Breakfast links: Riders make changes
The Silver Line’s weekday debut
Over 24,000 passenger trips began or ended at the five new Silver Line stations on Monday and Wiehle-Reston East was the 12th busiest morning-commute station in the system. But it appears that many of those riders used to ride the Orange Line, with ridership at West Falls Church down 66%. (City Paper, Post)
Plenty of (car) parking
Fears that the Silver Line would cause a parking nightmare appear to be overblown, at least for now. Parking lots at stations didn’t fill up, but bike racks did. Many people found bicycle routes to the stations, though Fairfax can do a lot more to make the area better for cycling. (Post, FABB)
Bus change woes
The Fairfax Connector changed nearly 40% of its service on Saturday. 16 new routes were added and others changed to accommodate new Silver Line connections. But many commuters struggled to adapt to the new routes. (Post)
McMillan will get tweaks, not more
The DC Zoning Commission still has a few concerns about the McMillan project, like height of one building and the amount of transit, but won’t substantially cut back development as opponents wish. (WBJ)
St. Elizabeths needs direction
Five companies have expressed interest in developing St. Elizabeths East Campus, but it’s not the expected, big development firms. Did mixed messages from the city hinder interest in the site? (City Paper)
New bill could help cyclists
A new bill from David Grosso would eliminate contributory negligence for automobile-bicycle crashes, meaning a cyclist could still collect damages even if he or she were a small amount at fault in a crash. (DCist)
Why so few black cyclists?
African-Americans are less likely to bike commute than other groups. This could be because of fears about driver hostility and a view of cycling as a sign of poverty. (Streetsblog)
Breakthrough for bikeshare
New York’s REQX Ventures may acquire Alta Bicycle Share and expand Citibike (and raise membership prices). It could also break the logjam blocking expansion in Washington and elsewhere. (WSJ, Streetsblog)
Friendlier fed streets?
The Federal Highway Administration now supports an urban street design that features bike lanes, bus lanes, and narrower travel lanes. Could federal approval of these designs mean more city-friendly streets? (Streetsblog)
And…
Federal hiring is at its lowest level in ten years. (WBJ) … DC’s first food boat started serving boaters and kayakers this weekend. (PoPville) … For now, the Silver Line makes a trip to Dulles Airport only a little more convenient. (UrbanTurf)