Posts by David Alpert — Founder
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Trapped in the “American Dream”
Salon’s advice columnist, Cary Tennis, has a letter from a reader who moved into a big suburban house and is suffering from isolation. “I hate the feeling of slowly falling asleep in suburbia and never waking up. And I hate the commute. And I hate not being able to walk anywhere. And the lack of character. And the McMansions. And the SUVs. I want out and I want out now.”… Keep reading…
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I may have been too hard on Richard Rothblum
I mocked Cleveland Park ANC commissioner Richard Rothblum who made free parking one of his top New Year’s wishes. Over on the Cleveland Park list, the parking discussion has taken a sensible turn, as all the people who want more free parking for themselves and more restrictions for everyone else have given way to some basic economic sense, including from Richard Rothblum. One… Keep reading…
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Ward 3 parking vision
The Ward 3 Vision community group, which is affiliated with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, has a page up about parking management in residential areas, including flyers and powerpoints about the issue. This is in response to the ongoing debate over visitor passes in Cleveland Park. Keep reading…
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WMATA fantasy combo map
Many proposals are floating around for Metro expansion. Some have been thoroughly researched by government and are just waiting for funding, like the Dulles extension. Others are just suggestions from activists and bloggers. Many are somewhere in between. To show the ideas in one place, I’ve created this fantasy map. Click on the map for a large version, and see below… Keep reading…
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South Capitol: L’Enfant strikes back
From the South Capitol EIS:As a primary corridor in L’Enfant’s 1791 Plan for the City of Washington, South Capitol Street was envisioned as one of the symbolic gateways to the city and its Monumental Core. … Today, South Capitol Street lacks any characteristics of its historic and intended function as a gateway. … South Capitol Street is an urban freeway that has… Keep reading…
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Popular parking at the Poplar park?
Council Chairman Vincent Gray is suggesting that any parking built on Poplar Point for a soccer stadium could be used for baseball games at other times. It’s not a bad idea, as long as the parking is charged at market rate. On the other hand, I wonder how needed it will be—if the ballpark can get by for a few years without Poplar, people will already be used to taking Metro, and… Keep reading…
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Best sprawl photo ever
Both Streetsblog and Smart Growth America used this photo of San Antonio, from Kaptain Krispy Kreme on Flickr, on recent stories about the Bush administration seeking to raid the transit fund to pay for highways. It really is a terrific illustration of sprawl gone mad. Keep reading…
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NYC discusses blank walls
Streetsblog spoke with New York’s Department of City Planning about the new blank wall buildings going up on Brooklyn’s Fourth Avenue, which Streetsblog and I criticized. DCP explained why they didn’t require retail, and how the minimum parking requirements forced garages onto these buildings. Keep reading…
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Cleveland Park(ing) puzzles, part 2
The email discussion on Cleveland Park’s list continues over whether to give residents free visitor parking passes, which they can give to out of town guests, nannies, contractors, or possibly sell to commuters, to park for free. Quite simply, the demand for parking outstrips the supply. There is demand to park on neighborhood streets from residents, guests, domestic… Keep reading…
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Cleveland Park(ing) puzzles
Photo by KCIveyCleveland Park, the neighborhood whose ANC commissioner prioritized more free parking right after world peace on his New Year’s wish list, is abuzz once more about parking on their email list, DC’s most prolific neighborhood list. This time, it’s over a DDOT proposal to give residents visitor parking passes, like they are doing in Ward 4. Some… Keep reading…