Get There Archive: Commuting
Montgomery County commuters: Share your traffic light issues and advice
As Montgomery County officials try to fix the mess of traffic lights that is causing confusion and chaos for commuters, we're asking for your help. What intersections are creating the biggest back-ups? Have any advice for fellow travelers on side streets or alternate routes that are functioning properly? Extra points if you have a stopwatch and can time the lights that are creating gridlock. Share your advice, observations and notes below or, if you have Twitter, use a #gridlocktip tag in your tweet. (See #gridlocktips on Twitter)....
By
washingtonpost.com editors
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November 5, 2009; 4:14 PM ET |
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Categories:
Commuting
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Congestion
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Driving
| Tags: Montgomery County
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DC starting big project on Pennsylvania Ave. SE
I told you in a previous posting to get ready for a string of road projects that would affect travel on the eastern side of the District. Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced another of them. The $30 million Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets project will extend from just west of 27th Street SE to Southern Avenue. The work, which includes installation of a median, streetscape, utility upgrades, new curbs and gutters, paving and landscaping, will take about two years. Here's a map of the work zone. Traffic impact Pennsylvania Avenue is a major commuter route into downtown Washington as well as a neighborhood connector, and it has two commercial centers around Branch and Alabama avenues, so the planned daytime construction work is likely to disrupt traffic. Drivers now travel a 30 mph avenue that ranges from a four-lane section between Southern Avenue and Carpenter Street to a five-lane section between...
By
Robert Thomson
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November 5, 2009; 3:04 PM ET |
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Categories:
Commuting
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Congestion
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Construction
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Driving
| Tags: District Department of Transportation, Dr. Gridlock, Great Streets, Pennsylvania Ave.
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Montgomery County traffic mess may continue
Montgomery County officials said Thursday they are struggling to restore synchronization to 750 traffic signals throughout the county and are bracing for an outage that could last into next week. The computer that regulated the flow of traffic crashed completely about 3 a.m. Wednesday. According to Montgomery County spokeswoman Esther Bowring workers have isolated the location of the problem but have not been able to find a solution. At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and Department of Transportation officials said crews will begin manually transferring synchronization information to traffic signals along major commuting routes, with the goal of having 100 signals complete by Monday and another 100 by the middle of next week. One official described the problem as being similar to getting a dial tone on your phone but being unable to complete a call. Officials said consultants have been brought in to assist...
By
Washington Post editors
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November 5, 2009; 2:40 PM ET |
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Categories:
Commuting
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Congestion
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Montgomery commuters should expect delays
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED [SEE BELOW] Montgomery County's system that regulates traffic lights during rush hour is still out of order, and drivers should expect a repeat of the traffic delays that turned both morning and evening rush hour into a traffic nightmare on Wednesday. County technicians worked through the night without finding a solution to the problem with a computerized system that normally changes timing on 750 county traffic lights to accommodate rush hour traffic. Montgomery County officials said they will offer free rides all day Thursday on Ride On buses, to ease the inconvenience for commuters. The system, which county spokeswoman Esther Bowring described yesterday as "unique" in the Washington region, is based on a decades-old computer that sends signals to traffic lights all over the county, telling lights how long to stay green. It also synchronizes them to promote the flow of traffic. That happens automatically,...
By
Ashley Halsey
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November 5, 2009; 5:08 AM ET |
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Categories:
Commuting
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Congestion
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Montgomery traffic signals still out of sync
This problem with the traffic signals is likely to slow traffic in Montgomery County this afternoon and evening just as it did during the morning rush. See the full story by Ashley Halsey III. The traffic signals work. The problem is with a traffic computer, that still has the signals operating only on their off-peak cycles, when traffic patterns are very different. The result is congestion on the main routes used by commuters. This is part of a statement from Tim Firestine, the county's chief administrative officer: "To provide relief while repairs are ongoing, County engineers are manually retiming signals at some of the most congested intersections. "Montgomery County's central traffic signal computer went down at about 3 a.m. this morning. This affects Montgomery County's ability - almost unique in the Metro region - to adjust traffic signals from a centralized location. "All traffic signals continue to operate safely and...
By
Robert Thomson
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November 4, 2009; 3:14 PM ET |
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Comments (1)
Categories:
Commuting
,
Congestion
| Tags: Dr. Gridlock, Montgomery County, traffic signals
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UPDATE: Traffic snarled in Montgomery County
UPDATE 3:09 p.m.: With rush hour looming, technicians in Montgomery County have yet to resolve a computer malfunction that resulted in massive traffic back ups during this morning's commute. It seems likely that as dusk falls, commuters will face the same sea of red brake lights that greeted them at dawn, a county spokeswoman said. -- A malfunction of the system which shifts traffic lights into rush-hour mode this morning has left traffic snarled all over the county, with backups continuing long after rush-hour's end. Problem areas reported by commuters include Rockville Pike, Old Georgetown Road south at the I-270 Spur, and the spur itself. River Road was a better route, one commuter reported, but there were still significant delays. Normally, the timing cycling for lights at major intersections changes each rush hour to extend the time each light is green, allowing more time for traffic to flow south during...
By
Ashley Halsey
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November 4, 2009; 10:45 AM ET |
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Commuting
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Congestion
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