Courtesy of Loudoun Extra

It looks like something straight out of FAIL Blog but it’s not.

The Zig-Zag lines you see there is not the product of drunken VDOT workers, it’s actually a new technique that is being tried out in Ashburn to reduce accidents at pedestrian and bicycle crossings. The technique of painting confusing lines to slow down drivers has already been used in Europe, and VDOT is one of the first in the United States to try it out for themselves.

If you are interested in seeing the work it has been placed along Route 7 at Belmont Ridge Road and Sterling Boulevard. And if it catches on it will be implemented in more areas throughout the region.

If you thought that wasn’t crazy enough the Loudoun Extra article on the story ends with, “VDOT officials aren’t sure what to expect from the zigzag lines but will try to gauge how they are working this week by placing “fake” pedestrians in the crosswalk to see what happens.” Fake pedestrians? Why does that sound like joy to a reckless teenager?

The upstanding citizens of both counties that refuse to debate any aspect of the multi-faceted relationship we have with immigration in America if the word “illegal” is present. It really defies all rational thought. Until you replace the word “illegal” with the word “foreigners”.

Immigration Reality Check

And in this context, I mean the definition of “foreigners” as people who are different in language, culture, and maybe physical appearance, and almost importantly, who are perceived as having a lower socio-economic status.

To test out my proposition, let’s take a few quotes as an example, and substitute “foreigners” for “illegal” and you’ll see what I mean.

Sue Flemining of Help Save Manasas

“If we turn our heads and permit illegal foreigners entry into our county without making any effort or identification, we are saying our language, our culture, our Constitution, our neighborhoods and our flag are inconsequential.”

Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling>

“We need help in Loudoun. We are struggling. We are a small county, and we can’t handle the hordes that are coming here and using up our services. Illegal Foreign immigration is taking a greater and greater toll on our community.”

Reading these two quotes in their new form, do you see what I mean? The upstanding citizens of Price William and Loudoun counties really don’t care about legal or illegal, that is a red herring. They are really scared about “those people” the different ones who do not conform to the accepted norms of sterile suburban life. Or as Woodbridge resident Chris King said:

“I’m tired of pressing ’1′ for English” on the phone.

And I am tired of obscene hypocrisy of people like Ms. Fleming and Misters Delgaudio and King. The hypocrisy of their desire to discriminate against the very foreigners who built the houses those very upstanding citizens sleep in, pick the fruit they eat, wash the dishes they eat off, mow the lawns they take pride in, and pretty much do every menial minimum-wage-at-best job none of those very same upstanding citizens would ever demean themselves with.

Especially since we are all immigrants in the end.

As we enter our first spring like week of the year I am starting a series of profiles of area bike trails. I begin with my personal favorite, the Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park trail. In 2005 I rode the length of the trail from west to east in one afternoon.

An early example of the “rail-to-trail” phenomenon, W&OD was simply known as the “bike trail” to me and my friends when I was growing up. Now forty-five miles long, the flat, straight trail starts in Arlington, near Shirlington, and extends all the way past Leesburg to Purcellville. In actuality, the trail is part of W&OD Regional Park, which is the old railroad and current Virginia Power right-of-way (hence the high tension power lines), giving it dimensions of about 45 miles by 100 feet. Those 100 feet provide a buffer of nature through the most populated region of the commonwealth. Much of the Arlington portion traverses Four Mile Run Park while it parallels the windier Four Mile Run trail. Think of W&OD as I-95 to Four Mile’s US 1 and you get the idea of how the two trails exist together.

As it approaches Falls Church, W&OD joins the Custis Trail as part of the I-66 multimodal corridor (I-66, Metro Orange line, bike path) for a few miles before breaking off onto side streets briefly. A beautiful bridge spanning Broad Street (VA 7) keeps the trail moving. At the foot of the bridge there are displays chronicling railroad and Falls Church history. Some of these displays are repeated along the trail, providing an interesting historical context.

