Posts by Tanya Snyder — Guest Contributor
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Arlington offers cash bikeshare memberships to the unbanked
Washington, DC, is 50 percent black, but only three percent of Capital Bikeshare members are. As in many cities, the DC bike-share system’s users are disproportionately white, educated, and employed. Keep reading…
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How to encourage poorer residents to use bike, car, and ride sharing
Washington’s Capital Bikeshare is one of the biggest and most well-established bike-share systems in the nation. Its annual fee of just $75 buys you unlimited free half-hour trips. The system now has 2,500 bicycles at 300 stations in the District and the nearby suburbs. Keep reading…
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DDOT wants to ban bikes along streetcar tracks. That’s the wrong approach.
Streetcar service could finally begin this year in Washington, DC. Trial runs are already taking place. And the debate about how people on bikes will navigate the tracks is already raging. Last week, the District Department of Transportation quietly proposed streetcar regulations that would ban bicycling within a streetcar guideway except to cross the street. Keep reading…
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Democrats grudgingly approve a transportation extension bill with a risky timeline
On Tuesday, during the one-hour debate period over the House proposal to extend transportation funding through May 31, lawmaker after lawmaker stood up to condemn the bill. America needs a long-term transportation bill, they said. A short-term stopgap only creates more uncertainty. And then they voted for it. More Democrats than Republicans voted for it, in fact, despite… Keep reading…
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Two senators (one of whom is a Republican!) propose a 12-cent gas tax increase
There are several proposals on the table to stave off the impending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund (which pays for transit, biking, and walking projects too) in two months. Just now, two senators teamed up to announce one that might actually have a chance. Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have proposed increasing the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon over two years. Keep reading…
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Will DC’s streetcar weary council embrace the ambitious moveDC plan?
In this second installment of Streetsblog’s interview with DDOT officials about moveDC, the conversation steered to the practicality of congestion pricing, implementation of the plan, and the elephant in the room: Whether a DC Council that just dramatically cut streetcar funding has the appetite to fund progressive transportation. Keep reading…
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“Every street’s going to prioritize pedestrians,” says moveDC’s lovely fine print
Livable streets advocates all over the country are buzzing about DC’s far-sighted new transportation plan, called moveDC. Yesterday, Streetsblog sat down to interview some of the people responsible for writing and implementing the plan. Keep reading…
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Calling all kids! Join us for a GGW/Streetsblog playdate
Cities are great places to raise children, DC in particular. So Greater Greater Washington and Streetsblog are teaming up to host a playdate and family picnic to bring our readers together for some kid-friendly fun. Keep reading…
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Chevy Chase hires a powerful Congressional chairman’s brother to lobby against the Purple Line
In addition to some recent high-profile spins through the revolving door, we now have a new example of ethically questionable influence peddling in Washington: A powerful Congressman’s brother working to bring down a transit line in Maryland. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) wields the gavel of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — a post his father… Keep reading…
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Congressional impasse shuts down DC’s trails
DC bicycle commuters woke up this morning to find that one popular rail-trail was closed due to the government shutdown, which took effect at midnight. Keep reading…