In a recent City Desk poll of the city’s worst bus lines, one in particular got a whole lot of attention: The 42, which runs from Mount Pleasant to downtown via Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle.

Looks like the 42’s about to get a bastard cousin.

Blogger Connetiquette Ave discovers through his eagle eyes that Metro has posted signs for a new 43 line, though no information about the route has been published in public fora, including its new Web site.

So he made like a reporter and called Metro and found out that, yes indeed, a 43 line will be in place starting Dec. 28. Here’s the skinny:

It will be a weekday rush hour only service, between 750am and 915am (meaning it will only run Southbound). About 1/2 of the buses currently designated as 42s will henceforth be badged as 43s. It will run between Mount Pleasant and Farragut Square. It seems to me that the 43 will just be the 42 buses that currently run between MtP and FSq – so there will be no service increases or reductions.

Bah!

Update: It’s on. Find out how to use the inaugural bike valet here

The Washington Area Bicycle Association’s Henry Mesias says a 2:30 meeting between the organization and the District Department of Transportation yesterday, in which plans to allow WABA to set up a bike valet station for Inauguration Day were discussed, “went well.”  But he also says that the organization won’t know if inauguration-goers arriving by cycle will be able to hand their vehicles over to a crew of frocked WABA volunteers, until later: A number of folks “at the top of the ladder” will have to sign off on the idea, he explains.

Mesias is hoping that, for the sake of inaugural-pedalers, the station gets approved. “Biking will be the best way to get to the inauguration,” he contends, “roads are going to be out of the question and Metro will be overburdened. [Without a valet station] there might  be a lot of people parking their bikes in places they shouldn’t and getting their bike locks cut by Secret Service.”

Update: How to Use the Inaugural Bike Valet

Yesterday, Loose Lips Daily linked to San Francisco Bike Blog– which thinks the Washington Area Bicycle Association should bring its bike valet service to Inauguration 2009.

“Who wants to get hands-runneth-over by security guards just so you can stand on a packed [Metro] platform with dudes in blue, carrying big, automatic weapons? Not me. People need to be able to go by bike, and they need a place to put their bikes when they arrive. The local cycling organization knows how to do bike valet parking – they should offer it at the inauguration.”

Turns out WABA has a Thursday meeting with DDOT to discuss doing exactly that.

If all goes well at the meeting, says WABA staffer Henry Mesias, the organization will set up a bike valet station towards the south of the Capitol and just outside the inauguration’s hard-security-perimeter.

The one-drop rule of classifying race gets a drop-kick in the Washington Post, courtesy of Marie Arana, the editor of the Post’s Book World section.

And the big news for the next couple of days will focus on the playoff chances of the Redskins, who lost to this blogger’s favorite team on Sunday at FedEx Field. The sports commentariat will make much of the Skins’ continued offensive woes and perhaps a little bit about the Giants very good offensive line. But to me, the story line is Clinton Portis. Here’s a phenomenal back, a team-first sort of fellow, who this week showed his dedication by playing banged up. Specifically, sore ribs, sprained knee, and a bum hip. After Portis suffered a tough hit in the Giants game, commentator Moose Johnston said something to the effect that Oh, he’ll be back. He’s a warrior. That’s high praise from a former baller, and Portis no doubt basks in the adulation of everyone who says he’s such a tough guy.

But when is all this madness going to end? When will people wake up and say, hey, this is exactly the scenario, and the mentality, that lands former NFL players in arthritis wards and psych wards for the rest of their natural lives. I mean, yeah, sore ribs–everyone’s gotta play with those. But the hip and the knee? Those are joints, people, and joints are delicate affairs. Going hard against Justin Tuck and Kenny Phillips with already bad joints will do two things: Shorten Portis’ career and make it more likely that he’ll feel every step he takes for the rest of his life. I look forward to the day that teams recognize that their backups are generally worth more than their injured starters, and that it’s inhumane to cast them as heroes for risking lifelong injuries.

Post riffs on the odd fate of the acorn.

Key point for motorists around town: Alternate-side street-sweeping-related ticketing is over for the winter. Park on either side, despite what the signs say. Here’s the quirky part of the DPW announcement: “Residents and business owners will be notified when street sweeping resumes again in the spring of 2009.” Hey, DPW, can’t we agree on a date certain for the resumption of the ticketing? Can’t we agree on, like, March 16 or something. Or does City Desk have to break the news of the resumption, just as we did this year’s suspension date?

