Breakfast links: Running away with it

by David Alpert • May 20, 2009 8:17 am

Photo by reallyboring.

What about those old car dealerships?: The Daily Green proposes possible reuses of old car dealerships: total redevelopment into higher-density town centers, community centers, art galleries, flea markets, and restoring wetlands.

Navarro wins: Democrat Nancy Navarro beat Republican Robin Ficker and Green candidate George Gluck in the general special election yesterday for Montgomery County District 4 with 63.36% of a very low-turnout vote.

Transit bait-and-switch: Here's another problem with approving transit-oriented development without firm plans for the transit: Danac designed a large, mixed-use office park centered around a planned Corridor Cities Transitway, but then the county decided to shift the line to the nearby JHU Belward Farm development instead.

MARC gives the wrong information: MARC had to delay a train by 20 minutes. Meanwhile, an employee told passengers heading to BWI to take the Camden Line instead. However, that would have gotten them there much later, even with a 30-minute delay. (Inside Charm City) Almost nobody is going to take transit to BWI unless there is decent transit to BWI, and MARC and the bus are both jokes.

Gas prices going up: Gas prices always rise around Memorial Day, but they're going up a lot faster than usual. WJLA has some quotes from drivers who are cutting back on driving or bought more fuel-efficient cars.

Outdoor classrooms: The new yard at Williamsburg Middle School in Arlington will become "a series of outdoor classrooms" to teach sustainability concepts like green roofs and wind harvesting. (DC Metrocentric)

What a robbery looks like: Last week, nine people walked into Universal Gear on 14th and then brazenly stole handfuls of merchandise. They've posted the surveillance video. Be sure to look at the end, where the salespeople try to stop the thieves.

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21 comments

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David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.

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Wait, what's wrong with the B30 bus to BWI? It's always gotten me to the airport on-time.

by Chris S on May 20, 2009 8:34 am • link • report

I'll second Chris S. the B30 bus is great, especially if you live on the north leg of the Green line. Only one modal change between the subway station and the airport terminal.

by Steve on May 20, 2009 9:16 am • link • report

Well Shady Grove has a lot of dealers near the station that would be prime real estate. Do the dealers own the land their lots sit on?

by цarьchitect on May 20, 2009 9:17 am • link • report

What to do with old used car lots? We're turning one into a diner.

by Capital City Diner on May 20, 2009 9:19 am • link • report

Count me as another fan of the B30 bus. (But I live in College Park, so it's really easy for me to get to Greenbelt station.) As with all bus routes, it would be better if it ran more often, but I've almost never had a problem with the bus being delayed en route. It's pretty reliable.

by Johanna on May 20, 2009 9:35 am • link • report

The video of the robbery of Universal Gear is really disheartening. The thieves don't look fearful, ashamed, or any other reaction you'd expect when people know that they're doing something very very wrong. It's almost like they felt entitled to take whatever they wanted from that store ... without paying.

by Lance on May 20, 2009 10:15 am • link • report

I'm also a fan of the B30 and I think it has lots of fans, in fact perhaps too many. I tried to take it to Greenbelt Sunday night around 8 and had to wait for the next bus because the first bus was filled to capacity. If anything, I would say WMATA should step up service Sunday nights if they're getting that kind of ridership regularly (the bus only runs every 40 minutes on Sunday evenings).

by Eileen on May 20, 2009 11:29 am • link • report

Who are you people who like the B30? I use it because there aren't a lot of other options. But the bus comes way too infrequently--I usually end up waiting for a half hour or more, for a slow and crowded ride back to Greenbelt. I live in Shaw, and getting from the terminal back to my apartment last time I flew took 2 hours using the B30 and Metro. Ordinarily I'm not one to bitch about Metro, but they should really improve that line's frequency.

by Dan Miller on May 20, 2009 11:53 am • link • report

The B30 isn't too bad. Sometimes it's crowded, but I've always had a seat. The next bus has never been more than 20 minutes away, and I've never had to wait for the next bus after a full one. It seems to run pretty close to schedule.

