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Breakfast links: News cycle
Bike to Work Day: It's Bike to Work Day! Were you among the 14,000 expected to participate? (Post)
Cyclist struck, critically injured: A 20-year-old cyclist died is in critical condition after a collision with a driver at 11th and U, NW Thursday morning. Police didn't specify which direction the cyclist or driver were traveling, but the driver did stay on the scene. Update: Some reports said the cyclist died, but that is still unconfirmed. (Post)
Bikeshare to Fairfax?: Fairfax is applying for funding to do a bikeshare feasibility study. Right now the focus is on bringing Capital Bikeshare to Reston. (FABB)
Cycle tracks make odd bed fellows: DDOT unveiled details on the M Street bike lanes at a meeting which became somewhat heated with opponents ranging from members of a local church to the owner of a strip club. (WashCycle, Borderstan, DCist)
Child care crisis: While DC offers subsidized child care, parents have to wait for hours to get it, forcing some to miss work or school. Even then, parents only get a 40% subsidy, which is among the lowest in the country. (Post)
Georgetown 2028: The Georgetown BID is beginning a several month planning charette to discuss the direction the neighborhood should take in the next 15 years. (Georgetown Metropolitan)
DC, the taste testers: Several restaurant chains use DC to test out new concepts before expanding to the rest of the country. Harriet Tregoning says DC makes a perfect test bed for many urban innovations, from urban Walmart to car2go. (City Paper)
Gen Y likes walkability: More than three quarters of Generation Y want to live in walkable neighborhoods. Most also want to live near shopping, dining, and their work, and 40% want to live in cities. (UrbanTurf)
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Breakfast links: Youth today
Drive less: People in the DC area are getting to work less by car and more by transit and biking. Greater numbers of people that work in DC also now live in DC. (City Paper)
Tech, don't drive: Some new technology is making driving less necessary, which may be part of why millennials continue to drive less than their parents. (Streetsblog)
The youth vote: The city of Takoma Park passed a change in its charter to make it the first jurisdiction in the US to allow 16-year-olds to vote in local elections. (WAMU)
Fire on the train: Investigators think a loose part sparked the electrical fire that snarled Red Line commuters near Silver Spring on Tuesday. (Post)
Height limit heats up: The first of the NCPC/Office of Planning meetings on possibly changing DC's height limit brought out skeptics whose worries ranged from abandoned sky scrapers to less sunlight to danger from earthquakes. (City Paper)
Taxis pass those with disabilities: An investigation found DC's taxi drivers discriminating against people with disabilities by dropping them off at the wrong place, charging them extra fees, or not picking them up at all. (WUSA9)
We will bury you!: A $1 billion plan to bury more power lines in DC garnered heaps of praise. The plan would see customers' bills rise $3.25 a month over 7 years. (Post)
Phase 2 builder selected: The MWAA has selected Capital Rail Constructors to to build Phase 2 of the Silver Line. The group's $1.18 billion bid was the lowest, beating Phase 1 contractor Bechtel by $14 million. (Post)
Korean Embassy offers up land: As a gesture of goodwill, the Korean Embassy will offer their rarely-used parking lots to Arlington for free for at least two years. What should the county do with it? (ArlNow)
And...: American Community Survey shows where government workers live. (DCist) ... 4 years since opening, the bike trail on the Wilson Bridge has been a huge success. (Post) ... Workers finish topping off scaffolding for earthquake repairs to the Washington Monument. (Post)
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Breakfast links: Born to run
Wells to run: Tommy Wells will announce he's running for mayor on Saturday, joining Muriel Bowser as the only other officially announced candidate. (Post)
Eastern Market plaza upgrade?: The plaza around the Eastern Market Metro stop may get a makeover that will improve pedestrian access but will not reroute Pennsylvania Ave. (WBJ)
Southern access: Many who live close to Southern Ave. Metro drive instead of walking or biking to the station. Metro blames the station's poor connectivity and a pedestrian-unfriendly Southern Ave. Can fixes encourage people to walk or bike? (PlanItMetro)
Air rights up in the air: Should MWAA prepare for development on top of Phase 2 Silver Line stations now? It's cheaper to build foundations now, but still expensive and there might be too much available land to make selling air rights worth it. (Post)
Amtrak's new toy: Amtrak showed off its new locomotives that will be used in Northeast Corridor. The locomotives will be able to convert their braking into electricity to send through the overhead wires. (WTOP)
Still #6: In the second year of rankings, DC kept its position as 6th most bikeable city according BikeScore. DC was unable to move up the list despite new bike lanes and the increased popularity of CaBi. (DCist)
Young people drive less: Another new report says Americans are driving less, especially young people, who don't idolize driving so much, can have social contact online, and perhaps also are more often unemployed. (NYT)
And...: The MTA is aiming for a 2020 opening of the Purple Line. (WJLA) ... Check out the benefits of biking to work. (Streetsblog) ... Alexandria still doesn't want Norfolk Southern transporting ethanol to trucks in the city. (WAMU)
