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I've been in BART's trans bay tube countless times for decades and usually at least once a month, lately.
I hate it as it super loud and has bottlenecks, and It's too long. There are countless tunnels and tubes on other systems but they are shorter and less prone to bottlenecks.
The trans bay tube is the only way over to the SF Peninsula from the northeast(East Bay and Sacramento) by train. The other route is by bridge either by car or bus but not by a train. Bart needs another tube and/or they need to run trains on the Bay Bridge.
Given that the East Bay's Key System used to run across the Bay Bridge, it should be doable.
However, the east span of the Bay Bridge got replaced after the Loma Prieta quake, and it probably wasn't designed to include rail lines on it. (Retrofitting it to support them shouldn't be a dificult task, though.)
Yes, DC's Waffle-vault arched stations is one of the few examples of brutalist architecture that is pleasing. If you noticed that waffle- look closely matches DC's Union station's arched ceilings as well.
DC Metro: Stations within the District, the city, itself: 32
SF Bart: Stations within the city limits of SF: 8
Connections to airport(s):
DC Metro: 2 direct connections, Dulles International (IAD) (Silver line), and Ronald Reagan DCA.(Blue or Yellow lines)
SF Bart: only 1 airport, the other airport you have to transfer to a different smaller train and if I remember correctly it costs "extra" to make that connection.
Yes, DC's Waffle-vault arched stations is one of the few examples of brutalist architecture that is pleasing. If you noticed that waffle- look closely matches DC's Union station's arched ceilings as well.
DC Metro: Stations within the District, the city, itself: 32
SF Bart: Stations within the city limits of SF: 8
Connections to airport(s):
DC Metro: 2 direct connections, Dulles International (IAD) (Silver line), and Ronald Reagan DCA.(Blue or Yellow lines)
SF Bart: only 1 airport, the other airport you have to transfer to a different smaller train and if I remember correctly it costs "extra" to make that connection.
It does. I routed my West Coast swing in 2006 backwards — I had boarded a Delta flight in Philadelphia bound for Seattle, outside of which my brother lived at the time, but instead of going there first, I opted to go to San Francisco first, which meant changing at Salt Lake City for a smaller regional flight to Oakland Airport. The "AirBART" shuttle between the airport and the BART station was an extra fare.
I hadn't thought about the parallel between Washington Metro stations and DC Union Station. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Wonder if that was in the back of either the architects' or the planners' heads?
Another thought, however: For all that the 32 Metro stations in the District provide good coverage of the core city, allowing the Metro to perform the city circulator function BART doesn't perform at all, it seems to me that the one that lots of people believe should have been built but wasn't — in Georgetown — still causes some agita in DC.
Way out west, on the west coast in particular, we rarely talk about DC other than the president, sometimes congress and really thats about it. We rarely think of the DC Area as twice the size of Seattle area or as big or bigger than then entire SF Bay Area, and so it goes with their Metro I had no idea how huge it was even though Ive taken it many times when visiting, but then again I never went outside of the District on all my other visits, not even over to Arlington.
On this latest trip I basically "lived" off the Silver line and went to and fro into the District daily.
Georgetown: I skipped Georgetown on this trip because of the lack of a Metro stop. The Circulator is the way to Georgetown or by bike....but I didn't have time. Instead I spent time around the Foggy Bottom station and George Washington University. I just love that area I think DC is so unique especially coming from a West Coast perspective. I also spent time around the Clarendon station in Arlington. I think of Arlington as the Berkeley of the East in regards to its size and its relation/connection with the larger city (SF/DC).
Regarding access to Georgetown, in addition to the Circulator that stops along Pennsylvania Ave. and K Street leading to it, there are also Metrobus lines (31, 33, 38B) that take you in. The 31 stops right outside the Foggy Bottom Metro station itself, while the 33 and 38B stop right along Pennsylvania Ave and 22nd and 24th streets on either side of Washington Circle, just a couple blocks from the Foggy Bottom station. There's also a free shuttle to the Kennedy Center as well, which is also a bit of a walk from the Foggy Bottom station. Or you can just walk for about 15-20 minutes to the edge of Georgetown at Rock Creek from that aforementioned station.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, its likely that DC's Circulator may cease operations in 2025, forcing you to take Metrobus into Georgetown. Originally free and later $1 and operated by the city and not WMATA, the $4 budget shortfall for DC means that corners will need to be cut, and the Circulator is a viable option:
That said, I like how WMATA provides a nice balance between what BART and other Bay Area local transit agencies (namely MUNI for SF which is more light rail than a true heavy rail system), provide a comprehensive system, and that includes its bus network, with its own mixture of local and express lines, and this will include a BRT replacement for a portion of the Red Line this summer due to maintenance, providing a free transfer from downtown to Silver Spring.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Borntoolate85
Regarding access to Georgetown, in addition to the Circulator that stops along Pennsylvania Ave. and K Street leading to it, there are also Metrobus lines (31, 33, 38B) that take you in. The 31 stops right outside the Foggy Bottom Metro station itself, while the 33 and 38B stop right along Pennsylvania Ave and 22nd and 24th streets on either side of Washington Circle, just a couple blocks from the Foggy Bottom station. There's also a free shuttle to the Kennedy Center as well, which is also a bit of a walk from the Foggy Bottom station. Or you can just walk for about 15-20 minutes to the edge of Georgetown at Rock Creek from that aforementioned station.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, its likely that DC's Circulator may cease operations in 2025, forcing you to take Metrobus into Georgetown. Originally free and later $1 and operated by the city and not WMATA, the $4 budget shortfall for DC means that corners will need to be cut, and the Circulator is a viable option:
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WMATA is looking into the possibility of picking up DC Circulator coverage. It's vital to downtown bus coverage. Nothing confirmed yet, but their GM has mentioned publicly that's its being discussed.
For sure, the DC Metro is by far superior than any system in California.
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