Tag Archives: escalefter

The Daily Feed
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How to Use an Escalator in DC

Photo courtesy of
‘Escalator Equalizer’
courtesy of ‘Rolenz’

We love to hate escalators here in DC, particularly when they’re broken down or when tourists are blocking your path as you just miss your train.  And since Metro can’t post signs telling people to stand right and walk left (remember why?), this escalator frustration was just something we had to learn to live with and silently stew over.

Enter howtouseanescalatorindc.com. Offering such brilliant tips as “DC escalator = think politics: Left = move forward, Right = obstruct path, Middle = no one likes a centrist make up your damn mind”, this site is the perfect outlet for escalator frustration.  I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to shout at a tourist, “YOU KNOW ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO GOT ON BEFORE YOU AND WALKED UP QUICKLY? THEY WERE NOT IN AN EXERCISE CLASS. MOVE OUT OF OUR WAY” and now someone else has finally said it for me.

Thank you, howtouseanescalatorindc.com, for finally writing what we’ve all been screaming in our heads for years.

Mythbusting DC, The Features
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DC Mythbusting: Stand to the Right!

Photo courtesy of
‘Stand on the right?’
courtesy of ‘karthikkito’

It’s probably the number one gripe about tourists: they stand on both sides of the escalators on Metro, blocking the left side that is generally understood to be for walking.  We Washingtonians understand that you stand to the right and walk on the left– there are even Facebook groups and t-shirts supporting the concept— but there are no formal signs on or near the escalators that say so.  Why not?  Rumors range from the theory that having people walk on one side and stand on the other leads to an unequal balance of weight and causes escalators to break down more frequently, or the theory that Metro doesn’t want to formally endorse a ‘stand right/walk left’ policy for liability and safety reasons.  But what’s the real reason there aren’t signs telling tourists to stand to the right?

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