BLUE INTO YELLOW GETS YOU GREEN. Tireless Ward One Council member Jim Graham has fleshed out some ideas about extending the Yellow line further into DC. Following a public meeting on the issue last week, Graham expressed concern about infrequent service late at night and crowding during rush hour.

Columbia Heights is already the busiest station in our area with 13,900 riders every weekday, Graham reports. This number does not include all the new riders who will surely result from the 525,000 SF of retail (Target et al.) and 825 new residences going up right now in the area of 14th and Irving Sts. NW.

One solution is the called "Blue Line Split," in which every other Blue line train passing through the Pentagon would divert along the Yellow line all the way to Greenbelt. This might result in many happy DC riders, but many unhappy Maryland riders to boot.

Another solution would be to outright extend the Yellow line. DC Bubble agrees with Graham that the first solution is complicated and cheap, but the ultimate solution -- his second idea -- is expensive (more cars, cross-over track) but fixes the problem. Well, you want something, you gotta pay for it.

The next step, according to Graham, would be for the Metro Board to consider these proposals as part of the fiscal year starting July 1. "Your support is critical here. Please take a minute to look over the plans at www.grahamwone.com/metro and let us know your reaction," asks Graham, who generally responds to emails and can be reached at jim@grahamwone.com.