After Falls Church, the trail parallels local streets and climbs up to the Virginia Lane overpass of I-66, before paralleling I-66 up to the Capital Beltway (I-495) interchange and into Dunn Loring. Once past the Beltway, the trail returns to separate right of way into Vienna where users are greeted by a small Civil War marker near the community center as well as the last opportunities for food and refreshments until Reston. Highlighting the Vienna portion is Vienna Centennial Park, home of a vintage red caboose, as well as an old train station, home to a large model railroad that is open to the public on some Saturday mornings. A local business park has also painted a large railroad mural facing the trail, giving the town a nice ambiance.

Beyond Vienna, the next four to five miles feature a few ridges as well as soccer fields and wetlands. One of the most substantial hills along the trail is just beyond Hunter Mill Road as you near Reston. Once down the hill, a more business oriented suburbia emerges with more boulevards to cross (mostly on recently built overpasses) as you pass through one of the “edge cities” of D.C. Fast food and convenience stores are also available, allowing you to fill up. One interesting note is the trail passes Michael Faraday Square, which includes the “monkey house” from the book, The Hot Zone, though it is not distinguishable from any of the other business park buildings.
Past Reston and closer to Herndon, W&OD once again takes on a character that is more residential than commercial. Downtown Herndon reveals itself to be quaint as you pass through with more refreshment options and another caboose. It the last concentrated downtown that you pass through along the trail, since west of Herndon was until recently fairly rural.

The end of Herndon means the beginning of Loudon County, starting with Sterling. Again, the trail travels through residential and light industrial (or at least the Northern Virginia equivalent) areas. As Sterling comes to an end, the W&OD crosses Sully Road (VA 28 and now Darrell Green Highway) on an overpass and enters a rapidly growing residential area. A decade ago, the housing boom reached these parts (especially north of the trail) and the once rural landscape was transformed into new subdivisions. All has not changed though, with the Ashburn General Store providing a tangible link to days long since past as well as plenty of snacks. This portion of the trail itself can be deceptively steep at times though.

Through Leesburg, the trail bypasses the historic downtown, but not by much. Having not traveled this portion in many years, I cannot recall the specific amenities available, but there are some.

Past Leesburg the W&OD takes on a rural flavor for the rest of the duration; A few trips across VA 7 on overpasses notwithstanding. The highest point of the trail is at Clarks Gap, where VA 9 splits from VA 7. The trail only has a few more miles before it terminates in Purcellville, a pleasant town that seems to be blending its history and emergence as a far suburb well.

What’s good? SmarTrip users won’t pay quite as much an increase as those who use paper tickets, with paper ticket fares going up by $0.65 to $1.75, while SmarTrip fares will go up only $0.15 to $0.45.

What’s a little weird? That the downtown core stations will get an extra $0.35 tacked on to the fare. From Courthouse to L’Enfant Plaza on the Orange Line, Pentagon to L’Enfant Plaza on the Blue Line, Pentagon to Mt. Vernon Square on the Yellow, Mt. Vernon Square to Waterfront on the Green Line and from Dupont Circle to Union Station, is the new zone (see also the graphic here) that will receive an additional $0.35 congestion charge.

The new “max fares” under the new fare regime would be $4.75 for SmarTrip customers and $6 for paper ticket customers. Also on the block are some of the weekend and holiday services, so you may end up waiting longer and longer for trains on the weekends and on certain holidays. Metro won’t be changing service for holidays like Independence Day because they’re not completely mental. As many as twelve bus-lines may also face service cutbacks or outright route cancellations. Fares for the bus may go up by $0.05 if WMATA’s plan goes into effect.

So, fares are on the rise, and services are going to be cutback. Is this too much of a fare hike? Too much of a service cutback for too much a service cut? What say you?

graphic shamelessly cropped and borrowed from this Washington Post Story, with kudos to the graphics team there and apologies because any graphic I’d have done would’ve involved stick figures or badly drawn metro maps.