Image by Daniel Nairn.

Big space, little space

While in Albany, Daniel Nairn photographed two spaces, one a large, Modernist civic plaza and the other a nearby old cobblestone street. It’s clear which is more pleasant for humans. (Discovering Urbanism)  

No more mobile lounges

Dulles’s AeroTrain has completed more testing and should start carrying passengers next month. The train will replace most of the “mobile lounges” that currently shuttle Dulles flyers between the main terminal and the gates. (Post)  

News flash: There’s lots of traffic

DC is the 7th most congested city in the US, according to data from GPS company TomTom; Alexandria is 9th. The Baltimore-Washington corridor was the most congested between two cities in the nation, with Maryland roads worse than Virginia’s. Get ready for highway boosters to insist we need 25 more Beltways and economists to say we need congestion pricing. (WBJ, Chris R)  (Tip: Chris R)  

From hostile shortcut to “entrance to a park”

Residents along a small London side street were tired of speeding cars. With funding from local charity Sustrans, they turned it into a friendly place with new trees, communal “wheelie bins” (trash bins), planters you can lock bikes to, and raising part of the road to “pavement” (sidewalk) level. The raised sections of streets are very common in Europe, but for some reason haven’t gotten support here. (Guardian, Stephen Miller)  (Tip: Stephen Miller)  

“Beauty and the Bike”

A new campaign in Darlington, England is trying to persuade high school girls to try bicycling by making it more fashionable. (GOOD)  

Sorry, we spent your savings

Last year, Chicago leased their parking meters for 75 years to a private company. Now, they city has spent 2/3 of the money just to balance the 2010 budget. (Parking Ticket Geek)  

Senator’s daughter carjacked

22-year-old Julia Corker, daughter of Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), was carjacked last night at 7th and D, NW in the Penn Quarter. (Politico) Mike DeBonis praises Corker for not turning the incident into a tirade against the evils of DC (or at least, not yet).