Posts by David Edmondson

What to do with Franklin: Franklin Square could transform from a haven for the homeless to a centerpiece of a new living downtown. But it'll take a long time... and what about the homeless? (Harry Jaffe)

Pepco trims trees: Pepco is cutting back trees in Maryland that have caused so much damage to its infrastructure during storms. Residents disagree: is this long overdue, or is it an unnecessary loss of nature? (Post)

Fly to PDX, SJU, AUS, SFO: DOT has awarded 4 new nonstops from DCA to destinations beyond the 1,250 mile perimeter: Portland, San Juan, Austin, and San Francisco. The recent FAA reauthorization created the 4 new exemptions. (The Hill)

Nothing new under the sun: Opposition to the Golden Gate Bridge was just as fierce as opposition to major projects today. The arguments are uncannily familiar: no unbiased numbers, proponents are moving too fast, and more. (SFGate)

Santa Monica fights meter feeding: Santa Monica is installing sensors that will prevent drivers from feeding meters beyond the time limit. But perhaps they would be better served by changing to performance parking? (Huffington Post, Neil)

Los Angeles grows up: Atlantic Boulevard is emblematic of both old car-centric LA and the emerging transit city championed by the local council of governments and Mayor Villaraigosa. New development engages the street next to old strip malls, and highways mix oddly with the new light rail. This city is changing. (LA Times)

CaBi is infrastructure: Mayor Gray vociferously defended Capital Bikeshare in an exchange with a radio producer who thought DC's system should have private sponsorship and consequently higher costs. (TBD)

Bad bike citations are common: WABA reviewed all citations for bicyclists "riding abreast" and found not a single example where the cited cyclists were actually violating the law as written. They conclude officers need more training on bike laws.

Community survey cut: The House of Representatives voted to eliminate the American Community Survey, an important supplement to the census that helps communities across the country understand the needs of their residents. (Huffington Post, Matt T.)

And...: Moving young people to the suburbs isn't a solution to the affordable housing problem. (City Paper) ... The DC region has some mighty burdensome regulations on businesses and small contractors. (Examiner) ... Metro is up $20 million this year thanks to energy savings from manual train driving. (Examiner)

Renting success: The shift from owning big-ticket items to simply renting them, from apartments to carsharing, opens Americans to the kind of mobility needed to best match skills with jobs. (WSJ)

Downtown needs to perform: Parking demand in downtown DC exceeds supply, meaning spaces are scarce. Performance parking will alleviate the crunch. (TBD)

Economics reaches Gaithersburg: Gaithersburg will probably start charging for parking near its MARC station. It's also considering building a new lot; perhaps they should charge first and then determine how much demand remains. (Gazette)

School gap grows: There is a larger gap than ever between DC's best and worst schools. At top schools, students gain more ground on standardized tests than those at bottom schools. (Examiner)

And...: DCPS will reopen its only planetarium, which has been used as storage for years. (Examiner) ... Legislative scenarios that would lead to budget autonomy do not look good for abortion rights in the District. (Roll Call) ... Please don't nail signs to trees. (District Curmudgeon)

Flip the switch, save a bird: Many office buildings leave their lights on all night. That not only wastes energy, it kills birds. A new campaign is trying to get offices to change their practices. (Huffington Post)

Why biking to school got rare: Far fewer kids bike to school now than they did 30 years ago, thanks to planning that relegates biking to recreation and a legal environment that holds schools accountable if kids get injured traveling to and from school. (NPR)

And...: Many Washingtonians know very little about bicycle laws. (TBD) ... Will $700,000 be enough to attract a restaurant to a Ward 7 shopping center? (City Paper) ... Dallas residents don't want a new freeway through downtown. (Streetsblog)

Real-time meter data?: The DC Council transportation budget report asks DDOT to consider releasing real-time meter occupancy data publicly. That could empower a generation of apps and tools to help people understand and find parking. (TBD)

14th goes grit to glam: Development is booming along 14th Street NW. Though it's a sign of the District's strong economy, high rents and land prices means much of the strip's gritty character will disappear in favor of upscale retail. (NYT)

CP CaBi in the wrong places?: College Park and UMD have picked the locations for their 8 Capital Bikeshare stations, but some are very close together and others quite far-flung. Will this system succeed? Is 8 too few? (Patch, Bicycle Bug)

Dangerous to bike in Olney: A driver hit and killed a woman biking near Olney. Another residents says she's afraid to bike in the road and drives her bike to a place to ride. The road design needs to become safer for cyclists. (TheWashCycle)

And...: Two teenagers released pepper spray at L'Enfant Plaza yesterday afternoon. (Examiner) ... Which bus stops would you eliminate? (Examiner) ... While congestion and turmoil rage above ground, Cairo's subway trains keep running every 4 minutes. (NYT)