As if WMATA doesn’t have enough on its plate with having to implement random bag searches and combat body odor, one of its drivers has landed in some trouble.

Friday evening, in the vicinity of 3rd and D Streets NE, members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Crime Reduction Team (CRT) observed a group of young men walking down the sidewalk swinging a baseball bat.

According to an account posted by Sgt. Christopher Micciche on a Capitol Hill listserv, members of the CRT decided to get out of their car and arrest the guy with the baseball bat for a “weapons violation.”

The grab didn’t go smoothly:

The officers were then besieged by the remaining group of four young men attempting to free their friend. Back-up was summoned to assist, and one of the young men kicked an officer. The young men were arrested for Assault on a Police Officer-Misdemeanor. While those individuals were being apprehended and the situation was still chaotic, a MetroBus driver exited her bus and attempted to intervene on behalf of the young men. She was also arrested and charged with Assault on a Police Officer-Misdemeanor.

Read More “Metrobus Driver Arrested for Assault” »

This just in: The inauguration site is live! The inauguration site is live!

For all of you just dying inside wondering: Will Metro run more trains for the inauguration? Will it increase their frequency? The answer is an enthusiastic yes! Yes! Yes!

From the 12th or so press release I’ve received from Metro today:

Metro officials expect extremely crowded conditions on Inauguration Day. Metrorail stations and trains will be packed as people head to the Inauguration, and expect to see even tighter conditions afterward. Expect the crowds to be huge with hundreds of thousands of people expected to be in the nation’s capital not only for Inauguration Day, but for the days preceding it as well.

In other words: Don’t whine about being squished and for god’s sake, lay off the perfume and/or aftershave. Or try walking to gawk at the masses (’cause you ain’t gonna get close enough to see Obama).

A number of our readers have voiced their displeasure with the Metro Authority’s new bag check policy. Steven Silverman of Flex Your Rights and his army of interns know how you feel, and they’ve got some words of wisdom: “We encourage people to say–clearly, calmly, repectfully–’officer, I do not consent to any searches.’”

Read More “VIDEO: Flex(ing) Your Rights: How to get out of a Metro Search” »

Then perhaps you may want to steer clear of Metro over the coming months. The transit agency has declared that it’ll be looking through the carryons of its riders as an anti-terrorism measure. Metro boss John Catoe, however, is saying that the move doesn’t come in response to any threats.

Instanalysis on the bag searches: You might be thinking, hey, these are going to be random searches and won’t likely affect me. But the point is that if they’re to have any terrorism-deterring value, they’re going to have to affect you, and me, and the next guy. Otherwise no one–especially a hardened terrorist–will pay them any heed.

In other Metro news, the transit agency has announced plans to circulate hand sanitizer to fight the flu.

Via the Post and Washington Business Journal, we learn that Metro Transit Police are gearing up to conduct random bag searches of Metro users. The searches, Lena Sun writes, will extend to “backpacks, gym bags and any other containers that riders carry with them onto the bus and rail system.”

When will they start? “While the inspections themselves will not necessarily take place today, police have been trained and are ready to start immediately, officials said.”

Also, if you’re going to bring your weed on Metro, you probably don’t want to put it in your bag. Fair be warned: “If transit police find illegal items such as drugs, the item will be seized and the person will be arrested.”

How our favorite technology killed 25 people.

Recently, my brother started commuting by bike to and from his job in Chicago. I love my brother, but his commitment to half-assedness is breathtaking—rather than buy a helmet, he made do with his 10-year-old son’s skateboarding helmet, which he perched on top of his head Chilly Willy–style, and instead of lights he had…nothing but optimism bias. It made choosing his birthday present pretty easy.

All this is by way of saying however you feel about bike helmets, it’s considerably harder to argue that bike lights are not a good idea, especially as the days grow shorter. And today at 4:30, if you trot your lightless bike over, you can get lights for free at the plaza in front of the SunTrust on 18th Street and Columbia Road NW and at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church at 16th Street and Park Road NW. The giveaways are organized by WABA, which will also hold another such event a week from today at Cora Kelly Elementary School in Alexandria.

(Hat tip: TheWashCycle)

(Oh heck, DCist had this way before me, too. I am crap at service journalism. Get some lights anyway.)

Photo by adamscarroll