Breakfast links: Walkability close to work is worth a lot
Walk Score is money
People will pay more for higher walkability. In Washington, people will pay $133,000 more for a home with a Walk Score of 80 versus 60; that’s the second highest change after San Francisco. (City Observatory)
What a shorter commute is worth
Living one minute closer to work is worth $56 more a month in rent in New York (or maybe $33 a minute). That’s similar to the typical New Yorker’s earnings in that amount of time. (FiveThirtyEight)
More suburban poverty
More poor Americans are living in suburbs than ever, especially in some metro areas like Atlanta. But homes are still hard to afford as rents keep rising anyway, and transportation is difficult for people without a car. (BBC)
No Metro for marathon or Bruce
Metro said it wouldn’t open early or stay late for SafeTrack, and is holding firm. It won’t open early for the Marine Corps Marathon or a Bruce Springsteen concert at Nats park, leaving some attendees in the lurch.
Test scores up, but still low
Test scores for DC students rose last year, but even so, only about a quarter are proficient in math and English. Two top high schools, Wilson and School Without Walls, saw big drops. (WAMU)
Will this road be safer?
A Bethesda intersection where where a person died earlier this year will get new traffic signals, but nearby residents aren’t confident they will actually make River Road safer. (WTOP)
More cyclists die nationally
Bicyclist deaths in car crashes across the country rose 12.2% in 2015. 818 cyclists died in crashes last year, the highest since 1995, but the number of injuries declined. (WashCycle)
Manassas trailer park evicted
The city of Manassas bought land housing a trailer park and will evict its 300 residents by February. Officials say it’s because of failing water and sewage, but residents, mostly migrants, fear losing their homes. (Potomac Local)
Way more ride hailing
Since the advent of SafeTrack, more people are turning to ride hailing. Demand for Uber and Lyft have spiked by 25% and 15%, respectively. A quarter of riders have gone with carpooling options like UberPool. (Post)
And…
Area traffic will likely rise 15-45% after Labor Day (as it does each year). (TPB) … Governor Larry Hogan will study a new brige across the Chesapeake. (WJLA) … New York’s City Council rejected the first building to add 50% affordable housing under Bill de Blasio’s new inclusionary zoning program. (NYDN)