Well readers, I missed Christmas, Easter, and my Birthday. I can only hope that you'll forgive your wayward step dad. :-)
To make up for it, here is a shiny new dime!
Because no one has asked for it: commuting in and around Rosslyn. A tragedy in multiple scenes.
A young man leaves his house in Herndon, right off the Fairfax County Parkway. He does not have red hair, nor is his boyfriend going to be killed if he doesn't have the money, but besides that, it is just like Run Lola Run.
First Scene, Driving all the way. Make a left on the parkway, drive a couple of lights, get on the toll road. 50 cents to get on. Traffic can make your speed anywhere from 5 to 25 miles an hour along the toll road until you get to the second toll plaza. 75 cents. No matter what speed you were doing before, you are now going 11 miles an hour. Just until you get past the exit for the Beltway. Now your are free and clear, but unfortunately, you are getting off at the next exit. Rt.123 If you miss this exit, you will be merging with 66 and getting a ticket for HOV violations.
Rt. 123 is full of traffic lights and cars, you are traveling about 4 miles. It will take you quite a long time. But then you will get on the GW Parkway. Travel on the GW Parkway for a while, get caught up in traffic for people trying to get on Rt.50. Once you arrive in Rosslyn, $10 parking is normal. Total time spent 2 hours 10 minutes round trip. $12.50 bucks in parking and tolls, and lots of wear and tear on your car, and your nerves.
Scene two. Drive to the Metro Station. Turn right on Fairfax county Parkway, get off on Rt. 50 to take a short cut down to Rt. 66 Get on 66 west. Hope you brought a pack of cards. You are travelling less than 4 miles on 66, but you will be on this road for 30 minutes average. That's 8 miles an hour for those of you playing at home. Parking at the Metro can be... problematic at best. The Orange Line starts at Vienna, so at least you get a seat. 30 minutes later (give or take) and you are in Rosslyn. 2 hours 40 minutes round trip. $11.90 total including parking and round trip travel. Much less wear and tear on you car, and lots of companies have Metro Benefits. Mine pays for the whole thing, saving me close to 3 grand a year.
Scene three. No car at all. The bus comes to the end of my street. Catch the bus, use SmarTrip card, not cash. Sleep till Vienna, get off, get on the Metro. If you use SmarTrip, the bus costs 35 cents each way; its $1.35 if you pay cash. $8.10 round trip with SmarTrip, no wear and tear on your car. 3 hours plus round trip. I gave up on this months ago: 3 hours round trip means almost two extra workdays spent in transit over the course of a week.
I guess the moral of the story is: If you are moving to the D.C. area, as some of you are, and some of you may be... your commute is a serious thing to consider. I know many of you are from the Big City, and D.C. seems like it shouldn't be any bigger a deal, but let me be clear: The traffic here is not to be trifled with.
7 comments:
But 3 hours round trip is only 50 minutes longer than the shortest scenario, so it's only about half a workday difference.
I spent three years doing a similar commute (Herndon to Ballston), and almost always opted for Scene four: drive to Herndon-Monroe, then take bus, then subway.
I didn't mind the extra time because I was reading instead of driving. It definitely wears on you though - now I work in Herndon.
That. Is. Horrible.
Move to Canada.
Or Vermont. Same thing... almost.
(Kari - Disco Mom - here under Ed's login because I'm too lazy to change it...)
Ed and I found this post both painful and entertaining. Luckily I am from the DC area and know quite well that the traffic is nightmarish - it's like New York but worse because DC's public transportation is 1) more expensive and 2) less extensive. So between that knowledge and being sick to death of his current 1hr+ commute, we are making the commute our NUMBER ONE priority as we look for a place to rent. First of all, we don't want to be forced to buy a 2nd car any sooner than we're good and ready, and second, the whole point for the move is to improve our FAMILY lifestyle, which wholly depends on being together as a family while everyone's awake.
That's why we're looking exclusively along the orange and blue lines, preferably within walking distance to the stations. We know we'll pay dearly for this, but that's one good thing about coming from NY - rents seem reasonable. We are willing to compromise on size and cost to keep the commute short short short! When we find a place not close to those lines, but still inside the beltway, we scour the metro website finding bus routes, schedules and fares to calculate if we'll consider it.
For example, today on Craigslist I found a condo complex in Alexandria that offers free shuttle service to the Pentagon metro station. That's the kind of thing we're talking about. It is all about the commute for us. Of course the advertised condo is available now and likely to be scooped up before July 1, but that's what we keep our eyes peeled for. Our search is mostly Arlington, Alexandria and Falls Church. Occasionally there is a place within walking distance of the Vienna station, which we would consider because I like Fairfax so much, but other than that our motto is The Closer The Less Suicidal.
Kari and Ed.
I hope, for your sakes, that you find something wonderful and afordable in Arlington. that way your commute to Rosslyn is as short as possible.
For myself, while Canada and Vermont sound nice, I'm not really one of... those kind of people. Sorry Maren. I require sunlight. And warmth. I am like a tropical plant. Vermont would be beautiful, but I'm hitching my wagon to a star headed for Hawii.
My fondest NoVa traffic memory was a few years ago when I was driving home to NY from visiting VA for a week. I left Fairfax at 2pm and spent 3 hours creeping around the beltway with a furiously screaming baby in the back. She conked out the same time we got off the beltway onto 95 north towards Baltimore, about 5pm. I had to pull over at the first rest area just to stretch and calm my nerves before continuing the trip. We got home at 10pm. I have no intention of trifling with DC traffic; I hope to avoid it altogether or as much as possible by living near a Trader Joe's and not going anywhere else.
Living near a grocery store makes all the difference. Walking distance from a Giant means that I walk more often, and eat fresh fruit and veg more often. If only I didn't have to walk past a Starbucks and a Baskin Robbins just to get to the Giant.
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