Posts by Will Handsfield — Guest Contributor
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Could electric buses allay bus garage nuisances, and move us away from diesel?
The District’s newest 14 Circulator buses will begin service on May 1, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at the recent State of Downtown breakfast. They are 100% electric buses from Proterra, a US company hailed as the “Tesla of buses,” and they are truly impressive vehicles. Keep reading…
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Five myths and one etymological explanation about the gondola project
David Alpert’s recent post on the Georgetown – Rosslyn Gondola stoked some excellent conversation in the comments, and also revealed some common misperceptions about gondola technology and the area where it could go. In the interest of clearing things up and in generating interest in the system, here are some responses as best we can detail. Keep reading…
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Why trade play space for parking when both are possible?
Many of DC’s elementary and middle schools have both fewer parking spaces than a work site of their size would often have, and less play space per student than experts recommend. However, there is a mutually beneficial solution. Keep reading…
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In Georgetown, a crash course in how to turn parking spaces into a sidewalk
Each weekend from the start of April through the rest of the year, a busy retail strip in Georgetown will swap on-street parking for more space for people to walk around. The “temporary sidewalk” has been a hit in the past, and the folks behind it want to make it even better this time around. How would you do that if you were running this project? Keep reading…
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Could Georgetown’s C&O Canal become a winter skateway?
In Ottawa, a canal that runs through the city turns into a skater’s paradise when it freezes, with some people even using it to commute. Creating the same thing along the C&O Canal, which runs through Georgetown, could be physically possible, but there are a lot of steps to get there. Keep reading…
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You know the Watergate, but what about the Water Gate?
You might know the Watergate as the famous hotel that Richard Nixon’s henchmen broke into, and maybe you think of it anytime journalists default to adding “-gate” to a word associated with whatever modern day scandal they’re reporting on. But they all get their name from a real Water Gate, an actual structure to hold back water. It’s still here on the… Keep reading…
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Georgetown is swapping parking spaces for sidewalks, which people will enjoy
Georgetown will temporarily widen some of its sidewalks this weekend, which is parents weekend for Georgetown, American, and George Washington Universities. It’s a different way to use space that’s typically set aside for curbside parking, and it’s seen a lot of prior success. Keep reading…
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Congress gives itself more free parking than its own rules allow
As TransitCenter and the Frontier Group reported last week, the federal government pays a huge $7.3 billion subsidy to people who drive to work by making commuter parking expenses tax exempt. There are countless reasons for Congress to scrap this poorly-conceived, congestion-inducing subsidy. While policymakers consider the big picture, they also ought to examine how their… Keep reading…
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For one weekend, Georgetown got wider sidewalks
Georgetown widened the sidewalks along M Street for a weekend in mid-October. Temporarily borrowing 47 parking spaces from the street created a comfortable walking experience for thousands of people. Keep reading…
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If Georgetown had a Metro station, it would be one of the system’s busiest
Georgetown didn’t get a Metro station when the original system was built, for a variety of reasons. But if it did have one, how would it perform? The short answer: Georgetown would immediately be in the system’s top 10 highest stations for boardings in the morning peak. Keep reading…