Posts by Gray Kimbrough — Contributor
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Montgomery County needs more urban schools. Why is it afraid to build them?
Montgomery County has a shortage of school capacity in some areas, which recently led to a moratorium on approving new housing in many of the most transit-accessible parts of the County, triggered by a lack of capacity in those areas’ schools—even though many students come from existing homes, not newly built ones. Keep reading…
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Metro ridership is in free fall. Why won’t the Metro board act?
WMATA recently released a performance report showing significant declines in year-over-year Metro ridership. But focusing on such a short time period actually understates how dire the situation Metro faces is. Keep reading…
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The old Silver Spring Library could become senior housing and a child care center, but opponents don’t want new homes
Montgomery County wants to turn the site of an old library in downtown Silver Spring into affordable housing for seniors, as well as a childcare center. Last week the county presented two options, but neighbors are organizing in opposition. Keep reading…
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Metro is proposing the most limited hours of any large rail transit system in the US
At Thursday’s WMATA board meeting, Metro leaders proposed making SafeTrack’s cuts to late-night service permanent as well as deepening them even further, offering several proposals that would only have the system be open 127 hours per week. These proposals would turn a system that already had some of the most limited opening hours in the US into the least-available… Keep reading…
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How much could you save with a Metro SelectPass? Use our updated calculator to find out!
WMATA has expanded its new monthly pass program, SelectPass. Now, you can buy a pass for nine different levels of fares based on your travel patterns. What’s right for you? We’ve created a calculator. Keep reading…
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Maps of late night bus service are nice, but effective late night bus service would be even better
With Metro’s weekend service now stopping at midnight, many will turn to buses for their late night transportation. PlanItMetro recent posted maps of all the bus service that’s available in our region after midnight. They’re a great step toward giving riders the information they need, but they also highlight some of the ways our night bus network falls short. Keep reading…
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Some Silver Spring residents are against bike lanes that haven’t even been proposed yet
Big plans for bike routes in Montgomery County are underway, and Silver Spring is a focal point. When one group of neighbors learned that the county is studying the possibility of a new bike lane near their homes— a far cry from considering any actual plans in detail— they immediately voiced vehement opposition that overstates the downsides and understates the benefits… Keep reading…
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Let’s learn from how Montreal does night bus service
With SafeTrack underway, Metro now closes at midnight every day— it used to stay open until 3 am on the weekend. With so many people Keep reading…
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How much could you save with a Metro SelectPass? Use our calculator to find out!
SelectPass, Metro’s new monthly pass program, currently has two versions: one that charges $2.25 per trip, and one that charges $3.75. Those whose regular fares are usually less than $2.25 or more than $3.75 may be unsure of whether the program would save them money, so we’ve created a calculator to show whether it would. Keep reading…
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Maryland is #4 in the nation in transit ridership
Jim Titus recently took on Maryland governor Larry Hogan’s claim that that fewer than 10% of Marylanders use transit. There’s another national survey that provides data for every state, and confirms that about 30% of Marylanders used transit in a specific month — fourth highest in the US. Keep reading…