Morning links: Pay for it
Could we see congestion pricing?
A Brookings study for MWCOG found that many people in the area could support tolling lanes, but have many misgivings; tolling certain zones or congestion charging faced strong opposition. (DCist)
Roads don’t pay for themselves
The gas tax only covers about half of total road spending. with the remainder coming from state and federal general funds. Amtrak, meanwhile, covers 85% of its operating costs. (Streetsblog)
Inauguration data
Metro saw 800,000 riders on Inauguration Day with Franconia-Springfield beating out several other end-of-the-line stations for the most boardings before noon. Gallery Place led all stations in boardings after noon. (PlanItMetro)
VA GOP wants to change electoral college rules
Not content with redrawing district lines to give themselves more seats, Virginia Republicans also want to change the way the state allocates electoral votes to hand them out by Congressional district. That would have given Mitt Romney 9 more electoral votes in 2012. (Slate)
A more open campus
Gallaudet wants to open its campus to the surrounding neighborhoods starting with a new entrance at the campus’s southwest corner, which is closest to the NoMa neighborhood and Metro station. (City Paper)
Pay without touching
London recently started allowing riders to pay on its transit system with contactless credit cards. But is the that the future of transit payment, or will mobile payment services become the norm? (Atlantic Cities)
And…
Metro will replace the escalators at Pentagon. (Post) … Virginia’s dooring bill passes the Senate. (FABB) … DC leads in LEED, at least if you only compare it to states. (DCist) … Why are some streets in Columbia Heights at strange angles? (City Paper)