Maryland transportation officials played a supporting role, and it was smart and well-executed. The decision to sell MARC tickets for that day on an all-reserved basis was vindicated by the orderliness of the commuter trains' performance in getting people there. Also validated was the decision to be flexible about the return trip. Riders who showed up early at Union Station were allowed to take earlier trains, which freed up space for those who couldn't make it back to the station in time.
One key to MARC's smooth outbound performance was the surprise decision to add an unannounced early Penn Line return trip departing soon after 2 p.m. Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said MARC couldn't be sure Amtrak would provide that capacity until Inauguration Day, but he allowed that the deal had been in the works for some time. It was like the ace in the hole that results in a full house once the final card is dealt.
Maryland officials can also take a bow for effectively putting out the word to use public transit. That residents of the region responded was clear from the scenes on the screens at the State Highway Administration's operations center in Hanover. Drivers on the Capital Beltway, Woodrow Wilson Bridge and American Legion Bridge have seldom had it so good.
Were there some lapses and individual horror stories? Undoubtedly. But there were no meltdowns, no mass overnight strandings. And the bozos who got their cars towed by parking on the U.S. 50 ramp to the Capital Beltway should have known better.
Sovereign state
John S. White of Stewartstown, Pa., wrote to decry the "outrageous situation" he observed on Interstate 95 the day after Christmas:
"My wife and I were returning from the shore and we were fortunate, in a way, because we merged into backed-up traffic near the Delaware toll gates in the direction of Baltimore. Thus we did not have much of a wait.
"The northbound situation, however, was an altogether different story. The traffic in that direction was backed up nearly to the rest stop in Maryland near Perryville. I estimate that the backup extended some 15 miles! This is outrageous. Somehow the state of Delaware has to do better. My heart was breaking for those people trying to get home after Christmas and being stuck in a slowdown that must have taken hours to get past."
I disagree. Delaware can do what it pleases. It's a sovereign state that doesn't care about your time as long as it gets its $4.
It's the rest of us who have to do better - by never, ever paying tolls on the Delaware Turnpike. It's a lousy deal under the best conditions and outright extortion in heavy traffic. The toll plaza is easily avoided. Take your pick of bypasses. (See map.) Friends don't let friends go through the Delaware Toll Plaza.
