Breakfast links: Metro madness and density duels
Skip the stop
After a transformer caught fire at Stadium Armory last week, Metro has decided to have Orange and Silver Line trains skip the stop during rush hour in order to reduce power draw and improve train spacing. (Post)
Still too many short trains
Now that summer maintenance is over, Metro should be running more 8-car trains. But they’re still not anywhere close to meeting their goal of 35% 8-car trains during rush hour. (WAMU)
Mort malfeasance?
Metro’s Ethics Committee must decide if board chair Mortimer Downey violated conflict of interest rules by working for a firm contracted by Metro, as alleged by the DC Inspector General. (Post)
Doesn’t want density
A Bethesda shopping center could transform into mixed-use retail and apartment buildings, but residents say they want the area to keep its surface parking lots and suburban feel. (Bethesda Magazine)
Putting out fires
Bethesda Fire Department wants to replace its No. 6 station by incorporating the new station into an apartment complex, but residents argue the proposal doesn’t match the character of the neighborhood. (Post)
Repect Rock Creek
Rock Creek Park could soon be known as Rock Creek National Park. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill to rename the park, honoring its status as the nation’s oldest urban park and the third-oldest federal park. (DCist)
The walking dead
As technology becomes more prevalent in our day-to-day lives, pedestrians are increasingly distracted while walking. Hospital visits for pedestrians using phones have grown six-fold since 2005. (Post)
Forget globally, fund locally
As the federal government faces partisan gridlock and scales back spending, state and local governments must increasingly pick up the tab for road, transit, and public works projects. (Post)
And the newest objection to bike lanes is
Bike lanes in Coronado, California were condemned as paint stripe pollution. Residents claimed the lanes look like street graffiti and harm property values. (CityLab)