Posts by David Alpert — Founder
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Which way for one-way streets and reversible lanes?
Are one-way streets a good idea? What about reversible lanes? Is slower traffic safer, or does it create more pollution? Citizens in are debating these questions in the context of 15th Street in Logan Circle (which may return to two-way) and Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park (whose reversible lanes were the subject of recent debate). The discussion brings up many arguments, some… Keep reading…
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Seattle condo advertises its Walk Score
Walkability is a selling point for downtown condos, like this building which put up a banner advertising its perfect 100 Walk Score. Keep reading…
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A suburban hotel grows in the urban city
The most controversial topic at the Dupont Circle ANC meeting was the Hilton Washington, the 1960s building on Connecticut Avenue between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. The hotel was recently purchased by a private group that wants to renovate the hotel and build a new condo wing on the property, part of a trend of many older hotels adding or converting rooms to condos. The Hilton… Keep reading…
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Preservation “incompatible” with historic preservation
There is a lot of bad blood between the Dupont Circle ANC and the HPRB. Even before the Third Church issue, there were several other deeply felt conflicts, which led to serious discussion at this month’s ANC meeting about a “historic preservation bill of rights” limiting, in some ways, HPRB’s authority. Some ANC commissioners argued that HPRB is inconsistent… Keep reading…
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DDOT may restore two-way traffic on 15th Street
NYC DOT has been on a tear recently converting some excessively wide, one-way neighborhood streets like Carlton Ave in Fort Greene and 9th Street in Park Slope into two-way streets with medians and bike lanes that balance the needs of cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists. DC has some of these too, like 15th Street NW, a four-lane (plus parking) high-speed road that’s about… Keep reading…
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Smart transportation policy from Tommy Wells
Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward 6, which includes Capitol Hill, Penn Quarter, and Southwest Waterfront) has not only been reading his Donald Shoup but his Streetsblog as well. His Web site bears the slogan, “for a livable and walkable community.” And he’s been pushing policies that indeed enhance livable communities. Keep reading…
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Driver vs. pedestrian perspective
This MPD training presentation makes the excellent point that when driving, you see pedestrians and bicycles as being in the way and violating traffic laws, but while walking or biking, drivers are the ones whose transgressions are visible. (Via TheWashCycle.) Keep reading…
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Bad urbanism on the Potomac waterfront
In December, I got into an interesting debate on the Dupont Forum neighborhood list about my feelings concerning the Third Church landmarking. Lance, who considers the building a “masterpiece,” asked if my desire to get rid of most 1970s-era buildings in downtown DC extended to more widely praised structures like the Watergate and Kennedy Center. I replied:The Watergate and… Keep reading…
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DC keeps getting blank walls
Two new developments in Washington, DC continue the disappointing trend of creating buildings that present blank walls to the street. Just as New York did in the 1970s and sometimes still does, and just like much of today’s downtown DC, developers create fortress-like apartment buildings, offices, and even churches that isolate their residents from the neighborhood… Keep reading…
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UFT disappoints on parking
Randi Weingarten, president of NYC’s United Federation of Teachers, acted against the public interest by defending parking placards for teachers, as just another type of benefit and digging in her heels to protect the status quo. Unions are a controversial part of our society and economy. Years of conservative framing have made many citizens deeply suspicious of unions,… Keep reading…