As I've said, they should pick up frequency, especially around peak times (e.g. special schedules around holidays), and should raise the rates (people going to/from the airport can and will pay more than $3, especially for a shorter wait). Same goes for the 5A to Dulles, though I haven't ridden it yet.

by Gavin Baker on May 20, 2009 12:27 pm • link • report

Dan Miller: Something you could try, next time you fly into BWI, is keeping a copy of the B30 schedule with you (or even memorizing it - it's not that hard to remember). In my experience, the bus is usually pretty close to on time. So if you know there's a bus leaving soon, you can run to catch it, but if you know the next one's not for 30 minutes, you can take your time.

I agree with Gavin that crowding at peak travel times can be a problem. I've always had a seat myself, but sometimes other people on the bus have had to stand.

by Johanna on May 20, 2009 12:45 pm • link • report

@Gavin. My only experience riding the 5A to Dulles was like night and day compared to the B30. The 5A was 45 minutes late arriving at Rosslyn (I was glad I had allowed enough time before my flight) and finding the bus stop at both Rosslyn and Dulles was a pain. It was drastically easier at BWI. I hope to avoid any flights out of Dulles before 2013.

by Steve on May 20, 2009 1:03 pm • link • report

For District residents, National airport is far and away the best choice, after factoring time/distance and cost of transportation to the other airports. But of course, international flights are rather limited out of National, to say the least.

by KC on May 20, 2009 1:16 pm • link • report

Southwest flights out of National are nonexistent...

It's by far the most convenient airport for me but sometimes the flight options from BWI and Dulles are much cheaper even after factoring in transportation.

by alexandrian on May 20, 2009 1:22 pm • link • report

An important thing to consider for municipalities to consider in regards to the empty car lots, is the potential for extensive soil contamination. In addition to the economy, the environmental remediation may limit the chances of redevelopment...

by JL on May 20, 2009 1:45 pm • link • report

It's by far the most convenient airport for me but sometimes the flight options from BWI and Dulles are much cheaper even after factoring in transportation.

My thoughts exactly. The ~$150 I save flying through BWI is well worth the hour-or-so it takes to get there.

by Froggie on May 20, 2009 2:08 pm • link • report

I've used the 5A a few times, and to full satisfaction, except for the frequency. Sounds like the B30 has the same issue.

This is another one of those examples where I simply do not understand WMATA. They have so successful and cheap lines to get to the airports, and they barely advertise for them. They did add them on the metro maps in the trains. Finally. Why aren't L'Enfant Plaza, Rosslyn and Greenbelt plastered full with posters and arrows explaining travelers where to find them. And how come there is no way of avoiding those annoying folks who try to shuffle you into the Flyer buses for $8?

by Jasper on May 20, 2009 2:25 pm • link • report

My experience with the B30 is that one can almost never get on the 1st bus that comes due to crowding, so it takes about an hour to get on a bus. I agree that it needs to run more frequently.

by dcseain on May 20, 2009 2:36 pm • link • report

Though I agree that both the B30 Metrobus and MARC's Penn Line could use some improvements, I use both on a pretty regular basis and would say that they -- especially MARC -- are my preferred way to get to BWI. I'd choose either one over a car or SuperShuttle any day. In fact, my wife and I will be taking MARC to BWI for a flight tomorrow.

Calling them both "jokes" is a pretty low blow, and I'd expect an intelligent person to be able to find better language to express criticism.

by Dustin on May 21, 2009 10:08 am • link • report

I always use the MARC to get to BWI. In fact, I used it twice this week for my trip. My only complaint is that the MARC/AMTRAK shuttle bus at BWI has a very low frequency. I had 30 minutes to catch my train, but I still missed it because the bus comes so infrequently.

by Erik on May 21, 2009 10:42 am • link • report

I noticed the business that took over the Hummer dealer on Rt. 7 in Tysons is already "going out of business." Then again, it looks like it was designed to go out of business. http://tysonsdesignexpo.com/

by MatthewMc on May 25, 2009 9:54 am • link • report

Why would anyone who lives near downtown DC take the B30 bus to BWI when the MARC is so much more civilized (and frequent) way to travel with luggage? I am taking the B30 tomorrow, but only because MARC doesn't take bikes on board.

by Brian on Jul 26, 2009 10:29 pm • link • report