Weekend links: World-sized ideas
Will giant globe perch over freeway?
An architect wants to construct a building that looks like a split globe of the earth atop the I-395 Center Leg Freeway. (DCist, WBJ behind paywall)
Dupont underground movies?
Tenants pondering using space in Dupont’s underground tunnels include a movie theater and a big retailer. The revenue would help fund arts space in much of the tunnels. (City Paper)
What agencies say about buildings
The Office of Planning thinks the proposed Adams Morgan hotel is too tall. Historic preservation staff recommend denying a raze permit for townhouses a church has been neglecting and wants to covert to parking, but take a different view of one DC-owned property in Anacostia.
Petition against the sidepath law
Ask the Senate to reject the provision in the transportation reauthorization draft that would force cyclists onto sidepaths in parks and other federal roads. Here’s why it’s a terrible idea. (Bike League, Streetsblog)
Height limit = high prices in one city
Gentrification is pricing the poor AND the middle class out of Munich. A height limit, which limits the amount of housing, is one contributing factor. (International, Erik W)
Traffic is bad for you, biking good
Science says traffic is bad for your brain. (WSJ) … People with very long commutes are happier than those with medium-length commutes and transit riders, but walkers and bikers are best off of all. WTOP’s story gets the message completely backward on cycling. (Men’s Health, WashCycle)
The decline of pedestrian rights
Once, pedestrians roamed streets freely. They started to lose their dominance to streetcars and then bicycles, and ultimately to cars, especially when on-street parking became legal. (NY Times)
And…
A cyclist says a driver tried to intimidate him. (PoP) … Nats catcher Wilson Ramos, kidnapped in Venezuela, is safe. (Post) … New CaBi bikes get upgrades. (BeyondDC)