Photo by chrisjohnbeckett.

Shot a cyclist? It’s OK

The Asheville firefighter who shot a cyclist in the head because he thought cycling with a kid was unsafe will spend only four months in jail. A grand jury previously rejected an attempted murder charge, and now the judge awarded a lighter than average prison sentence.  (Streetsblog)

Meanwhile, a teen inTulsa

Austin shot a cyclist with a pellet gun, “saying he hated cyclists,” and a Miami driver intentionally hit a cyclist who wouldn’t get out of a bike lane so the driver could make a right turn. (Tulsa Alternative Transportation Examiner, Transit Miami)  

Let there be light, and airport buses

Metro is testing new, brighter lights on the F Street mezzanine at Judiciary Square. Metro will also run extra buses to BWI and Dulles during the Thanksgiving weekend. (WMATA)  

Desire lines of Brasilia

Brasilia is entirely designed around cars, and six-lane expressways and cloverleafs line their central green sward. Nevertheless, people cross it, and in the paths visible by satellite you can see the “desire lines” and paths where people found the least-deadly ways to cross. (Discovering Urbanism)  

Be on the Planning Board

Are you a Republican, independent, or registered with a minor party? Want to be on the Montgomery County Planning Board? There’s a vacancy following the death of Jean Cryor, who was a dedicated public servant in Montgomery County but also couldn’t understand the value of putting a library in a walkable area since of course everybody drives. Here’s how to apply. (WBJ)  

Tweet your space

A new Brooklyn service has users tweet when they’re leaving a space and also tweet to find the nearby spaces that were reported.  Joe. My. God. notes that this would encourage using the phone while driving, unless people pull over to tweet. But isn’t it likely that any newly available space will get filled up before a user arrives? The FAQ doesn’t have a good answer.  

Everybody wants biotech

Prince George’s County wants to get in on the biotech action like Montgomery. They want to build a “biotech incubator,” and some of the possible sites are even near Metro, like Prince George’s Plaza. M-Square in College Park is a ten minute walk from Metro, and Konterra is nowhere near Metro. In the long run, they’d like to put a big biotech campus in Beltsville. (Gazette)