Posts by Kelly Blynn — Contributor
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Petworth residents say changes to a dangerous traffic circle should go further
Many people in Petworth lament how dangerous it is to cross the street and get to Grant Circle, one of their neighborhood parks. DDOT has an initial plan for addressing the problem, but pedestrian advocates say the real way to make the circle safer is to make the streets narrower and add more crosswalks. Keep reading…
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Become a great advocate (and a blogger) for safer streets, transit, and more at StreetsCamp 2015
Next Saturday, June 20, join Greater Greater Washington and urbanist organizations in the DC region to up your smart growth game at StreetsCamp 2015. After 50 years of being auto-centric, our region still has too many dangerous streets, too many surface parking lots that could be housing for new neighborhoods, and too many schools or Metro stations that are unsafe or too hard… Keep reading…
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A safer route to school is coming for Clarksburg kids and parents
In a win for parents, an intersection adjacent to a northern Montgomery County elementary school is getting a traffic signal and marked crosswalks. Keep reading…
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How should Montgomery County fund and build Bus Rapid Transit?
Montgomery County needs to find a funding stream in order to make its Bus Rapid Transit happen, and county executive Ike Leggett is exploring the possibilities. One of them is an independent transit authority, and while that may still work, the county needs to both vet it more thoroughly and weigh other options. In late January, Leggett rolled out his initial vision for how to develop,… Keep reading…
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White Flint’s holiday gift: a safe Old Georgetown Road
White Flint residents were frustrated to hear that Maryland transportation officials wanted to push a wide, eight-lane road through the new urban center they anticipated. But on Christmas Eve, they got an early holiday gift: Old Georgetown Road will get to be a boulevard after all. Montgomery County’s award-winning master plan for White Flint, approved in 2010, would… Keep reading…
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Montgomery County’s BRT challenge: Getting it right
Montgomery County is starting to plan the specific details for the 81-mile Bus Rapid Transit project county leaders approved last year. Its success will depend heavily upon whether the current wide, fast roads stay that way and just get bus lanes added on, or whether they become pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly boulevards that welcome transit riders and respond to community needs. Keep reading…
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After more crashes, DDOT pledges to remove Arkansas Avenue’s rush hour lane
In the year since a speeding car struck a friend on Arkansas Avenue NW, more drivers keep getting into crashes. New crosswalks and a traffic camera haven’t helped much, so now DDOT says it will re-stripe the street to eliminate its dangerous rush hour driving lane. Last Tuesday night, yet another crash left a car totaled on Arkansas Avenue. Neighbors report that an SUV crashed… Keep reading…
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Area governments take a small step on carbon emissions, but stall on real action
Greenhouse gas emissions are building in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change that is threatening our world. Our region needs to reduce carbon emissions from all sectors, but the regional Transportation Planning Board still won’t commit to a specific target. Keep reading…
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The region needs to hear the call to action on climate change
400,000 people — or 0.1% of the US population — flooded the streets of New York City for the recent People’s Climate March. But if we’re to make a difference, the outpouring of support for action on climate change needs to translate to action locally. With the evidence, and the movement for serious action on climate change, growing every day, it’s… Keep reading…
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How a road in White Flint is like a ski area
White Flint’s master plan calls for a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly road. The Montgomery County DOT (MCDOT) is disregarding that plan and says it can only build such a road once traffic declines. That’s a backward way to look at changing travel patterns. Keep reading…