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Breakfast links: Pass on the gas
Photo by phil_websurfer on Flickr.
Wheaton Costco may not get gas: Marc Elrich wants to prohibit gas stations close to parks and schools. His bill largely targets the Wheaton Costco, where residents say an environmental analysis is overlooks many impacts. (Gazette) 
H Street gets gas: H Street residents haven't been able to stop a gas station at 14th and Maryland NE. They say it doesn't fit with the neighborhood's direction and the Public Space Committee rejected plans in the past, but now the station's owners have a design that passes regulatory muster. (City Paper)
Bus grows at rail's expense: With Metrorail becoming less attractive and more expensive, bus ridership seems to be growing. Real-time arrival boards, expected for 2013, would only accelerate the trend. (TBD)
Silver Line not a priority outside NoVa: Only 32% of Virginians believe the Silver Line is important to the state but 67% of Northern Virginians do, according to a survey. Also, most of Virginia does not favor tax hikes for infrastructure. (Post)
CaBi is infrastructure: Mayor Gray vociferously defended Capital Bikeshare in an exchange with a radio producer who thought DC's system should have private sponsorship and consequently higher costs. (TBD)
Bad bike citations are common: WABA reviewed all citations for bicyclists "riding abreast" and found not a single example where the cited cyclists were actually violating the law as written. They conclude officers need more training on bike laws.
Community survey cut: The House of Representatives voted to eliminate the American Community Survey, an important supplement to the census that helps communities across the country understand the needs of their residents. (Huffington Post, Matt T.)
And...: Moving young people to the suburbs isn't a solution to the affordable housing problem. (City Paper) ... The DC region has some mighty burdensome regulations on businesses and small contractors. (Examiner) ... Metro is up $20 million this year thanks to energy savings from manual train driving. (Examiner)
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Breakfast links: True or false?
Photo by jepoirrier on Flickr.
Myth zone: Another email from zoning rewrite opponents spreads more alarm on neighborhood listservs, but inflates the danger of accessory units and the likelihood anyone would build extremely low ceilings. (City Paper)
DC homelessness rises?: While the region's homeless population decreased overall, DC has more homeless residents, says a COG study. But some regional officials think the numbers aren't correct. (Examiner)
Head of the class: A group of MBA students came up with several recommendations to improve Metrobus, including a device similar to an E-ZPass that would allow passengers to board at the back without swiping their SmarTrip card. (Examiner)
2% is not enough: A recent poll showed 80% of Americans want to increase federal funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure. But most only favored an increase after being told that only 2% of transportation dollars go to such projects. (TBD)
Too neglected to fix: Douglas Jemal bought some vacant buildings in 2003, covered them with a giant advertisement, then let them deteriorate. Now, he wants to tear them down because they're in such bad shape. A pending landmark application might have saved them, but it might now be too late. (City Paper)
Trees and more change: Historic satellite photos show how DC's tree cover has changed. Some roadways in 1951 had so much tree cover you couldn't see the road from the air, but lost much of it since. (Casey Trees)
Art in Alexandria: Alexandria considering a public art policy which would raise funds from the city's capital budget as well as new development permits. The city will make a decision on the program in September. (Patch)
And...: Car2go pays $2,890 a year for a zone 9 parking permit, which allows their cars to be parked in any zone. (Post) ... Bethesda is getting more bike parking. (Post). New York's bike sharing overage charges are the highest in the world. (Transportation Nation)
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Morning links: Blues
Photo by SP8254 on Flickr.
Blue Line blues: At 88.2%, Blue Line trains had the worst on-time performance in the system. Ironically, Orange Line trains had the best performance, with 92.6% of trains on time. (Examiner)
Big ads on Metro: Looking to increase revenue, WMATA and CBS Outdoor have placed new, 5 foot display ads in the interiors of 225 Metro cars. Metro is the first system in America to have the floor-to-ceiling ads. (Robert Dyer)
Reverse bike theft: A bike owner tracked down his stolen bike on Craigslist, but despite contacting them, MPD could not spare anyone to help, so he stole it back from the thief by himself. (DCist)
Bikeshare comes to New York: New York's upcoming bikeshare system Citi Bike, while similar to CaBi, will be more expensive and will have a required lag period between returning a bike and checking a new one out. (NYT)
Pricing confuses NYers: Most journalist and commentators in New York are confused about how bikeshare works. Most compared the prices for taking out a bike for 4 hours, when in similar systems like ours, very few people ride that long. (Streetsblog)
Where are the apartments?: With rents increasing in a sluggish economy, new apartment buildings should be springing up at a boom rate, but difficulty in financing seems to be keeping construction down and rents up. (Slate)
Walk for rewards: Londoners can now, through an iPhone app, get rewards for walking and cycling instead of taking a car or transit. Transport for London hopes to alleviate congestion on transit and roads for the 2012 Olympics and beyond. (BusinessGreen)
Highways kill hats: Many think JFK caused men's hats to go out of fashion, but could Eisenhower's highway system and increased driving be to blame? (NPR, David G.)
