Breakfast links: Build it for real
Will town centers grow into authentic places?
Walkable “town centers” in suburban places are all the rage. Critics call them fake, cookie-cutter places, but others note that many historic urban neighborhoods started the same way. (Post)
Black and white sketches slow hotel
Developers of a planned Adams Morgan hotel cut another floor off their building and gained support of DC’s Office of Planning, but the Zoning Commission pushed back its review for a few months because the owner submitted update drawings too late and with poor quality. (WBJ, DCmud)
New bills for bikeshare
A bill in Montgomery County would funnel developer taxes into Capital Bikeshare. Another bill would clear some regulatory hurdles for businesses wishing to add a station to their land. (Examiner)
Bikes boom
Cycling is booming in the US, especially among men 25-64, and it’s becoming safer, too. DC ranks among the top 5 cycle-friendly large cities. But there’s a lot left to catch up with less car-centric Europe. (The Economist, David Gorsline) (Tip: David Gorsline)
One more reason to take the train
Unlike other area transit services, MARC allows alcohol on its trains, creating “high-speed happy hours” where riders socialize. (Post)
Customer comes first?
Doug Duncan says Metro needs better customer service goals, plans for out-of-service trains, better electronic information and reliable air conditioning. Richard Sarles replies that Metro does put riders first, and they’ve already addressed or will be addressing many of these issues. (Post)
Variable speed limits?
Traffic often moves too fast for some conditions, like poor light and inclement weather. Maybe a variable speed limit could fix that. (Boingboing)
Disappointments
Philadelphia’s mayor didn’t talk about how important cities are in his DNC speech. (NAC) … AASHTO’s 10 best transportation projects of the year, are all highways. (Streetsblog) … It’s sadly low-risk to steal and deal bicycles. (NPR)
And…
VRE’s new chief starts today. (Post) … The @WMATA_HULK Twitter account parodies WMATA issues and outages while keeping a good sense of humor. (Express) … “Zipcarp” enters the fish-sharing market. (The Onion)