SUBWAYS AREN'T FOR SLEEPING

METRO IS sticking by its decision to install chain-link gates at an entrance to its Farragut West subway station to prevent vagrants from sleeping there at night. This move has been criticized by some advocates for the homeless as "unconscionable" and "heartless." They argue that keeping the homeless out of these entrances could subject these shelterless men and women to additional hardships, most notably the cold.

That argument has an obvious appeal, but Metro officials have not been coldhearted in their response. They have met with Mitch Snyder, they have sympathized with the plight of those whom Mr. Snyder seeks to protect, and they have correctly set forth their responsibilities to a region that has committed billions of dollars to the subway system. Metro stations are not hotel suites -- and the people who ride the subway, as well as the employees who have complained about conditions at these stations, are not doing so just to make life more difficult for the home-less.

Some social workers have suggested that Metro could have solved this problem by installing a public toilet. But that becomes a magnet. It would make as much sense for the regionally operated public transit system also to supply beds, showers and meals. What has happened to a number of these subway stations presents a health hazard and a public nuisance.

The city of Washington does have a responsibility to do what it can to protect the homeless this winter -- and people all around town should be focusing on this issue now, not later. The weather is turning. Pressures may have to be brought to bear to make things happen the right way. But subway station entrances are not a serious or a proper solution. The city government should take its cue -- and find the ways and means to take in those who need more than a subway alcove to survive this winter.

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