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Breakfast links: Longtime residents
Bonds wants tax break for elderly: Councilmember Anita Bonds wants to eliminate property taxes or subsidize rent older residents who have lived in DC for 25 years, be at least 80 years old, and earn less than $150,000. (Examiner)
Sued for blocking development: Some Southwest condo residents filed a landmark application to try to block development in their complex, but a developer threatened a lawsuit, since the condo owners agreed to allow development there when they bought their units. Another group also applied for landmark status. (City Paper)
Evans opposes disclosures: Councilmember Jack Evans (ward 2) wants to delete new rules that force members to file monthly disclosures. Few are in "full compliance" now; David Grosso suggests training could help. (Examiner)
Food truck regs not tasty enough: DC councilmembers don't seem inclined to approve food truck regulations. DCRA will allocate 180 spots for trucks downtown, but truck operators want more concentration in the popular areas. (City Paper)
Arlington may relax rules: Arlington might let food trucks park for more than 2 hours and later at night, but as in DC restaurant owners say trucks' lower costs and no state taxes make competition unfair. (WAMU)
Bike lanes for Hyattsville: Hyattsville will be getting new bike lanes to connect the West Hyattsville Metro to the Arts District and retail on Queens Chapel Road. (Gazette)
And...: The Museum of Natural American History's transportation exhibit is 10 years old and still popular. (Post) ... DC doesn't have many pre-fab homes but one is coming to H Street NE. (PoPville) ... The National Aquarium will close. (DCist)
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Breakfast links: WMATA won't pay
WMATA will run, not fix transit center: Metro wants to operate the Silver Spring Transit Center, but doesn't want to be on the hook for ongoing maintenance. (WTOP)
Graham must pay for his lawyers: WMATA will not pay to defend Jim Graham in a lawsuit which alleges Graham improperly quashed a land deal between a developer and Metro while he served on WMATA's board. (Examiner)
Wrong escalator parts: Nine escalators won't get repaired as scheduled thanks to a contractor ordering the wrong parts. But Metro officials wouldn't or couldn't identify the contractor to the board. (Post)
A shifty shift of funds?: Muriel Bowser and the committee she chairs pulled funding for relocating DC Water to make way for a Capitol Riverfront mixed-use project. Instead, the money will pay for three projects in Bowser's Ward 4. (WBJ)
In Purple's path: Maryland prepares to tell 110 residents and businesses that the Purple Line may force them to move, though some may ultimately be able to stay. (Post)
BIDs get real-time: Screens showing real-time transit information are likely on the way for Ballston and Georgetown. Both areas' BIDs have agreed to fund the screens to help visitors find transit and reduce pedestrian crowding. (Elevation DC)
Less flooding, but other problems: To deal with Bloomingdale flooding, DC Water will build a giant tunnel under some streets, but residents of those streets are upset at the plans, which could close their streets for 2-3 years and destroy trees. (City Paper)
DC IDs 150 food truck spots: DC officials will identify 150 spots for food trucks in the most popular locations, but that likely won't be enough to satisfy truck owners. (Post)
Bike lanes breed safety, profits: A New York study found that bike lanes made streets safer and even helped increase local businesses' sales up to 50%. (Taking the Lane)
And... : Construction starts on First St. NE, including a 2-way cycletrack. (NoMa BID) ... Dupont's ANC opposes the U Street moratorium and new food truck rules. (Borderstan) ... HPRB is still iffy on McMillan. (Bloomingdale)
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Breakfast links: Take transit farther
More Circulator, more expensive: The Circulator fare would rise to $2 ($1.50 with SmarTrip) under Mary Cheh's proposal; to fund extensions to U Street and Shaw, the Cathedral, and Waterfront Metro. (Post)
Bike part of the way to work: Think you live too far from work to bike there on Bike to Work Day? You could bike to Metro, where WMATA will set up pit stops at West Hyattsville and Cheverly. (PlaItMetro)
Up with pop-ups: Aaron Wiener defends pop-ups like the one at 11th and V, echoing some arguments Dan Malouff made in his recent article. It would be nice to ensure all construction is attractive, but probably impossible. (City Paper)
Even more anti-Purple Line candidate wins: The challenger who thinks the Town of Chevy Chase isn't fighting the Purple Line hard enough, John Bickerman, won a seat on the town council. He wants the town to pay a consultant who would lobby the Federal Transit Administration against funding the line. (BethesdaNow)
Should Arlington Cemetery expand?: Arlington Cemetery plans to add space for 27,000 graves, but the plan would cut down many trees and affect a streambed. Others say it can't grow forever, so maybe it's time to start on "Arlington Two" now. (Post)
More bike lanes and clarity: A letter writer says Virginia should build more bike lanes, which, at $5,000 a mile, are cheap by VDOT standards. He also asks Virginia to make its laws on bicycling more specific and easier to find. (Sun Gazette)
Baltimore bikeshare?: Baltimore could get the 25-station Charm City Bikeshare system within in a year after winning approval from a city panel. A vendor hasn't been chosen, but CaBi's operator Alta is a possibility. (Baltimore Sun)
