Thundersnow commute nightmare

January 27, 2011 -- 4:14 PM
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Thu, 2011-01-27 16:14

Just when you thought the greater DC metro area had bridged the urban/suburban divide, a commuting nightmare shows just how much traffic choices count towards quality of life.

After last night's surprise snowpocalypse cars leaving the District were stuck for up to thirteen hours. According to the Washington Post, rush hour traffic didn't clear DC's streets until 1am. 

Here's a video from NBC from one commuter who describes drivers abandoning vehicles and relieving themselves roadside in the midst of her twelve hour commute home:

Urban commuting time was not as affected as trips to the suburbs. Metro trains were packed but moving throughout the storm.

WMATA closed its bus service at 9:30pm, but this was little comfort to buses stuck in park with virtually nowhere to go:

In the District, at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Albemarle Street NW in Van Ness, buses and cars were tangled in every direction, blocking the intersection for hours. One bus blocked three lanes of Connecticut Avenue for more than two hours. A pair of Metrobus drivers - who declined to identify themselves because they said they were not authorized to speak to reporters - called it the worst travel conditions they have seen in the city during their combined 23 years behind the wheel.

Here's a map of last night's traffic, from Greater Greater Washington, illustrating that urban divide. Check out how the worst congestion -- the deep red lines -- is in the western and southwestern portion of the District, where the suburbs sprawl the most. In the northeast part of the map, into tighter urban Silver Spring, there's congestion, but nothing as frightening as that bloodshot sprawl into Virginia:

Even for those who were able to move, it was quite the treacherous night. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services tweeted today that spent the night responding to an incredibly high number of emergency calls last night -- some four times the average:

@dcfireems: 12 hour period (4p-4a) DC F&EMS handled over 700 calls for service - typically in 24 hr we will handle about 450 calls

There's no easy solution; with the renting/commuting question, as with everything, you pay with your money or you pay with your time. For those of you who commute, be careful out there!

And for those of you who walk: Be sure to shovel your sidewalks! This is heavy snow, and many of your neighbors can't weather a slip or shovel as well as you can.


 

 

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