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Public Hearings on WMATA Budget – Fare & Service Changes

The public hearing process for WMATA’s FY21 Budget is now open and WMATA is accepting public feedback through 5PM on Monday, March 2, 2020.

Extensive materials are available on the WAMATA website , including links to customer brochures in English, Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean and Vietnamese.

Please note that the proposals include numerous service and fare changes – this file specifically addresses proposed Metrobus service changes in Maryland:

The budget proposal also includes a number of fare changes – this online calculator tool allows riders to determine how the various proposals may impact how much they pay for transit:

Riders are encouraged to take the online survey to provide their feedback on these fare and service proposals.

The public hearing is held which I believe is closest to College Park is:
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Metro Points Hotel
8500 Annapolis Road, New Carrollton, MD 20784
Open House: 6 p.m., Public Hearing: 6:30 p.m.
Orange Line New Carrollton
Metrobus routes B24, B27, F13, G12, G14, T14, TheBus Route 16

Renovation Project at College Park Metro Leaves 250 Parking Spaces Unavailable

Metro began a rehabilitation project at the College Park Park & Ride garage, making 250 parking spaces unavailable to the public every day.

There are a total of 1,820 parking spots at the College Park Metro Station, which includes the garage and surface lot.

Metro is saying the project is intended to bring the structure back to a state of good repair. As a result, customers may encounter limited parking availability in the facility.

Preparation for the project began in February 2018.

Temporary directional signage has been posted in and around the garage. Customers should be aware of parking area closures and temporary changes to traffic patterns. Parking regulations will be enforced.

During this time, Metro is asking customers to consider other parking options including parking facilities at Greenbelt and Prince George’s Plaza Metrorail stations.

Additional parking options are available at wmata.com/service/parking.

The rehabilitation project is expected to last approximately 16 months. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

[From WMATA.com]

Metrorail to Be Shut Down All Day Tomorrow for Emergency Inspections


According to NBC Washington “The entire D.C. Metrorail system will be shut down Wednesday for emergency equipment inspections after an investigation revealed similarities between smoke that filled a tunnel near L’Enfant Plaza in January 2015, killing a Virginia woman, and a cable fire Monday,” Buses will run on regular schedule. More here.

Today: Metro to Host Public Hearing to Discuss Change in Bus Routes in College Park

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will host Public Hearing for Bus Service Changes. Information Session at 6pm – Public Hearing at 6:30 pm.

College Park routes affected: Route(s) 81, 82, 83, 86. Restructure service to split lines at College Park station to improve on-time performance and better balance frequency with demand on northern and southern segments.
Rhode Island Ave Line Existing Routes 062013

Metro Update: Greenbelt Station to Close this Saturday

Greenbelt Metro Station

In order to allow for rebuilding, the Greenbelt Station will be closed this Saturday. Free shuttle buses will replace Green Line trains between Greenbelt and College Park.

Due to the heavy rainfall earlier this week, the previously scheduled closure of Greenbelt Station has been cancelled. Instead, Green Line trains will operate normally between Greenbelt and Branch Ave this weekend. Trains will run at regular intervals at all stations except Greenbelt on Saturday.

Riders using shuttle bus service should allow about 15 minutes of travel time. Green Line trains will run at normal weekend intervals (every 12-20 minutes) between College Park and Branch Ave on Saturday. Please check here for further updates: http://www.wmata.com/rider_tools/metro_service_status/advisories.cfm?AID=3174

Greenbelt Metro Station Closed this Weekend

Greenbelt Metro Station

Due to the reconstruction of the Metrorail system, the Greenbelt station will be closed  this Saturday and Sunday.

Shuttle buses will take commuters to the College Park station.

According to Metro, trains on the Orange, Blue, Yellow and Green lines will operate at regular weekend intervals, except at two stations: Greenbelt Station on the Green Line and Franconia-Springfield station on the Blue Line. Red Line trains will run every 16 minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont, with additional trains providing service from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. between Farragut North and Silver Spring.

