The D.C. Metro system could potentially open as late as noon on Sundays, preventing some from attending church.
The proposal would eliminate Metro’s current 7 a.m. opening that people throughout the region depend on to attend services in the city.
It is one of four proposals from officials at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to rework service hours after SafeTrack repairs conclude. Leaders of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in D.C. are urging parishioners to write to Metro expressing their disagreement with the proposal.
The Downtown Cluster of Congregations, a ecumenical coalition of churches, wrote a letter to Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld explaining the devastating impact opening at noon would have on their community.
“More that 2 decades ago the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and its members supported an earlier opening time for Metro on Sunday mornings to facilitate the ability of persons to attend worship services,” Terrance Lynch, executive director for the Downtown Cluster, wrote in the letter. “Opening 2 hours later on Saturday and 5 hours later on Sunday would drastically impact access to numerous events held by local congregations.”
D.C. Metro officials released four proposals amending the previous operating hours of rail service in order to give work crews eight extra hours of time to conduct key track maintenance. Proposal 4 does not open the transit system until 9 a.m. on Saturdays and noon on Sundays.
Parishoners said they understand the need for greater safety and reliability in the Metro system, but ask that it does not come at the expense of numerous congregations in the District.
“The current metro operating hours have become a part of the fabric of the lives of local congregations – the expectation being that hours of operation would expand if anything – not shrink,” Lynch wrote in the letter. “It would be a step in the wrong direction for those that seek to attend worship services those days – as well as for others seeking to get to work or return home from work, as well as the many other users who utilize it to go about their lives on those days.”
The Downtown Cluster of Congregations is encouraging members of the community to email the WMATA with their comments and concerns. Metro officials will have a nine-and-a-half hour public hearing Oct. 20 to discuss their proposals to amend service.
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