And...: Complete Streets funding makes it into Alexandria's budget. (Patch) ... Where do people struggle to pay for housing in DC? (R. U. Seriousing Me?) ... Transparency still has a way to go in DC's budget process. (Post)
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Breakfast links: Not open and shut
Photo by Munish on Flickr.
Metro gets doored: The biggest source of Metro delays is problems with train doors. Though mechanical wear-and-tear thanks to stuck backpacks and caught arms are a problem, problems with internal door circuitry are just as bad. (TBD)
Spurned pot applicants sue: Three rejected applicants to grow medical marijuana in DC have sued, saying their applications were improperly scored and should be reconsidered. (Washington Times)
Memorial to Red Line victims: A memorial to victims of the 2009 Red Line crash is coming. WMATA is soliciting proposals for the memorial's design, which will be built near the site of the crash. (DCist)
Germantown steps a little forward: A new central park for Germantown Town Center has a good internal design, but the surrounding cityscape is so bland that it likely won't live up to its full potential. (BeyondDC)
Renting success: The shift from owning big-ticket items to simply renting them, from apartments to carsharing, opens Americans to the kind of mobility needed to best match skills with jobs. (WSJ)
Downtown needs to perform: Parking demand in downtown DC exceeds supply, meaning spaces are scarce. Performance parking will alleviate the crunch. (TBD)
Economics reaches Gaithersburg: Gaithersburg will probably start charging for parking near its MARC station. It's also considering building a new lot; perhaps they should charge first and then determine how much demand remains. (Gazette)
School gap grows: There is a larger gap than ever between DC's best and worst schools. At top schools, students gain more ground on standardized tests than those at bottom schools. (Examiner)
And...: DCPS will reopen its only planetarium, which has been used as storage for years. (Examiner) ... Legislative scenarios that would lead to budget autonomy do not look good for abortion rights in the District. (Roll Call) ... Please don't nail signs to trees. (District Curmudgeon)
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Breakfast links: Afford to live here
Photo by mikepetrucci on Flickr.
Beauregard to change: Planned development in the Beauregard area of Alexandria will increase density and give the city many amenities, but some neighbors fear they won't be able to live there after the changes and are tring to stop it. (Post)
Less housing, less affordable: Affordable housing in DC is rapidly vanishing, says a new report from DCFPI. DC needs to adequately fund programs, but should affordable housing advocates also talk about the supply side—too many limits on building housing? (City Paper)
Whole change: A Whole Foods opening up in a neighborhood often means gentrification is not far behind. One reason is that later hours of a Whole Foods keeps activity in a neighborhood longer, attracting other retails to the area. (Salon)
LaHood to the rescue: The McDonnell administration's opposition to union labor, costs, and an audit of MWAA have all threatened the Silver Line phase 2. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood has kept the project moving, but he's retiring soon. (Post)
Few helmets on CaBi: Few Capital Bikeshare users wear helmets, but there were only 20 crashes in 1.9 million rides, and the positive health benefits of bike riding may also outweigh the danger of riding without a helmet. (NPR)
Pedestrian malls through time: Pedestrian malls have a mixed history of success in the US. Some malls have thrived while others have reopened to traffic, including the country's first in Kalamazoo, Michigan, which was initially successful. (Atlantic)
Can't change gas prices: Both political parties want to lower gas prices, but take ineffective steps to try to do it. Democrats go after speculators, while Republicans want to soften clean air regulation. (Streetsblog)
The hero we deserve: Thinking that that urbanism lacked a superhero, one urban planner has started an anonymous Twitter account, @UrbanismAvengers. (Atlantic)
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Weekend links: Burn
Image from DC Fire and EMS via NBC.
