Breakfast links: Happy new streetcar!?
New year’s streetcar?
The H Street streetcar has passed yet another final test, and could potentially run service on New Year’s Eve. Mayor Gray has pledged to have service open before he leaves office New Year’s Day. (WAMU)
Safety still lacking
Fewer motorists are dying on DC roads, but bikes and pedestrians didn’t see similar progress. There is a definite racial disparity in pedestrian injuries: Hispanics are three times more likely to be hospitalized. (DCist)
Bus arrivals posted
WMATA is installing four arrival time screens, all updated live, at bus stops around the region. If this beta program is successful, WMATA will install 150 more. (City Paper)
Please take our road
Condo Association members in Laurel want the city to take ownership of their privately owned road. The road serves as a cut-through for growing regional traffic, but the city can’t pay for improvements. (Gazette)
Expensive offices
DC has been slowly climbing the ranks of the world’s most expensive office markets, and downtown DC now ranks 25th globally in cost per square foot. DC is behind only Boston, San Francisco, and New York in the US. (WBJ)
Veteran Metro riders
With the Concert for Valor but with many workers having the day off, how did Veterans Day ridership stack up for Metro? There were fewer riders overall from a typical weekday, but 40% more riders than last Veterans Day. (PlanItMetro)
And…
What’s the relationship between total miles driven and GDP? (Streetsblog) … Without a streetcar, what’s next for Columbia Pike? (NextCity) … Two out of five people will be leaving the region over the holidays, the most ever. (Post)