Lunch links: Train stations and stationary trains
A grand station and community in New Carrollton?
Prince George’s County is considering an exciting plan to build a multimodal transit hub, grand train station, pedestrian and bike accessibility, and new mixed-use neighborhoods at New Carrollton. With Amtrak, MARC, Metro, the Beltway and US-50, it’s PG’s best spot for real, large-scale smart growth. The Mayor of nearby Landover Hills wants the plan expanded to include his town, while some other neighbors don’t want any tall buildings that block their view. CSG has an action page to ask county officials to approve the plan and be sure to include affordable housing. (Gazette)
Riders still confident in Metro
88% of respondents to a Dr. Gridlock poll are still happy to ride Metro. Commenters point out that 27 years between rider fatalities is a long time, much safer than other modes of travel.
Not just a “situation” or “disruption”
Metro’s automated system for sending out service disruption emails (or tweets) is very helpful for commuters, but when trains crash into each other, its canned message language verges on the offensive. For a while, the system reported “mechanical difficulties,” and a few times said that the “disruption … was cleared,” when in fact Red Line trains are not operating normally and won’t for some time. (DCist)
Google Transit in Fairfax
Arsalan Jafree has created a Facebook group to try to persuade Fairfax County (Fairfax Connector) to support Google Transit. The City of Fairfax (Fairfax CUE), Alexandria, Loudoun County, the town of Culpeper, the Maryland MTA, and others already do.
DC budget crisis, again
DC tax revenues have fallen short of expectations, again. DC will have to spend $190 million from its reserve fund just to cover the last three months of the year, and that assumes they can fix another $87 million in overruns. They’re going to have to go back to the already-approved 2010 budget and cut it even more ($150 million, or $245 million to replenish the reserve). A big question is, why didn’t we know this was happening sooner? Aren’t we tracking projections a little more frequently? That’s what some neighbors were asking when Gandhi spoke to DCCA last fall. (City Paper)
Suburban living not inherently better, thanks
Advice columnist Carolyn Hax slaps down a letter writer who suggests she deserves to adopt a child more than another couple because, among other things, they live in the suburbs instead of a city condo. (@beyonddc)