Portland Aerial Tram photo by Joseph Readdy on Flickr.

Georgetown thinks big

Metro may be coming someday, but a task force has floated more creative options to enhance Georgetown’s connectivity. Some possibilities: an M Street to Arlington gondola and a pedestrian bridge to Roosevelt Island. (Post)  

Bowie Walmart gets a “no”

The Prince George’s planning board is recommending denial of a Walmart supercenter at Mill Branch Crossing, saying that the proposal is inconsistent with the plan for a high-quality town center on the 76-acre site.  (Post)  

Bus lines shut down

The feds have put 52 bus companies out of business as part of a safety crackdown.  The only local operator on the list is DC’s very own Party Shuttle, which was closed down in April as an “imminent hazard.” (CSMonitor, WJLA)  

Good news for transit in budget deal

There are still cuts to transportation funding in the resolution passed by the House last night, but they’re smaller than first proposed. The bill also sets up “reserve account” funding for infrastructure. (Streetsblog)  

Best & worst: Escalator edition

A UMD Ph.D. student has been crunching the numbers on escalator performance. Among the findings: while one Clarendon escalator had 99.9% availability, a Dupont Circle escalator was functioning 1% of the time. (City Paper)  

AAA endorses transit(!)

Credit where credit is due: AAA Mid-Atlantic has published a study of relative commuting costs and concluded that transit is indeed the cheaper option for many commuters, even with the proposed fare hikes. (City Paper)  

Don’t door me bro

The City Paper’s Jonathan Fischer interviews the anonymous ‘Bike Artist’ who’s been stenciling helpful (or simply amusing) messages to the city’s cyclists on bike lanes and cycle tracks since August.  

And…

Jim Graham announces an all-out war on pop-ups. (City Paper) … Four DC taxi drivers have been fined for non-compliance with new credit card rules. (Post) … MGM still looks like the favorite of Maryland’s casino consultants. (WBJ) … The director of the Dulles Metrorail Project refuses to speculate on a service start date. (Post)