Breakfast links: Welcome changes?

by Erik Weber • February 16, 2011 8:59 am

Photo by busy.pochi on Flickr.

The changing face of Montgomery suburbs: Montgomery County is coping with its shift to a minority majority county. While some residents have left as minorities move in, many work to incorporate the newcomers into their communities. (Post)

Can L'Enfant Plaza become an "ecodistrict"?: NCPC is looking into changing the bland L'Enfant Plaza area into a "Southwest Ecodistrict" with parks, housing and reconnected streets. Today, Housing Complex will host a live chat about the possibilities for the area.

Cabbies like the thought of late-night cuts: Cab drivers are eager about the possibility of Metro cutting late night service, which would bring a spike in business. Late night fares tend to be longer, more profitable trips. (TBD)

Attempt to restore Metro funding fails: Fairfax Rep. Gerry Connolly introduced an amendment to restore the $150 million federal safety matching funds for WMATA that was slashed from Republicans' appropriations budget. Other area Democrats supported the measure, but Republicans opposed it and killed it. (WUSA)

Montgomery council lists transportation priorities: Montgomery County council members have agreed that the Purple Line and Corridor Cities Transitway should be the county's top two projects for state funding, but have differing opinions about BRT, BRAC, and other priorities. (WAMU)

Wolf, Latham want Silver Line audit: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and House Appropriations transportation chair Tom Latham (R-IA) officially requested an annual audit of the Silver Line project from the USDOT Inspector General. (Dr. Gridlock)

Connaugton on Virginia transportation issues: Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton defended the Governor's plan to borrow heavily for his $4 billion roads plan. Virginia is also still seeking a seat on WMATA's board and will also appeal to the Republican leadership in the house to restore Metro's $150 safety subsidy. (TBD)

CaBi coming to Rosslyn in March: Rosslyn and Courthouse are slated to get 4 Capital Bikeshare stations installed in March. This would mark the first Arlington stations outside of the Crystal City BID. (TBD)

And...: Not only is Metro a good way to get around, it's also a great source of entertainment. (TBD) Could DC use its nascent streetcar system to foster industrial development in non-residential areas? (RPUS) ... Since it's already illegal to send them, Maryland now wants to outlaw reading text messages while driving. (TBD)

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Erik Weber has been living car-free in the District since 2009. Hailing from the home of the nation's first Urban Growth Boundary, Erik has been interested in transit since spending summers in Germany as a kid where he rode as many buses, trains and streetcars as he could find. Views expressed here are Erik's alone.

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@CaBi: "outside of Crystal City" (and Pentagon City too, right?) I was at Pentagon Row and saw a bikeshare station there. Glad to see bikeshare spreading into N. Arlington. Look forward to more station density in NE DC.

by Ward 1 Guy on Feb 16, 2011 9:08 am • link • report

Correct me if I am wrong but the 150 mill from the feds is part of their capital budget, thus not effecting operating expenses?

Even if that is the case 150 million less from metro will basicly doom the system.

by Matt R on Feb 16, 2011 9:10 am • link • report

Speaking of MoCo BRT, whatever became of Marc Elrich's audacious proposal to build busways on most of MoCo's arterials?

by EJ on Feb 16, 2011 9:14 am • link • report

L'Enfant Plaza always made me think everyone in it should be wearing identical communist (Maoist?) P.J.'s and avoid making eye contact. What an abysmal place. If there ever was a candidate for urban renewal that whole area would be it.

by Thayer-D on Feb 16, 2011 9:30 am • link • report

@Thayer-D You do realize that L'Enfant was constructed under the guise of "urban renewal" (using that exact phrase)...

by andrew on Feb 16, 2011 9:37 am • link • report

The problem I have with the “ecodistrict” is that their main goal is to tear down the Forrestal building and replace it. Sure Forrestal is a scar and a terrible mistake, but to call the area an “ecodistict” by tearing down a perfectly servable 1.7million sq feet of office space and rebuild so you have a better view down 10th is not really eco friendly.

by RJ on Feb 16, 2011 9:52 am • link • report

Yes Andrew, I was trying to be tounge in cheek. There was never a renewal to those early attempts, but there might be this time around.

To RJ's point though, as much of the fabric that can be saved should, but not at the expense of the long term viability of the district. In other words, raised roads like the one leading to the actual plaza and it's corresponding underground wall will never be successfull. The Forestal building, while looking like a slice out of Communist hell could be reskinned to aleviate its mind numbing and dehumanizing character.

The real plus would be in getting in a lot of housing to activate both the water front and the mall 24-7. Ammenities that are underutilized. Many of the maga-beurocracies could be used to energize TOD's around existing metro infrastructure.

by Thayer-D on Feb 16, 2011 10:10 am • link • report

With MoCo now becoming minority-majority, will that make it America's wealthiest minority-majority county (overtaking PGC)?

by Shipsa01 on Feb 16, 2011 10:19 am • link • report

@Ward 1 Guy: Good observation. "Outside of the Crystal City BID" is technically incorrect. Pentagon City is definitely not part of the CC Bid and there are at least four CaBi stations I can think of surrounding the PC mall area. I'm very pleased also though to hear of their expansion. They will do well along the R-B corridor I have no doubt.

by mapchick on Feb 16, 2011 12:47 pm • link • report

I agree with both posts on L'Enfant Plaza. I work in the Forrestal Building. It would be a HUGE expense to tear that down and build another building for the same people. Don't think the govt has that kind of money right now. However, it's the bleakest place in the world. If they could tear down that concrete median and just put trees and grass there, that would be a great start. And the underground L'Enfant plaza shopping area is pretty lame. Don't know how you'd make that area nicer without spending billions of dollars.

by VA Commuter on Feb 17, 2011 1:15 pm • link • report

@VA Commuter,

It isn't just about just tearing down a building that is "fine" for now. DOE has been out of space at Forrestal for nearly 4 years. GSA has been shopping around for another half a million sq/ft for them. As we all know housing a workforce in a bunch of disparate properties, especially ones the gov doesn't own and rents is horrendously expensive.

This plan would be a win win for a lot of people. The District loves it because it urbanises formerly closed off sections of town, opening them up to additional retail and tourist uses, and because, the buildings there now are "ugly". The gov loves it because they get a "do-over" on L'Enfant, freeing themselves up to build millions more sq/ft of metro centric office space for their employees which results in immediate savings of probably hundreds of millions a year in consolidating their workforce.

Is it the absolute "smartest" use of a few billion taxpayer dollars? Of course not, but its the smartest use of them I've seen in awhile.

by freely on Feb 17, 2011 1:24 pm • link • report

"DOE has been out of space at Forrestal for nearly 4 years."

Let's see if that's still the case once Congress finishes this year's budget...

by Froggie on Feb 17, 2011 3:48 pm • link • report

The budget isn't really relevant. If it's not DOE in that space, someone else will be.

The building isn't that old, but it's not that efficient or useful, either.

by Alex B. on Feb 17, 2011 3:50 pm • link • report