Weekend links: Not that easy being green
Anacostia to get green help
EPA is partnering with the District to green Anacostia’s streets, intersections, and public spaces. (TBD) … However, building housing on vacant land at the Anacostia Metro might be the most effective green measure. (City Paper)
VMT tax programs run out of fuel
Even in environmentally conscious places as Oregon and the Netherlands, taxing by mileage is politically impossible even though current US gas and car taxes come nowhere near covering the cost of roads. (NYT)
States want mega-highway locals oppose
The I-5 bridge between Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, needs renovation. Both states’ highway departments want a $3.2-billion mega-bridge that many local residents strongly oppose. (Streetsblog)
Vote for a Farragut transfer name
Metro has selected 5 names for the out-of-system transfer between the Farraguts: “Free Transfer,” “Surface Transfer,” “Farragut Connect,” “Farragut Exchange” and “Farragut Crossing”. Vote for your favorite. (DCist)
Zipcar loses street parking
DC has finished auctioning off street spaces to car sharing companies. Zipcar will lose 80% of its existing street spaces, many of which will likely be replaced on nearby private property. (TBD)
Gentrification is nothing new
An old waterfront industrial area in DC sees new apartments and office buildings replace industrial uses. Sound like the Navy Yard? It’s actually Foggy Bottom in the years following WWII. (DCentric)
NYC deploys bollards, poles, and rocks
Some NYPD precincts are notorious for parking their cars on sidewalks with impunity. To stop this, the city had to install 13 obstacles at one intersection alone. (Streetsblog)
Municipalities face bankruptcy too
Jefferson County, AL, is nearing bankruptcy largely due to debt incurred over rebuilding its sewers. Meanwhile, bankrupt Central Falls, RI, is cutting pension payments by as much as 50%. (NYT)
Buy America, hurt America
Protectionist “Buy America” provisions raise the cost of Amtrak locomotives by 30%. Does protecting a few domestic jobs from competition outweigh the public interest in buying more infrastructure? (Think Progress)
And…
The ban on bikes in Black Hawk, CO, goes to the state supreme court. (Streetsblog) … Montréal, which experienced an infrastructure boom 40 years ago, finds its highways crumbling fast. (Globe & Mail) … Curbside parking looks much better when compared to the alternatives. (NUN)