Density leads to dollars: A study in Nashville found that dense, mixed-use development is best for a city's finances since it costs less and generate more revenue than less dense development. (Streetsblog)
An ambitious plan for SW: Two architects suggest sweeping changes to Southwest DC, including eliminating I-395, a new Metro stop in East Potomac Park, and converting Fort McNair into a "New Mall." (Atlantic Cities)
And...: DC Taxi Commission gives the green light for credit card readers in all taxis by August 31. (Post) ... More Metro employees feel safe reporting safety problems. (WAMU) ... The Congress Heights Metro will likely get a large, mixed-use development. (UrbanTurf)
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Breakfast links: Welcome
More tourists for DC: DC tourism increased 3% in 2012, setting a record high. The big draws were museums and memorials. DC fared better in the recession than elsewhere. (Examiner)
Robberies up on Metro: Crime has declined overall on Metro due to safer parking lots. But robberies, mostly people stealing phones, has increased. Transfer stations like L'Enfant Plaza and Gallery Place are the biggest targets. (Post)
DC ready for armed march: A radio host proposed marching with loaded rifles from Arlington Cemetery to DC. Police Chief Cathy Lanier plans to enforce DC gun laws. (Wash. Times) ... Side note: Both ends of the Memorial Bridge are actually in DC.
Raid affordable housing for summer school: The DC Council approved $4 million to keep summer school open to more kids. But the funds came out of the $51 million Mayor Gray pledged to increase the amount of affordable housing. (Post)
Route 1 urban or suburban?: A Costco with a huge parking lot and a dense mixed-use development are both coming to Route 1. Does Fairfax want it to be a walkable urban corridor or strip malls? (WAMU)
Transit union opposes Circulator: The WMATA workers' union isn't pleased about the Circulator expanding. They say it would cost jobs, but Mary Cheh says it means better service for the same number of jobs. (Circulator workers are also union.) (WJLA)
"Roll models" help women bike: WABA's program to help more women bicycle is starting to get results. They've picked 10 women "roll models" who can help friends and acquaintances overcome obstacles, like what gear they need. (Post)
Seriously, chill, NYC: Sommer Mathis, who covered CaBi's rollout extensively, patiently explains to New Yorkers that all of the complaints about Citibike stations are nothing new. Here, at least, they mostly vanished once the program opened. (Atlantic Cities)
And...: Arlington and Alexandria are increasing property taxes; Alexandria's will allow the city to fund Capital Bikeshare and libraries. (WAMU) ... David Catania's truancy bill received preliminary approval, without the part about imprisoning parents. (WAMU) ... Retail at Dulles and National airports could get a lot better soon. (WBJ)
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Breakfast links: Underpaid
Capital Bikeshare underpays workers?: The Department of Labor is investigating Capital Bikeshare operator Alta for allegedly not paying federal wages, as their contract requires, for nearly 2 years. (Post)
Food trucks protest: DC food trucks didn't serve food in Farragut Square as a protest against proposed regulations. (Washington Times) ... But restaurant owners say the trucks are exaggerating, and at designated vending zones like Farragut, many trucks could potentially still operate. (DCist)
Veterans crash: Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are 75% more likely to die in car crashes after returning home than civilians. Possible causes include PTSD and the hyper-vigilance soldiers learn in daily combat situations. (Post)
Reverse commute trips rise: The number of Metro trips from the most congested core area outward has been rising. More reverse commute trips mean more empty seats filled in the reverse commute direction. (PlanItMetro)
Metro redesign gets a redesign: WMATA adjusted its station redesign plans afer preservationists criticized them for covering up a historic design. But officials say the stations need to adapt to riders' needs. (Post)
Who's the most anti-growth?: The Town of Chevy Chase votes today for council. The one challenger says the already anti-Purple Line incumbents haven't done enough to try to obstruct the line or development around it. (Patch, Bethesda Now)
Vandalism plagues bus stops: Alexandria started installing new bus shelters, but vandals broke several glass panels, forcing the city to modify the design. (Arlandrian)
And...: If Congress allows online sales taxes, Mary Cheh and Jim Graham want to use the money to fight homelessness. (City Paper) ... Another congestion study ranks DC-area traffic at number 9. (DCist) ... Have you read Walkable City yet? (BeyondDC)
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Breakfast links: The campaigns heat up
Bowser running on development: Muriel Bowser is making development in Ward 4 a central part of her campaign for mayor. But Mary Cheh says the mayor has much more power over development than a ward councilmember. (Examiner)
New Virginia poll: Governor Bob McDonnell now enjoys 64% approval, including 52% among Democrats, likely thanks to his transportation bill. Ken Cuccinelli leads Terry McAuliffe by 5-10 points in the governor's race with 6 months to go. (Post)
Bikeshare is "awesome": Capital Bikeshare is so great, it even impressed a New Yorker who's not otherwise a huge DC fan. The app is "f***ing great," though the writer encountered empty docks and full stations around the Mall.
