Breakfast links: Local developers learning

by Joshua Davis • October 14, 2010 8:32 am

Photo by barxtux on Flickr.

Parking minimums can bring profit maximums: Some local developers, including Jair Lynch and Chris Donatelli, realize the economic benefits of axing parking minimums. Perhaps they'll testify before the DC Zoning Commission on November 15 in favor of more progressive parking regulations. (Housing Complex, Jaime Fearer)

Scaling down with the Joneses: Early buyers of stalled developments in Prince William make do with uncompleted golf courses and new neighbors of more modest means. The housing market is slowly readjusting to realistic sizes and price points. (Post, Eric Fidler)

Health projects funded instead of BRAC: Area Congresspeople were hoping to secure funding for BRAC-related transportation projects, but last week failed to get it. The money will go towards military medical equipment and research projects. (The Hill, Bossi)

"Hipster Express" ties U Street, Brooklyn: A new DC-NYC bus, TheKnowItExpress, will travel from U Street to Brooklyn (and Manhattan). Not surprisingly, it's being dubbed the "Hipster Express," and also features Wi-Fi, laptop borrowing, and bicycle storage. (TBD) ... But will the stop in Manhattan, at Penn Station, take too much time? (City Desk)

Food fights: The vent for burger joint Rogue States is upsetting its neighbors at the law firm Steptoe & Johnson. A court has ordered Rogue States to halt cooking until the two parties can resolve their beef. (Post) ... 45% of Georgetown Cupcake customers are willing to wait more than 30 minutes for a cupcake. (Vox Populi, Eric Fidler)

Not another Adams Morgan!: Barracks Row is the latest to consider a liquor license moratorium. Residents say, as they do everywhere, that they don't want to be another Adams Morgan. (Housing Complex)

Drivers not behaving in bike lanes, so remove the lanes?: Crain's wonders if bike lanes are working for New York, noting that motorists are parking cars in them and pedestrians are walking in them. Even if this infrastructure isn't perfect, it ought to be improved, not removed. (Rob Pitingolo)

Sincerest form of flattery: NYC DOT is taking a cue from DC and replacing part of its car fleet with car sharing. Is bike sharing next? (Post, Streetsblog, Eric Fidler)

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13 comments

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Joshua Davis is currently a student at Northern Virginia Community College and lives in Reston. He writes about development and transportation news in the Dulles Technology Corridor and Tysons Corner areas.

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The best feature of the "Hipster Express" is that you can bring your bike along. That alone makes it valuable to me. Here's hoping the quality of service is at least somewhat on the level of a Megabus or Boltbus.

by Rob on Oct 14, 2010 9:29 am • link • report

I'd actually suggest that Barracks Row and the Eastern Market area have a pretty good balance of retail and dining options.

The current dining options are generally a bit more upscale than what you'd find in Adams Morgan or on U St, and seem to attract a fairly tame crowd. I was fairly surprised to learn that some of the nearby residents weren't OK with the status quo. Although I do appreciate that there's plenty of "useful" retail along the corridor, I do worry that a license moratorium would discourage new development entirely, and also cause prices to rise in existing restaurants so that I could no longer afford to dine there.

(I also never even realized that there were eating options south of the freeway. The ANCs should be doing everything in their power to encourage local businesses to set up shop in Near SE, south of the freeway. I have no idea how those condos/apartments sell for the prices that they do, considering that the neighborhood has virtually no amenities at the moment.)

by andrew on Oct 14, 2010 9:33 am • link • report

Coming up next on GGW: developers maximize their profit by not building to fire code, using Chinese drywall, and letting end users install their own toilets.

Seriously. I don't like electricity. Why should I pay to have it installed throughout the building?

by charlie on Oct 14, 2010 9:38 am • link • report

Surplus parking is not a safety issue.

by BeyondDC on Oct 14, 2010 9:41 am • link • report

@Rob

I believe BoltBus also allows you to bring your bike. I haven't done it myself, but a friend brings his bike from NYC that way sometimes.

by Teyo on Oct 14, 2010 9:54 am • link • report

I took Megabus to NYC a couple of weeks ago (for a trip to Brooklyn. Damn). The ride up was fine. The trip back was idiotic. I don't see how any stop at Penn Station can be quick and easy. Not after what I saw.

by Mike B on Oct 14, 2010 10:11 am • link • report

Yeah I think the stop at Penn Station is this company hedging their bets. If you want to have a bus that goes to Brooklyn then have it go to Brooklyn - bypass Manhattan altogether. Serve the clients that you are purporting to serve. Also, it's not like the Atlantic Ave terminal doesn't have subway and LIRR access.

by MLD on Oct 14, 2010 10:26 am • link • report

The DC-Brooklyn bus should go straight to Brooklyn -- cutting across Manhattan is *far* from the best way to get there from the south. Any Bolt/MegaBus rider can tell you that the very short trip from the Lincoln Tunnel to Penn Station can take up a considerable portion of the journey time. If there's not much of a market for trips to Brooklyn, run two separate services -- one to Penn, and another to Brooklyn.

Also -- why U St? Do we really need more buses clogging up that corridor while they idle and load? It's not particularly close to any of the highways, and isn't a particularly central location. Chinatown makes far more sense --- it's a 10 minute Metro ride from U St or Columbia Heights, has better connectivity for Red Line riders, dedicated bus stances, and is just as easy to bike to.

by andrew on Oct 14, 2010 11:12 am • link • report

Why U Street? Because the Bolt and Mega Bus pick up area on the Art Walk is already congested and disgusting. But that doesn't mean there won't be some nimby complaints about this new service on U Street.

by aaa on Oct 14, 2010 11:22 am • link • report

Large trees cut all along the Vienna Metro last week by WMATA -- the result has been increased noised pollution, particularly at night.

Neighbors in the community have noticed a loud "din" or roar of I-66, including the sounds of cars clicking as they go over the road -- which was not heard before. This includes neighbors with windows that face *away* from I-66, which makes it even odder.

Last week some big trees were cut down suddenly that used to provide a barrier between I-66 and the Northside Vienna Parking Deck. This seems to be responsible for the dramatic uptick in reflected traffic noise, even at 1:50am at night.

Trees were all cut along the northside Vienna Metro Parking deck -- and used to be tall and provide bushy coverage. The trees absorbed some of the noise from I-66, preventing it from entering the parking deck and echoing around... which would explain why the noises seem curiously louder at night instead of during the day -- at night there are less cars in the parking lot to absorb the soundwaves. The noise from I-66 bounces and echos throughout the parking deck, which is why we would hear more noises from I-66 at night and hear it from a window completely opposite of I-66.

WMATA has been contacted to see if they plan to do a new solution to prevent the parking deck from echoing noise, now that the trees have been cut. The parking deck has become one large echo chamber for the moment unfortunately.

by M on Oct 14, 2010 1:31 pm • link • report

looks like every urban-dwelling demographic group will have their own express bus connecting to the neighboring metropolis' cluster of such people.

by poncho on Oct 14, 2010 2:06 pm • link • report

I really dont understand why all the bus companies insist on Penn station.

Drop me off at the subway and save me 45 minutes please.

by JJJ on Oct 14, 2010 2:45 pm • link • report

So the bus company caved and has scratched the Penn Station stop.

http://dcist.com/2010/10/never_doubt_the_power_of_the_intern.php

by Mike B on Oct 14, 2010 2:46 pm • link • report