Imhoff/Brizill house burns down: A fire destroyed the 1870 Columbia Heights house of longtime DC activists Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill. DC had taken enforcement action in 2002 and 2007 because the house was in run-down condition, though the fire does not appear related. (Post, DCist, City Paper)
Cabbies behaving badly: Passengers getting late-night cabs at Union Station complain that drivers choose destinations and share passengers despite laws and injunctions against the practice. In response, DC may improve enforcement, eventually. (Post)
Whose gax tax is it?: Gas taxes in Northern Virginia are not going to the jurisdictions they ought because the companies paying the tax don't know where the gas was sold. Governments have until January to find the lost money. (Examiner)
Preserve ze space: Z Burger wants to enclose a portion of Columbia Heights' plaza for seating, and the neighbors don't like it one bit. The plaza, they argue, is public space and should remain open to everyone. (City Paper)
Flip the switch, save a bird: Many office buildings leave their lights on all night. That not only wastes energy, it kills birds. A new campaign is trying to get offices to change their practices. (Huffington Post)
Why biking to school got rare: Far fewer kids bike to school now than they did 30 years ago, thanks to planning that relegates biking to recreation and a legal environment that holds schools accountable if kids get injured traveling to and from school. (NPR)
And...: Many Washingtonians know very little about bicycle laws. (TBD) ... Will $700,000 be enough to attract a restaurant to a Ward 7 shopping center? (City Paper) ... Dallas residents don't want a new freeway through downtown. (Streetsblog)
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Breakfast links: Chapter Two
Photo by jacqueline-w on Flickr.
The trial is over: Harry Thomas, Jr. will serve 38 months in prison for embezzling of government funds and not reporting that as income to the IRS. (DCist)
...but the scandal wears on: There is $230,000 missing from CYITC's drug prevention fund, the same fund Councilmember Thomas used to embezzle, but CYITC can't account for it. (City Paper)
The listless university: UDC struggles with low enrollment, high costs, minimal DC Council support, and a president with a big vision but without the political savvy to win any battles. (City Paper)
Parking may perform: Performance parking throughout all of DC got the nod from a council committee yesterday. DDOT then has to implement it, and its new parking chief seems promisingly smart-growth minded. (Examiner, TBD)
Real-time meter data?: The DC Council transportation budget report asks DDOT to consider releasing real-time meter occupancy data publicly. That could empower a generation of apps and tools to help people understand and find parking. (TBD)
14th goes grit to glam: Development is booming along 14th Street NW. Though it's a sign of the District's strong economy, high rents and land prices means much of the strip's gritty character will disappear in favor of upscale retail. (NYT)
CP CaBi in the wrong places?: College Park and UMD have picked the locations for their 8 Capital Bikeshare stations, but some are very close together and others quite far-flung. Will this system succeed? Is 8 too few? (Patch, Bicycle Bug)
Dangerous to bike in Olney: A driver hit and killed a woman biking near Olney. Another residents says she's afraid to bike in the road and drives her bike to a place to ride. The road design needs to become safer for cyclists. (TheWashCycle)
And...: Two teenagers released pepper spray at L'Enfant Plaza yesterday afternoon. (Examiner) ... Which bus stops would you eliminate? (Examiner) ... While congestion and turmoil rage above ground, Cairo's subway trains keep running every 4 minutes. (NYT)
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Breakfast links: Blame it on the alcohol
Photo by wjserson on Flickr.
Closing time: A DC Council committee rejected longer bar hours in favor of a higher alcohol tax in order to raise revenue. The longer hours could come back into the bill later this month. (Post)
A dryer U St.?: A new group is calling for a moratorium on liquor licences around U Street. Though other solutions might be better than a moratorium, the group's leader is skeptical. (City Paper)
Where the bars are: Ward 2 leads DC with 40% of all liquor licences, followed by Wards 1 and 6. ANC 2B near Dupont Circle has more liquor licenses than than five of the city's wards. (borderstan)
How to succeed in coffee: Independent coffee shops can have a tough time, but there are ways to increase a shop's chance of success, including quality, holding events, and getting a license to sell alcohol. (City Paper)
Good and bad for WMATA transparency: WMATA brought back daily Metrorail service reports, adding transparency. But Board chair Cathy Hudgins asked the Inspector General not to speak to the Riders' Advisory Council at the last minute. (TBD)
Watch out for the tracks: Mary Cheh wants DDOT to look into making streetcar tracks safer for bikes and educating riders to the dangers of riding into them. (DCist)
Arts District tops: The mixed use Art District Hyattsville was named the best economic development project in Maryland this year. The Route 1 development is "creating an economic renaissance in Hyattsville." (Patch, Scott)
Gas mileage performance parking?: A planned parking lot in Boston will give a 10% discount to hybrid and electric vehicles and charge 10% more for cars with poor gas mileage. It only has 12 spots total, though. (Co.Exist)
And...: The Mall design contest has winners. (Post) ... Alexandria wants to transfer road money to study the Potomac Yard Metro. (Examiner) ... Higher parking rates are likely for Montgomery County. (Examiner) ... Trees make a comeback in Adams Morgan. (The 42)
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Breakfast links: Sharing
Photo by James D. Schwartz on Flickr.
