Breakfast links: Save the shrimp and the parking
Crustacean conundrum
Will the Purple Line harm two endangered amphipod species? A federal study says no, but some Chevy Chase residents have teamed up with an environmental group to challenge the finding in court. (Post)
Old law helps bike lane foes
Alexandria will have to hold several hearings on the King Street bike lanes, after opponents found a never-before-used 1963 law letting them force it before the traffic board and council. (Post)
Bike lane deficit
DDOT figures reveal that of DC’s 72 miles of on-road bike lanes, Ward 8 has zero. Figures exclude off-road trails, but include non-dedicated lanes. Ward 8 may be hilly, and was built out in a car-dominant era, but still… (City Paper)
Shielding black boxes
Two senators have introduced a bill that would make crash data recorded by onboard computers the car owner’s property. Is this good privacy policy or an impediment to crash investigations? (Streetsblog)
Bye-bye, Blue Goose
An architecturally infamous building in Ballston may not be long for this world. A developer has offered $6 million in community improvements (mostly for the Ballston Metro west entrance project) in exchange for more density. (ArlNow)
High speed = high cost
DC residents are paying through the nose for high speed internet service. A survey shows that the average cost of access in major cities is around $40, with DC’s average of $60 a striking outlier. (UrbanTurf)
Bad boys
The DC Council will hold a hearing today to address misconduct by DC police officers. More than 100 officers have been arrested in the past 5 years. (WAMU)
“No parking after midnight?”
An NYC-based designer has been soliciting comments on her graphic-based rethinking of parking signage. What do you think? They’re certainly a more radical departure than New York’s actual new parking signs. (Atlantic Cities)
And…
O’Malley’s final state of the state address was largely a victory lap but also pushed for a statewide minimum wage hike. (WAMU) … FedEx will be field-testing Nissan’s new all-electric vehicle for DC deliveries. (WBJ) … Construction will start next week on a Whole Foods in Riverdale Park, the first in Prince George’s. (Post) … Long trips are the most popular routes on the Beltway HOT lanes. (Post)