Posts about Maryland
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Public spaces on public radio
Roger Lewis, architect and Washington Post columnist, discussed urban public spaces on the Kojo Nnamadi show on WAMU today. (Cleverly, in the membership drive appeal during the show, the WAMU staff referred to the public square-like nature of public radio). Lewis talked about many interesting topics, like the evils of single-use zoning, and about Rockville Town Center, which… Keep reading…
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Parking isn’t a good reason to move the Rockville courthouse
The Montgomery County courthouse, in the county seat of Rockville, is old and badly needs replacing. Maryland is ready to pay for a new courthouse on a downtown site formerly occupied by the library, but some people want to move it. There are good arguments for moving it and for not moving it. There are also some very bad arguments. In particular, many who advocate changing the location… Keep reading…
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Digging the parking hole deeper
The Washington area is deeply schizophrenic about whether it wants to be a city of driving and parking or of people and transit. While DC is working hard to put mixed-use high-density development next to many of its stations, plans in Foggy Bottom and West Hyattsville call for more parking than should be necessary. Whether a city is car-dependent or transit-accessible is… Keep reading…
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Maryland’s missed opportunities
Rethink College Park has a thoughtful roundup of the great promise but disappointing results of the Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Act of 1997. That law created incentives for development in denser, transit-accessible parts of the state over the creation of more sprawl. Unfortunately, it hasn’t lived up to its promise, blocking some sprawl but failing to stop… Keep reading…
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Maryland worried about new transit-hostile FTA
According to the Post, Maryland officials are nervous that the Federal (not-so-excited-about-)Transit Administration will reject the Purple Line or the Corridor Cities Transitway (along I-270) as it did (or at least delayed) the Silver Line to Dulles, even though the Purple Line will cost significantly less. Maryland already delayed the Purple Line application process one… Keep reading…
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Rockville Pike meeting only gives driving directions
Rockville’s planning department is soliciting community input on improving Rockville Pike along the corridor from Twinbrook to downtown Rockville. The project’s goals include improving transportation and urban design along the Pike. Keep reading…
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Three projects to watch
All over the region, consulting organizations are going through the legal requirements for Environmental Impact Statements, necessary for any major project: convening public scoping meetings, collecting input, evaluating alternatives, and so on. They’re doing this in downtown Columbia, along Rockville Pike, and on both sides of the 14th Street Bridges, used by I-395,… Keep reading…
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Architecture criticism: the good and the bad
Washington Post architecture critic Ben Forgey drove and walked around downtown Washington giving his opinions about the best and worst of the city’s buildings for Washingtonian. Unlike too many architects, many of his comments focused on the interaction between buildings and the people around them:The Federal Triangle is a planning mistake of huge dimension because… Keep reading…
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Racial politics kept College Park Metro far from campus
It may be an urban myth that racism kept Metro out of Georgetown (while many residents did oppose a station, Metro planners hadn’t included the neighborhood in initial plans in the first place), but according to a graduate paper from 1994 that Rethink College Park found and put online, it played a significant role in the decision to locate College Park’s Green Line stop… Keep reading…