Breakfast links: Smoke pot in the snow
Marijuana is legal
Marijuana is now legal in the District, despite threats from members of Congress. Although it is legal to possess up to two ounces, you can’t sell it or consume it in a public space. (Huffington Post, POPville)
Confusion
DCPS says it’s open with a 2-hour delay, but @Metrobusinfo was insisting the schools are closed and saying there wouldn’t be buses to school until later correcting the mistake. (Twitter)
Necessary bike lanes
Bethesda residents asked for a sidewalk along Bradley Boulevard, but when the county provided a wider plan with a sidepath, bike lanes, and rain gardens, residents weren’t pleased. (BethesdaNow)
Break up with Bikeshare?
Should you renew your Capital Bikeshare membership or “break up”? Gear Prudence advises a reader to “just be friends” with a Daily Key. Also, to remember the zone where you can’t bike on the sidewalk, remember the phrase, “Pedestrians will be SoMaD.” (City Paper)
A new kind of bus
Bridj is planning to launch service in DC. The company provides point to point bus service based on census data, social media, and where there’s less existing transit service. (Washingtonian)
Cold never bothered them anyway
Edmonton, Alberta is considering building an 11-kilometer “freezeway” so residents could commute by ice skating. The frosty design has many opponents, one calling it “the stupidest idea I’ve heard.” (BBC, LEW) (Tip: LEW)
Girls, become transportation engineers!
The teams that created AASHTO bike infrastructure standards were 91 and 97% male and didn’t prioritize infrastructure that makes women feel safe. Bus shelters and bike cages with only one exit are another consequence of missing women’s voices in infrastructure design. (Governing)
Too little housing
Washington is the 6th most expensive US metro area to own a home; you must make over $77,000 a year to afford homeownership. … Even with more homes on the market, there are still too few to meet demand. (Next City, UrbanTurf)
And…
Here are the region’s worst merge lanes. (WTOP) … Children in Indian slums are mapping their communities. … London is setting aside $140 million to expand bikeshare into the suburbs, the largest municipal bike investment in European history. (Streetsblog)