a reduced federal role in transportation policy. But the country would have been poorer for it.

Hiatt took that ideology to its logical conclusion, giving him a premonition of the project's death:

You can see the effect of the Bush ideology in recent reports, as recounted by The Post's Amy Gardner last week, that the administration is yet again looking for excuses to kill rapid transit rail to Dulles Airport. Having jumped through every hoop demanded -- giving up on a tunnel through Tysons Corner, cutting $300 million in costs -- the region finds itself facing another, unexplained roadblock. But if you understand the Bush philosophy, the roadblock isn't so hard to explain: If profit alone -- and not clean air, or joining the rest of the civilized world in connecting airports to cities, or any other consideration -- matters, then Dulles rail no doubt slides down the priority list.

But Marc Fisher sees a light at the end of the tunnel:

A pause of a year or two might be good for the project's future--if the Dems regain the presidency. ... a transit-friendly Democrat in the White House would likely be far more aggressive about making sure Metro found a way to get the new rail line.

I hope Northern Virginia voters keep that in mind in November. In the meantime, I'm glad Gov. Tim Kaine and Sen. John Warner have pledged to keep fighting for Dulles rail, and I'm sure the next Sen. Warner will do the same.

Willing to Pay More for Metro?

From the Washington Post's Dr. Gridlock:

Metro Fare Increase Hearings
They're Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with open houses at 6:30 followed the hearings at 7 p.m. Full details about the locations in the various jurisdictions are on this page at Metro's Web site. You can also submit a written statement to Metro by as late as Monday, Nov. 26. Mail it to the Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Or you can send it as an e-mail to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Tell them you're commenting on Docket B07-3.

Personally, I'm willing to pay more for Metro if it helps the trains run on time. I'm also a big fan of gearing those increases towards charging people more at rush hour to encourage off-peak commuting.

The Washington Post has decided to take some sort of a populist stand against any Metro fare increase, headlining its story, "Rider Outrage May Lead Metro to Tweak Fares" even before the hearings take place. Of course riders are going to be unhappy with fare increases - who's going to be excited to pay more for something as thrilling as the daily commute?

The question is, will the fare increases prompt riders to stop taking Metro as a protest or for financial reasons? At just 30 to 80 cents for rail riders and zero to 10 cents for bus riders, I can't imagine anyone changing their commuting patterns. The parking changes are definitely more drastic, but it seems like competition for spots is so stiff, the market can bear them.

What do you think? Let us know what you'll be telling Metro about the proposed increases!

The Green Miles Investigates: Metro Bus Lot Oil

Blogs often remind me of my dad's favorite New Yorker cartoon, illustrating both management's self-importance and self-imposed impotence.

Bloggers can be eager to point out problems, but reluctant to do anything to solve them. It's a shame because having a blog that's well-read, respected, or both gives you more a much louder voice than that of the average person.

The Green Miles has always tried to find solutions whenever possible, like back in March when Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment & OneBrick volunteers found a trash dumping problem along Four Mile Run. We alerted the Parks Department, the business involved agreed to clean up the trash, and the Parks Dept. will monitor that area more closely in the future.

Last week, I was walking down to Front Page in Ballston to meet a friend for brunch. It was raining hard, and I noticed an oil slick running down the driveway of the Metro bus parking lot at the corner of Wilson and N. Quincy. I took cell phone camera pictures of the slick, which didn't capture the bright rainbow very well, but give you an idea of how big it looked.

I thought the photos might be blog-worthy, but didn't want to just post it and never have the problem (if there was one) get solved. So I emailed the photos to a friend in the Arlington environmental community with a note saying, "Does this look like a typical runoff from a busy bus lot after a heavy rain, or could it be something more serious?"

She wrote back saying it looked like it was more than just residual oil. I then looked up the email of a Metro spokesperson on the Metro website and emailed the photos to her.

She immediately wrote back to say she'd contact the Bus Department, whose response came in less than two hours:

A bus blew a transmission oil filter gasket last week while parked at the Wilson Blvd. gate. The spilled transmission fluid was contained and cleaned with floor scrubber. Apparently the product remained in the concrete and cobblestone and when we experienced the weekend rains the fluid came to the surface. We will have the area reinspected and cleaned.

The spill is unfortunate, but it's nice that Metro responded so quickly and plans to follow it up with action.