Orange Line to Wiehle?: Should Metro have made the Silver Line a branch of the Orange Line? London, New York, and others unify lines that share a route through the core. Metro asked about this on a survey, but riders didn't go for it. (Atlantic Cities)
On the Maryland rails: Senator Barbara Mikulski enthusiastically endorsed Charles County's push for light rail from Branch Avenue to Waldorf, but said the Red Line and Purple Line must come first. (SoMDNews, Ben Ross) ... The Red Baltimore Red Line's planner answers the line's critics. (Baltimore Brew, Fern Shen)
Offices getting denser: With rising rents, new technology, teleworking and more, many companies in downtown DC are packing more workers in less space. (Post)
Credit cards coming to taxis: The head of the DC Taxicab Commission says that credit card machines will be in all cabs by September of this year. (WAMU)
Woman falls onto tracks: A 73 year old woman fell onto the tracks at the Dupont Circle Metro. Fortunately, no trains were nearby, and other riders helped her up. (Examiner)
Virginia private tolls unconstitutional?: A judge has thrown out the public-private partnership for a tunnel road in Portsmouth, VA. The ruling, if upheld, could also block other such private toll road deals around the state (Virginian-Pilot)
And...: 37% more people bought VRE "step-up" tickets to ride Amtrak in March. (Examiner) ... VW donates $10 million to the National Mall. (ABC) ... A 4-year-old darted out into the street in Alexandria and was killed. (Post)
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Breakfast links: New York analogues
Rediscover Columbus Circle: Construction work on Columbus Circle in front of Union Station is finished. The plaza now features wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and a simpler traffic pattern. (WTOP)
Settle down about bikeshare, NYC: Some vocal New Yorkers (and even one bike shop owner) are fighting Citibike stations. Remember when there was similar pushback when CaBi was starting? It all disappeared after the program started, and now people cheer, not fight, new stations. (Fox, TBD, THIH, Streetsblog)
Adams Morgan = West Village?: Which neighborhoods in DC (and other cities) correspond to parts of New York? H Street is Williamsburg, but Columbia Heights=Bushwick seems like a stretch. What do you think? (Morning News via City Paper)
KIPP will have to wait for Randall: DC will continue with a deliberative process to create a Small Area Plan in Southwest, instead of letting KIPP build a campus there. (Southwest TLQTC) ... The Post editorial board is very disappointed.
Board sanctions Orange: DC's ethics board "admonished" Vincent Orange for keeping a campaign contributor's food warehouse open when health officials tried to shut it down. Orange will be able to get the violation expunged later this year. (Examiner)
Take a look: The MTA released renderings of what some Purple Line bridges might look like. (Patch) ... TheBus on Route 1 will get a paint tube paint scheme. (Gazette)
Is your commute an idyll?: WTOP is asking for stories of the longest and worst drives, which it calls "Commuter Idle." Streetsblog created a competing contest for the best stories of saving time by not driving: "Commuter Idyll."
Flood-control parkway: One planner wants to replace lanes on a Robert Moses-designed parkway in Queens and with dunes to protect against storms. (Next City)
And...: A reminder to give up your seat on Metro for pregnant women. (Unsuck DC Metro) ... Don't like sprawling mansions? Then check out this one-room house on Capitol Hill. (UrbanTurf) ... Tom Toles takes on food truck rules. (Post)
Have a tip for the links? Submit it here.Cyclists are special and do have their own rules
- Cyclists are special and do have their own rules
- M Street cycle track keeps improving, draws church anger
- O'Malley announces first projects using new gas tax money
- Can Loudoun grow while protecting its rural areas?
- ICC losing bus service in classic bait and switch
- Silver Spring mall could get massive facelift, new name
- WMATA launches "Short Trip" rail pass on SmarTrip
Tue May 21
Sun May 26
11:00 am Roosevelt Ride in Greenbelt
Sat Jun 1
10:00 am CSG walking tour of Wheaton
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