Breakfast links: Planning ahead
To tax?
A poll says 62% of DC’s residents support Mayor Bowser’s plan to raise the sales tax, but 69% polled were unaware of the proposal. The DC Council is split on the matter ahead of votes on the budget that begin next week. (DCFPI, WAMU)
Purple haze
Montgomery and Prince George’s County Executives met with Governor Hogan yesterday to discuss the benefits of the Purple Line. The parties said the meeting was productive, but did not include discussion of the project’s funding. (Post)
Cruel irony
The proposed I-66 widening project will likely displace transit-oriented homeowners near the Dunn Loring Metro. So far, the homeowners have received little to no notice from VDOT about the possible project. (WAMU)
Slow ride
Montgomery County’s new Bicycle Master Plan will define every road by how stressful it for cyclists and will use those findings as a foundation for planning a more complete, low-stress bicycle network. (Bethesda Beat)
Sidewalk block
A DC law that bans people from blocking a sidewalk is supposed to combat disorderly conduct, but others claim its a vague law that’s being used to unjustifiably arrest protesters, homeless people, and minorities. (City Paper)
A last hurrah
In his final City Paper column, Aaron Weiner writes candidly about his dreams for making DC even greater. His ideas include dedicated transit lanes, more pedestrian zones, and homeless shelters in all eight wards.
Teachers needed
Prince William County will spend $2.9 million on new teachers in order to reduce class sizes, which are the largest in the DC area. The funds are not expected to make a significant dent in class size. (Post)
Defining urban
A study that asked locals to define which areas in their cities are urban shows that residents consider three of the 10 largest cities in America less than 50% urban. Density was the biggest factor in defining an area as urban. (FiveThirtyEight)
Charting rent increases
America’s urban housing affordability problems are a well-publicized problem now. But today’s affordability issues date back to the early 1990s, when rents in the nation’s largest cities began to outpace inflation. (CityLab)