On Saturday, March 15, the Metrorail system will open two hours early — at 5 a.m. — for the Rock ‘N Roll Marathon.

Metro is investing $5.5 billion to install new rail, ties, platforms, escalators, signals, lighting, communication systems, and more. It represents the largest capital investment — and work effort — since the system’s original construction in the early 1970s.

Double Robberies at GreenBelt Metro

Greenbelt Metro north entrance

Two armed robberies happened on the path from Lackawanna Street to the Greenbelt Station. The robberies occurred one on July 1 and one on July 2,

Metro police received the assistance of Prince George’s County Police and City of Greenbelt Police. The suspect was apprehended by a Greenbelt K-9. There were injuries, such as minor K9 bites, for which the suspect was transported by ambulance to a hospital.

Please see below a document that includes portions of the police event report for the July 2nd event, which details the apprehension of the suspect. As the report indicates, our police did recover a switchblade knife and a silver pistol from the crime scene.

Metro Agrees to Plant Trees, Maintain Vegetation Across Creek

Cleared stream near Greenbelt Metro

Along with agreeing to install security cameras near the north College Park entrance of the Greenbelt station, WMATA has also agreed to plant trees and maintain vegetation across the creek that runs under the pathway connecting to our north College Park neighborhood.

Right after the sexual assault incident last year near the Metro entrance, the Metro authority (WMATA) did a brush a cleanup around the pathway causing a major uproar among some residents.  To them, Metro’s cleanup was too aggressive and probably destroyed the small stream that runs near the brushes.

These residents and City’s Committee for a Better Environment (CBE) sent a letter to Metro asking them to replant the stream area to restore the environment there without sacrificing public safety of nearby residents and Metro riders.

According to the plan, Metro plans to restore the stream bed near the entrance. After removing sediment deposits they plan to install a new rock-bed in the channel. They will plant 5 or 6 new trees. With respect to the area between the stream and the Hollywood Park fence, they will permit natural growth of the vegetation in this area and on the side between the Metro station and the stream they will allow natural growth for a 20ft buffer (from the stream).

WMATA estimated it will take about a year for the vegetation to fully grow back. Maintenance staff will keep other areas trimmed to prevent the overgrowth that we saw prior to last year’s big cutting.

Though ot was not quite what the residents and the CBE asked for, it’s good to see that Metro is responding. We’ll have to see how well they maintain the area now.

Greenbelt Metro to Get Cameras, Finally!

Greenbelt Metro north entrance

It took a 300+ signature petition followed by a rape last summer and years of violent crime incidents to get Metro Police agree on this.

Greenbelt’s Metro’s north College Park entrance will be getting four cameras this summer.

Metro Police disclosed this information in a stand-up meeting with the City and State officials yesterday early morning at the Metro’s north entrance.

In last March, Metro announced that they received a grant to install 153 cameras across the Metro systems, however Metro said the cameras at the Greenbelt Metro would most likely be installed inside the station.

Metro said four cameras and two call boxes will be installed by the end of this summer. One camera will be placed where riders come out of the tunnel and it will scan the area around the tunnel entrance including the area where the bikes are parked. The three other cameras will be placed along the path.

All the cameras will be have the capability of live monitoring as well as being recorded.

Cameras will be able to be seen at the station manager’s kiosk and in WMATA police’s downtown offices. The cameras will be equipped with an IP address and WMATA thinks the City’s contract officers and Prince George’s Police will be able to log-in to view what is occurring on the cameras. Signs notifying the public that the area is under 24 hour surveillance will also be installed.

This exciting news shows an example how residents and City officials can work together to make something good for the community.

Greenbelt Metro Security Gets More Coverage

In the last few days, the Maryland Newsline TV crews came over to our part of the City (Lackawanna St and 53rd Avenue) to learn more about the public safety isues at the Greenbelt Metro’s west entrance that connects to our part of the neighborhood. The piece talks about the camera petition drive that we were able  to organize and Metro’s botched brush clean-up across the pathway to the Metro entrance. Here is the link to that Newsline article, with the related video below.

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