Boxing Day links: Bad garages make bad neighbors

by Steven Yates • December 26, 2011 12:21 pm

Photo by Lynn Friedman on Flickr.

Neighbors object to secret garage: A planned intelligence campus in Bethesda is raising ire from neighbors with a 6-level garage and secrecy around whether fences, bright nighttime lights, or other security measures will exist. (Post)

Fingers crossed for transit: Montgomery County officials are hoping state funding decisions don't cause delays in the Purple line or Corridor Cities Transitway. (Post)

CaBi huge with tourists: Capital Bikeshare's ridership has declined since July, despite continued system expansion. But the biggest decline came from short term memberships, indicating that tourists are using the system a great deal. (City Paper)

Calvary to meet with community : Calvary Women's Services, which plans to build a shelter in Anacostia, has agreed to attend a community meeting after calls to do so from community leaders. (CHotR)

Quenching food deserts: The DC Central Kitchen is fixing food deserts by stocking fresh fruits and vegetables at corner stores in underserved communities. (WAMU)

2011 not great for NPS: The National Park Service had a rough 2011 when it came to their work in DC, but the end of the year did see some hope. (City Paper)

Better predictions for transit projects: Large transit projects often run behind schedule and over budget, but there might be a way to improve those predictions by including local governments and private partners. (Atlantic Cities)

No ads in Brazil city: São Paulo banned outdoor advertising and five years into the experiment 70% of residents favor the ban. Instead of looking at advertisements, residents now notice old buildings. (Center for a New American Dream)

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Steven Yates grew up in Indiana before moving to DC in 2002 to attend college at American University. He currently lives in Southwest DC.

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Not keeping up with the CaBi dashboard, I had no idea they had pulled so many bikes out of service (evidently to increase open dock ratios) in the late summer and fall until I read the article and followed the link.

by Arl Fan on Dec 26, 2011 2:38 pm • link • report

RE: Sao Paulo ban on outdoor advertising

Thank you for sharing this. As I recall seeing an old building coated with an ad for the iPad 2 near 10th and K Streets NW, I wonder whether such a ban has ever been considered by the D.C. Council.

However, to put this matter into perspective, if you look at old photos of commercial areas in D.C. or elsewhere, you see how businesses would paint their signs on the sides of their buildings. Traces of some of these signs are visible today.

by The Civic Center on Dec 26, 2011 3:04 pm • link • report

Sao Paulo is the Atlanta of Brazil. I'm sure there's plenty of neon as well as many unremarkable & un-noticed buildings even if the billboards are gone.

I wonder just how close the parking garage will be in Bethesda--usually there are many post 9-11 regs about the placement of federal buildings. Given that the defense mapping agency was also a spy agency, I think the neighbors are ramping up the paranoia a bit much. Some new buildings might make the campus look better than it does now.

by Rich on Dec 26, 2011 3:17 pm • link • report

Isn't that sign ban a bit extreme? I've seen GGW support video boards and making the area around the Verizon Center more like Times Square. I also recall advertisements on transit being supported.

by selxic on Dec 26, 2011 8:36 pm • link • report

I agree the sign ban is extreme, particularly if it bans sign on transit and bikeshare (if they some day get that). Sign bans are great fot historic areas and rural ones like Vermont but signs can also activate an area like Times Square. Picadilly Circus, and Verizon Center.

by Falls Church on Dec 26, 2011 9:11 pm • link • report

Decreasing the bike to dock ratio makes a ton of sense. Much more important to have a dock at the end of your ride than a bike at the start of your trip.

by Falls Church on Dec 26, 2011 9:16 pm • link • report

You guys get CaBi through the winter?

Lucky.

by Omri on Dec 27, 2011 8:36 am • link • report

On the revenue side, a decrease in tourists is also going to hurt.

CABI made a lot of money in the last year in overage fees. Off the top of my head, about 800K. I strongly suspect that the large majority of that came from tourists. Between my GF and I, we are responsible for $3 in overage fees in the past year, and I suspect that is typical of most annual members.

Selling CABI swag to tourists could be a revenue stream.

by charlie on Dec 27, 2011 10:37 am • link • report

So were back to believing in the myth of food deserts again?

by seaster on Dec 27, 2011 12:30 pm • link • report

I'm with @seaster! Obviously, it's equally easy to get fresh fruits and vegetables anywhere in the area. Anything else is a myth.

by Gray on Dec 27, 2011 2:36 pm • link • report