Posts by David Cranor — Contributor
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What would a Green New Deal for DC look like?
The Green New Deal, the economic and environmental plan most prominantly championed by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has sweeping ideas for a change in national policy. But what would a more localized Green New Deal for DC look like? Keep reading…
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The Chevy Chase Trolley station that moved to the country
When the Chevy Chase Land Company started developing land north of Rock Creek Park in 1890, they built a streetcar to connect it to Washington, DC. That streetcar line ended at Chevy Chase Lake on Connecticutt Avenue, just south of the Georgetown Branch, where a small building on the west side served as a waiting station and office. Keep reading…
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More people live in DC than all of these western counties combined
Some say DC is too small to be a state – but though it’s small, it’s also dense. So what would a state made up of sparsely populated counties, but with DC’s population, look like? Keep reading…
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DC’s bicycle commuter movement was activated 51 years ago
People in Washington, DC have been biking to work, and for work, for more than a century, but the bicycle commuter movement in DC celebrates something of an anniversary this year. It was in 1969 that the District Council held the first hearing on bicycle commuting and the the District subsequently installed the first bicycle route for commuters. Keep reading…
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The National Park Service recommends widening, modernizing the Mount Vernon Trail
Mount Vernon Trail users could find themselves on a wider, safer and straighter trail in the near future if the National Park Service gets the changes it wants. In a recently completed study of the Mount Vernon Trail, the Park Service has recommended trail upgrades, along with changes to operations and maintenance, that will improve the safety and user experience of the trail. Keep reading…
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“Problematic” statue featuring Abraham Lincoln may be removed from park in Northeast
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton announced in June that she will introduce legislation to remove the Emancipation Statue from Lincoln Park in Northeast because it “fails to note in any way how enslaved African Americans pushed for their own emancipation.” Keep reading…
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Here is the history of mandatory bicycle bell laws
Back in 2013, DC took the unusual step of allowing bikes to be ridden in the District without a bell, something the city had required for more than 125 years—and something a lot of other cities had required as well. Some advocates successfully argued that bicycle bells were an add-on that did nothing to improve safety, so they shouldn’t be mandatory. Keep reading…
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Suitland Parkway Interchange work will create a new DC Route 295 crossing for cyclists and pedestrians
The new Douglass Bridge, currently under construction, promises to significantly upgrade one of the Anacostia River’s few bicycle crossings. But what has been less celebrated is that it will result in a new place where cyclists and pedestrians can cross the DC Route 295 barrier. Keep reading…
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Some of DC’s manhole covers have history to be told
The District has thousands of manhole covers, and a lot of them offer a glimpse into the city’s history. This one, for example, is from a 19th Century streetcar company that hasn’t existed in over 100 years. Keep reading…
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DC has over 200 public schools named for people. Here is how they got their names.
Since the first “modern” DC public school was built in 1864, and promptly named for the mayor who built it, the public school and charter school systems have named 255 schools for individual people. Among them are 32 known slave owners, 10 former slaves, 10 abolitionists, 2 people who joined the Confederacy, 17 civil rights leaders, 26 presidents and 32 mayors or other city officials. Keep reading…