Bethesda Metro Riders Voice Concerns Over Service

For those who commute regularly to and from the Bethesda Metro Station, escalator outages are nothing new. But last week, as all three escalators went down or were closed for troubleshooting, the Montgomery County Council sought new ways to address the problem.

During a hastily called meeting of the council's Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy & Environment (T&E) Committee Tuesday night, frustrated riders, councilmembers and others with a stake in efficient and reliable transportation to and from Bethesda voiced their concerns to representatives from WMATA.

To a packed room at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Rodrigo Bitar, Metro's general superintendent of escalator and elevator services, outlined the scope of the problem: deferred maintenance, aging equipment and lack of personnel to address the system-wide issues that plague escalators.

"Our infrastructure is aging. Many have been operating beyond their lifecycle," said Bitar, who began his position in January. "Many have been rehabilitated beyond their rehabilitation cycle."

Bitar said the escalators at Bethesda were rehabilitated in 2001-2002, and that type of service usually lasts 10 to 12 years. "We are right there," he said.

While the escalators are scheduled to be replaced in 2014, many at the meeting said they can't wait that long. Last week, all three escalators were out of service, as was the case just an hour before the meeting.   

"None of us want to talk about three escalators being out at one time, 175 stairs to climb," said District 1 Councilmember Roger Berliner, who chairs the T&E Committee. "It is unacceptable."

The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce and the Action Committee for Transit have called for an acceleration of the plan to build a southern entrance to the station and the high-speed elevators that would go along with it.

But Joe Romanowski of the Maryland Transit Association said that the acceleration would result in a cost difference of $25 million to pull the elevator construction out of the contract and construct it ahead of time.

Councllmember-At Large Hans Riemer said after the meeting that he understands that Metro is facing a great challenge throughout the system. Tuesday night's meeting was a chance for the T&E Committee and Metro constituents to make sure their voices are heard.

"It was an opportunity to hear from Metro what our options are," Riemer said. "There are also a number of ideas that are doable, to ease the problem in the short term."

While there were no short-term solutions put forth regarding fixing the escalators, residents asked for improvements in signage pointing to the existing elevator, as well as personnel to make sure that seniors and those with disabilities have priority on that elevator, greater communication about escalator outages and more shuttles to and from Friendship Heights.

Longtime Bethesda resident Sue Knapp said she appreciated the chance to hear from WMATA representatives and understands that Metro is working hard to alleviate the problem in a long-term and sustainable way. One important way to do that is through funding.

"It's a resource problem," said Knapp, who has lived in Bethesda for 25 years. "We need to work hard to make sure that the money that has been made available from the federal and state governments stays available so that these improvements get made."