Posts by Ben Ross — Contributor
-
Outer suburbs turn to transit
Ridership on Maryland commuter buses grew at a rate of 5% each year between 2006 and 2012. It’s a sign that the commuters are eager for alternatives to driving, even at the farthest edges of the region. Keep reading…
-
Starting Apple Computer in a garage was against the law
Steve Jobs made history when he started Apple in his parents’ garage in Silicon Valley almost 40 years ago. He also broke the law by building computers in required parking spaces. Jobs parents’ lived in California’s Santa Clara County. Like many suburbs, it requires every property to have its own off-street parking. The rules are enforced selectively, as… Keep reading…
-
Pedestrian “sting” finds frequent driver lawlessness
So many drivers don’t yield to pedestrians that catching them is “like shooting fish in a barrel,” a surprised Montgomery County police officer remarked Wednesday. The police ticketed 72 violators in 2½ hours — one every two minutes — at a single crosswalk on Veirs Mill Road. The operation, a first for the county, was advertised… Keep reading…
-
Purple Line puts University Boulevard on a road diet
As design work continues on the Purple Line, Maryland transit planners say they can convert two traffic lanes on University Boulevard in Langley Park for trains without impacting traffic. It’s “a big plus for the community,” said Purple Line project manager Mike Madden at a neighborhood work group meeting last night in Langley Park. As before, trains… Keep reading…
-
Shocking rhetoric from John Townsend and AAA
This week’s Washington City Paper cover story quoted AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John Townsend calling Greater Greater Washington editor David Alpert “retarded” and a “ninny,” and comparing Greater Greater Washington to the Ku Klux Klan. Many other reporters, people on Twitter, and residents generally have clearly stated in response… Keep reading…
-
Instead of tickets, turn lights red for speeders
Opponents of speed cameras often insist that they don’t want drivers to speed — what they object to is the revenue-raising function of the cameras and their invasion of privacy. There may be a way to give these critics what they say they want, at least on some roads, while curbing excess speed more effectively. How about wiring radars to turn the next traffic… Keep reading…
-
WMATA upgrades bus stop signs
Metrobus riders are seeing a new kind of schedule and route map at many stops. A multi-year effort to upgrade the information posted at bus stops has been underway since last year. The new schedules tell you when the bus comes to the stop you’re at, and just that. Formerly, a timetable was posted for the entire route, and the same signs were used all along… Keep reading…
-
Streetcar opponents’ U-turn is no April Fool
Last week, outrage erupted against Arlington’s $1 million “super stop,” which will initially serve buses and eventually the county’s planned streetcar line. Streetcar opponents took this as an opportunity to attack bus stop and rail project alike as wasteful and expensive. But they themselves had just argued for fancier, pricier bus stops. An… Keep reading…
-
Are Montgomery’s parking minimums really about parking?
Why does zoning require off-street parking? It’s natural to think that the idea is to create more parking spaces. But that’s not always so — and with zoning rewrites underway in Montgomery County and DC, it’s worth taking a careful look at what these rules do. The most jealously-defended element of the parking mandates in Montgomery County… Keep reading…
-
On crosswalks, research and safety campaigns conflict
Marlyn Eres Ali was killed last week in Wheaton, crossing Connecticut Avenue on foot at an intersection with no traffic light. She was in a crosswalk that has wheelchair ramps and a paved median refuge but no markings on the pavement. Why aren’t crosswalks like this one marked? Legally, a pair of crosswalks exists at every intersection, regardless of whether… Keep reading…