Metro News Release

For immediate release: March 14, 2008

Metro hosts public hearings on proposed restructuring Metrobus 30s line

Public hearings will be held on March 17 and 19 to receive the public’s input on proposed changes to the Metrobus 30s line.

All of the hearings will begin at 7 p.m. There will be an open-house held at 6:30 p.m. before each hearing. The hearing dates and locations are as follows:

• Monday, March 17, at the St. Columba’s Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle Street, NW, Washington, DC (hearing number 531)
• Wednesday, March 19, at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC (hearing number 532)

Metro, in coordination with the District of Columbia, has developed a service that restructures Metrobus routes 30, 32, 34, 35, and 36 (Pennsylvania Avenue Line) which operates between the Friendship Heights and Southern Avenue and Naylor Road Metrorail stations. These routes are being proposed for restructuring to address continuing performance-related issues, including scheduling adherence, bus bunching, traffic congestion, delays, passenger crowding, detours and incident response.

The proposed service plan maintains local bus service along existing routes 32 and 36 from the Southern Avenue and Naylor Road Metrorail stations to the Friendship Heights Metrorail station; establishes a new route M5 to operate over the current 34 line between the Naylor Road and Eastern Market Metrorail stations; establishes a new route 31 to operate over the current 30-36 routes between the Friendship Heights and Foggy Bottom-GWU stations; establishes a new limited-stop route 37 to operate between the Friendship Heights and Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metrorail stations via Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues; establishes a new limited-stop route 39 to operate between the Naylor Road and Foggy Bottom-GWU Metrorail stations via Southern Avenue Pennsylvania Avenues; and discontinues routes 30, 34 and 35.

All organizations or individuals desiring to be heard with respect to the proposed adjustments to passenger fares, parking rates and fees will be afforded the opportunity to present their views and make supporting statements and offer alternative proposals. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to be heard at these public hearings are requested to furnish, in writing their name, address, telephone number and organization affiliation, if any, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, requests to speak may be faxed to 202-962-1133 or e-mailed to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Please submit one speaker’s name per letter and include reference to the hearing number for the hearing at which you wish to speak. Lists of individual speakers will not be accepted. Others present at the hearing may be heard after those persons who have registered have spoken. Public officials will be heard first and will be allowed five minutes each to make their presentations. All other speakers will be allowed three minutes each.

Written statements and exhibits may be submitted until close of business on Wednesday, March 26, to Office of the Secretary, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, 600 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001. Alternatively, individuals may send an e-mail to public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com. Please reference the hearing and/or docket number listed above in the submission.

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News release issued at 11:05 am, March 14, 2008.