Beware Falling Luggage at Chinatown Metro Station

You are so right about being careful, good thing your hearing is up to code, an older person or ear bud wearer might not be as lucky. The elevators are just around the corner and they are rarely used. Also as much as the airlines are charging for baggage it is a wonder someone would let it get out of their grip.

They should require those people to take elevators just like parents with strollers. Then again, parents don’t follow that rule anyway.

I’m not sure what Metro can (or would) do about it. But I am now watching bag and stroller pushers with a wary eye.

Oh please. How often does this really happen?
There is alot of luggage going down escalators at airports, as well. Your chance of being injured by flying luggage is infinitismal, compared to the risks you take walking to the metro stop.

What happened before she lost control? Was someone in a hurry and running past her, therefore, dislodging the luggage from her grip?

We live in a CITY…there are lots of hazards. This is not one of them.

Metro – it is anarchy, anarchy in a bad way. The people with a good sense of community [which is essential in a well-functioning anarchic community] are overrun [sometimes literally] by the growing crowd of totally self-centered & self-obsessed people.
C’est la vie. Done with “work” for the week.

#4 – there is a difference between metro and the airport. Metro is for commuting and people are moving fast. At airports most people have suitcases and everyone is expected to stand here and its designed to accommodate suitcases. At metro Tourists block up the whole width of the escalator and are completely unaware of anything around them. It’s not just the risk of a falling down suitcases, it’s the logjams and missed trains that should be avoided.

#6 PQ’s..you are so insightful.

I actually thought that the metro was for everyone to use, not just DC commuters.

I also thought that since it links the Railway station and the airport, that it is also meant for travellers with luggage.

An escalator, is an escalator, is an escalator. I don’t recall the airport escalators being designed differently than the ones at metro, or Macy’s or elsewhere.

One needs to be a little patient during tourist season. I am sure that you weren’t born using the escalators.

A reasonable thinking person would realize that there are many possible hazards while riding an escalator, ie. flip flops, soda bottles, people running down the escalator, etc.

If one fears for their life on the escalator, perhaps they should be the one using the elevator.

I think one of the problems with the Gallery Place Metro is that it’s easy to locate the escalators, but it takes some detective work for tourists to figure out where to get the elevator out of the station.

As I remember the elevator to the street at the 7th and F exit says freight only, and may lead tourists to believe that they have to use the escalator, when they would actually prefer to use an elevator.

I think better signage about which exits *have* elevator access and how to locate would help everyone involved, IMHO.

#7 – Of course Metro is meant for everyone. All I’m saying is that you can’t take up the whole escalator, especially on some of the longer ones like in Bethesda or Dupont – it’s just rude. I love taking Metro to the airport, but I can either stay to one side or take the elevator when I have a larger bag. All that tourists (and residents alike) have to do is use common sense and have some awareness of their surroundings– both of which they sorely lack.

it would serve Metro and its non-regular passengers well if Metro painted ‘Walk’ on the left side of the escalator steps and ‘Stand’ on the right side of the steps. alternately, they could hang signs that indicate as such like you’d see at an airport when you walk (or stand) on the moving walkways between terminals.

escalators do come in different types and sizes. the Bed Bath Beyond at GP has a single person escalator. Metro has two person escalators. the Target in Columbia Heights even has a grocery cart escalator so you don’t have to use the elevator to get your cart up and down the store. very clever!

The other issue is that the Metro elevators are not exactly the cleanest, quickest, most convenient, etc.

Particularly at the stations that are somewhat deep underground, it might take the elevator 2-3 minutes to make the roundtrip up and down so if you miss it by a little bit, most people aren’t going to wait for the round trip.

I’m not sure what the offender did in this case to actually lose control… but you should always keep your luggage on the step in front of you on the escalator rather than the step behind.

#4- It was so early that there was almost no one on the escalator. And it appeared from my vantage point that she wasn’t pushed or jostled.

The suitcase she was carrying was HUGE, and looked super heavy. She also had a purse, a carry-on bag, and a cup of coffee in her hand.

She was way to overloaded to be trying to balance the items on the escalator, and for her own safety and the safety of others should have taken the elevator.

And like I said in the post, I never even contemplated how dangerous taking a suitcase or stroller on an escalator could be until I saw this. So, while it may not happen regularly, that doesn’t mean that we should discount the possibility that someone could get really hurt because the elevator wasn’t easy enough to find or the person thought they could make it. I know I won’t be taking my suitcase on the escalator anymore.

This post freaks me out, because this happened to me at the same station a year ago.

Only my ending was not so happy: The suitcase was a hard one, and it slammed into my back. I landed on the escalator stairs and slid down on my back. I had long, bloody scratches from the stair teeth. And awful bruising. The guy who lost his suitcase didn’t even call out a “watch out” so I had no warning.

Whenever I see people big suitcases on the Metro, I move behind them. This IS a hazard, and not one I want to experience again.