Some parts of Ward 5 vote: Turnout in Ward 5 weighed heavily toward the north part of the ward. If turnout in the May 15 special election follows the same pattern, it could affect the results. (GeoCommons, Mike DeBonis)

MDOT loses head: Effective July 1, Marlyand's Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley will step down from her post. In her tenure, Swaim-Staley pushed for higher tolls and gas taxes for the state's transportation system. (Post)

GeekEasy wasn't so easy: Start-up business incubator GeekEasy will move to the MLK Jr. Library after being unable to find enough tenants to break even on its commercial space. The incubator rents space to businesses that can't afford traditional offices. (Post)

Parks from parking lots: Miami-Dade wants a park within "strollable distance" for everyone in the county. To help, they're considering making worn-down strip malls into parks and paying for it with future development on the rest of the site. (MiamiHerald)

The road to ruin: Highway projects seemed to generate economic benefits when first built, but then it comes time to replace them, and there's no added tax revenue from that. This cycle is bankrupting many jurisdictions. (Strong Towns)

And...: Residents of 9-story buildings in Southwest don't like the idea of 11 story buildings. (Examiner) ... A 1-story nail salon on H Street will become a 1-story 7-11. (City Paper) ... Congestion pricing doesn't just limit traffic; it boosts transit substantially. (Streetsblog)

DC does foliage: DC does a fabulous job planting new street trees but doesn't do nearly enough to protect them. Casey Trees' annual report card said the city needs to do more maintenance if it wants to grow the canopy. (DCist)

The invisible helmet: Rather than go without a bicycle helmet, either to protect your carefully gelled hair or to feel the wind on your balding scalp, perhaps you should invest in an airbag collar that only appears when you're in a crash. (Bloomberg)

And...: The bus operator thought to have viral meningitis didn't have it after all. (Post) ... The new streetcars are due in 545 days, which means mid-October 2013. (TBD) ... Portland's limo companies get in trouble for offering Groupon discounts. (IJ) ... HPRB approves the latest version of the Hine project. (DCmud)

Costco not winning hearts: Costco tried to convince nearby residents that the large gas station it wants to build behind a new Wheaton store won't harm air quality and the neighborhood. Most were unconvinced, but liked the landscape architecture. (Patch)

Infant mortality improves: DC's infant mortality rate has improved markedly, moving from 23.1 deaths per 1,000 to only 8 deaths per 1,000. Home health visits and better healthcare outreach contributed to the improvement. (Post)

Hope from DC's renaissance: Detroit's current plight is much like DC's in the 1990s: loss of financial control, declining population, and rampant violence. Yet if DC could turn around, Detroit can, too. (MLive)

The snarl reaches Brazil: São Paulo's traffic is obscenely bad, largely from onerous parking minimums that often double the space a developer needs to build. (IBT)

And...: DC's major development projects continue to crawl forward. (WBJ) ... San Jose is plotting a major shift towards sustainable growth and transportation. (Sociecity) ... The Sierra Club endorses candidates for Falls Church City Council. (BlueVirginia)

Buy your own communion wine: If DC allowed alcohol to be sold on Sunday, it would bring in $710,000 to the city. Councilmember Graham proposed it as an alternative revenue source in place of keeping bars open until 4am. (Post)

Service eases the parking search: Parking Panda has launched in DC, allowing drivers to search for and reserve registered parking spaces. Though it will start for just some lots, anyone can register their driveway or alley. (Post)

Rollin north: Montgomery County Planning Director Rollin Stanley has been hired by Calgary, Alberta, to head its 800-strong planning department. He ends his tenure at Montgomery County next month. (Patch)

And...: Rosslyn's bikeshare system will double in size this week. (BeyondDC) ... Park Police ticketing cyclists at Hains Point for running stop signs. (TBD) ... Mitt Romney was once a smart-growth governor, but would he be a smart-growth president? (Grist) ... The MBTA will try smartphone ticketing on its commuter rail. (WSJ)

Vegas markets places, not neighborhoods: Like DC, Las Vegas has trouble bringing tourists out of its most famous district and into the rest of the city. To draw them out, Vegas casually markets restaurants and shops outside the strip alongside more traditional offerings—a largely successful approach. (Atlantic Cities)

Seattle's food forest: Plans are underway for a food forest in Seattle, with nut and fruit trees alongside herbs and spices all in a park-like setting and free for the taking. It faces challenges, but the city is excited about the possibilities. (Atlantic Cities)

And...: VRE raises fares by 3%. (Post) ... As it turns out, the half-mile circle around transit stations may not be the best measure of accessibility. (Half-Mile Circles) ... Vallejo, CA, will turn to the public for its budget process. (Times-Herald)