Van Ness – UDC Metro Station

A very quick stop here, making a U-​turn. And here’s your lesson, kids. If you’re not sure which way the train is headed, you’re way better off waiting for the next one. Even late at night, it’s not going to be more than five to eight minutes for a train. Better than wasting ten minutes going the wrong way. Oops.
Van Ness, fortunately, is another «island» platform with the trains going on either side of the central platform. It is on the Red Line between Tenleytown and Cleveland Park stations.

As other people have noted, the escalators and elevators are constantly out and the trains are constantly delayed. The delays occur mostly on the weekends, especially since they do track work on weekends and often single track on the red line. I’ve had to wait up to 30 minutes for a train before. My problem lies with the whole DC metro system, not just the Van Ness station but this is one of the worse stations.

This is one of the cooler metro stations. And by that I mean the vent posts are more effective here than at other stops on the red line. (I’d rather do sprints up and down these fanned escalators than loop the block in this heat.) Though the patchwork globules so lovingly described by the other reviewer outside of the Starbucks on the west exit would fall in the too-​cool-​for-​school category. A CVS and Giant are right outside the east exit, if you’re looking for convenience. The station may be lower underground than its consecutive neighbors, but I certainly don’t think the escalator distances add up to say, Rosslyn’s length, or even Dupont Q St escalators. During prime traffic hour, it can be more efficient to cross Connecticut Ave by riding down then back up the upper set of escalators, if a game of frogger ain’t your thing. If you’re looking for a random dining destination though, keep riding red elsewhere– Van Ness is a black hole of culinary boredom.

The one thing saving this metro-​review from 1 star is the fact that, upon exiting the Van Ness metro on the left side of Connecitcut Ave., you have the honor of being surrounded by what can only be described as giant, colored, testicular shaped globules. A rare site in DC, or anywhere, for that matter.
But, really Mr. Van Ness Metro Station, perhaps about time you think about fixing your escalators from the metro ticket platform to the metro waiting area? This has been down for months now, causing unnecessary bump-​age, curse-under-people’s-breath-age, and fistshakes at passerbyes that are forced to rub shoulders with one another as the «leaving the metro» line and «coming to the metro line» come to a deathmatch on the lone escalator that does work.
And while I’m at it, some other gripes I have with you, Mr. Van Ness Metro:
–Was it really necessary for you to be located that far underground? Cleveland Park and Woodley Park both have reasonably middling high escalators. Why do you think yourself above other metro stations, and force us to wait on the dreaded 647 mile long escalator up and downwards? And if you are going to make us wait that long, how about some music accompaniment on the way down… would it be that hard to have some Guns n Roses or Miles Davis washing over our eardrums in the dull, torturous descent?
–And how come one of the three main escalators is always broken? Did you cheat on your maintenance repairmen? Did you lowball them with payment? I find it mysterious and questions your transportation motives that these escalators have not been fixed yet.
Who do you think you are Van Ness Metro? You are not god, do not act like one. We the Van Ness residents treat you well. We ride on you, day and night, and yet in return are forced to pay a 10% tithe, attend your karaōke nights (you aren’t the greatest singer, I might add), and drink your Paps Blue Ribbon beer.
Throw us a bone, will ya?