The repeated “dinging” of Metro doors, unable to close, has become an all too familiar sound as commuters try to sandwich themselves inside packed rush-hour cars, and the congestion is only getting worse.

On Thursday, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said that top officials must consider capital improvements to support the expected increase in ridership in the next few years in its latest report on capacity concerns. Metro Center, Shady Grove and Franconia-Springfield, will reach capacity on escalators and farecard bezels by 2030, the report said.

Among the suggested changes in the report are underground pedestrian walkways between Gallery Place-Chinatown and Metro Center, costing the city roughly $90 million, according to the study.

The board of directors was briefed on the results of the report at its monthly meeting on April 24, which states that current projections put ridership at 970,000 customers daily, representing a 42 percent increase from 2005 to 2030.

The city will most likely see station capacity at key commuter stops, according to the report. The report suggested renovations for Metro Center, Shady Grove and Franconia-Springfield, among others.

The report comes at a time when Metro has seen record riders. Recently the WMATA announced its third-largest weekday ridership.

The largest recorded ridership was on June 4, 2004 – the day of the former President Ronald Reagan’s state funeral.

While there have been rumors of a proposed line that would connect Rosslyn and Northern D.C. and run through Georgetown, Jenna Lowenstein (COL ’09), Georgetown University’s student representative to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said that there were no plans with the ANC to discuss the idea. Mary Oehrlein, chair of the Old Georgetown Board said that the board had not brought the issue up for debate.

“We have not discussed it, nor do I know of any plans to do so,” she said.

Cathy Asato, a spokeswoman for WMATA, could not be reached for comment.

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