Survey To Be Done On Slug Lines

By Matt Bush

In the district, both the police department and the department of transportation are seeking advice on how to make slug lines safer on 14th Street.

Slug lines are popular with commuters in Northern Virginia, who pick up impromptu carpoolers at various points in the region so they can use HOV lanes on their drives into the District and back home in the afternoon.

Two of the busiest slug lines for the evening commute back to Virginia, are located here on 14th Street between the Commerce and Reagan buildings.

But there have been several concerns about safety in this area, as it is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the city. The outbound side of 14th Street in front of the Commerce building, where the slug lines form, is the smaller side of the road, with just 3 lanes to the inbound side's 5. There also several bus stops on the outbound side, as well as a lot of construction in front of the Commerce building, squeezing the amount of sidewalk space.

Both DDOT and the metropolitan police have started a survey of sluggers, in order to see if they can make the area safer for them, or if the slug lines need to be moved to a different spot.