MD funds bikeshare: Montgomery, College Park and UMD, and Baltimore won state grants to build bike sharing systems. Greenbelt, Frederick, and Howard County also got grants to study the possibility of doing bike sharing. (MDOT)
Holds now barred: After no bike thefts in two years of operation, the Twin Cities' Nice Ride bikeshare system has eliminated the deposit hold for both credit card and debit card users. Could CaBi get rid of their credit hold? (StarTribune, Mase)
Give up cars: 3 top officials, including Richard Sarles, no longer have WMATA issued cars, opting to give them up to the vehicle pool. Several other officials still have agency cars, but their jobs require them to travel around the system. (Examiner)
Baltimore's green line: The MTA is testing out green tracks in Baltimore that use grass and other plants in the track bed. They've included green track beds in Purple Line renderings as well. (BeyondDC)
Protests need permits?: Jack Evans wants protesters to have to get permits. Evans says last minute-protests make providing police protection are difficult and costly, but it could stifle free assembly. No colleages cosponsored his bill. (Post)
More diamonds diverge: There's another diverging diamond interchange in the works in Maryland, on the BW Parkway near Arundel Mills. Unlike the Greenbelt one, Anne Arundel County has no plans to try to make that area at all walkable. (Huffington Post)
A little goes a long way: A pilot program in the last transportation law showed small investments in bike and pedestrian facilities can have a huge impact. But will Congress recognize this success? (Streetsblog)
And...: A planned balloon for the Hirshhorn Museum will not violate the height limit. (City Paper) ... The Georgetown ANC is overly concerned with cars. (Georgetown Metropolitan) ... Another fight over historic designation of a church could be brewing on Georgia Ave. (City Paper) ... More details on Glen Echo Park's vanished streetcar. (Post)
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Breakfast links: Seat filler
Photo by timsamoff on Flickr.
Ethics just got real: Councilmember Bowser wants to strip Mayor Gray of one of his ethics board appointments and give it to Chairman Brown. Gray hasn't named any appointees to the board seven weeks after the statutory due date. (Examiner)
Silver Line in peril: Continuing deadlock on funding Phase 2 of the Silver Line has put the segment in jeopardy. The state is also considering taking over construction from MWAA. (Post)
Higher prices, not Sundays: Jim Graham suggested of allowing liquor sales on Sundays instead of the late-night bar hours in Mayor Gray's budget. But it wouldn't raise enough money and people objected, so he settled on a 6¢ alcohol surcharge. (Post)
Sidewalk cafes grow in number, not size: Downtown has more small sidewalk cafes than a year ago, and slightly fewer large ones. There are about 450 across the city, just 50 years after they were first allowed. (TBD)
Some parts of Ward 5 vote: Turnout in Ward 5 weighed heavily toward the north part of the ward. If turnout in the May 15 special election follows the same pattern, it could affect the results. (GeoCommons, Mike DeBonis)
MDOT loses head: Effective July 1, Marlyand's Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley will step down from her post. In her tenure, Swaim-Staley pushed for higher tolls and gas taxes for the state's transportation system. (Post)
GeekEasy wasn't so easy: Start-up business incubator GeekEasy will move to the MLK Jr. Library after being unable to find enough tenants to break even on its commercial space. The incubator rents space to businesses that can't afford traditional offices. (Post)
Parks from parking lots: Miami-Dade wants a park within "strollable distance" for everyone in the county. To help, they're considering making worn-down strip malls into parks and paying for it with future development on the rest of the site. (MiamiHerald)
The road to ruin: Highway projects seemed to generate economic benefits when first built, but then it comes time to replace them, and there's no added tax revenue from that. This cycle is bankrupting many jurisdictions. (Strong Towns)
And...: Residents of 9-story buildings in Southwest don't like the idea of 11 story buildings. (Examiner) ... A 1-story nail salon on H Street will become a 1-story 7-11. (City Paper) ... Congestion pricing doesn't just limit traffic; it boosts transit substantially. (Streetsblog)
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Successful speed cameras require fair speed limits
- Successful speed cameras require fair speed limits
- Amid scandal, don't lose sight of Gray's policy achievements
- Bethesda gets new but terrible bike racks
- Montgomery plans 160-mile, "gold standard" BRT system
- DC's parks are 5th best in the nation, says "Park Score"
- DC's divide need not be black and white
- Live chat with Matt Yglesias
Thu May 24
6:30 pm M Street SE/SW public meeting
Wed May 30
10:00 am Bike-ped safety enforcement hearing
Mon Jun 4
Wed Jun 6
6:30 pm WMATA Riders' Advisory Council
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