Posts from June 2013
-
Focus transportation on downtown or neighborhoods?
Should the design of major roads and our big transit projects favor moving large numbers of people in and out of downtown? Or should DC focus on making streets feel more like neighborhood streets, and transportation investments that help people travel within and between neighborhoods? This is the major tradeoff that residents considered in a series of public meetings that concluded… Keep reading…
-
Community supports bike lanes around H Street
DC transportation officials would like to help cyclists avoid the streetcar tracks, heavy car traffic, and pedestrians along H Street NE. Yesterday, the transportation committees of both Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) along H Street supported a plan to let cyclists ride in both directions on G and I Streets, while keeping car traffic one-way. G & I Streets… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Stereotypes
“Gentrifiers” aren’t all white; Bad apples lead to viral videos; Simmons: Roads not rights; Primary will stay a joke; Food trucks get compromise; Bag fee just for food?; Chevy Chase Lake gets changes; Make the MBT safer; Talk bike lanes, safe streets; And…. Keep reading…
-
Endless zoning update delay hurts homeowners
Remember DC’s zoning update? The source of massive public debate last year, and public hearings way back in 2008? It’s still slowly grinding along, but the long delays even on less controversial provisions are making life difficult for actual homeowners today. A friend and her husband recently bought a DC row house for them and their two children. The row house has… Keep reading…
-
DDOT agrees to repave 15th Street cycle track
15th Street bike commuters, don’t worry about getting those shock absorbers installed. Following months of appeals from the community and elected officials, DC will repave the 15th Street cycle track. The 2-way 15th street cycle track was DC’s first protected bike lane and now carries hundreds of bike commuters during rush hour. When it opened in 2009, then-mayor… Keep reading…
-
Walking tour explores Fort Totten’s present and future
Development at Fort Totten has been slow despite access to 3 Metro lines, its close proximity to both downtown DC and Silver Spring, its access to the Metropolitan Branch Trail, its green space and its affordability. But as demand increases for housing in the District, this previously-overlooked neighborhood could become a hot spot. Last Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Influence
There is a (little) bike lobby; Is the council too powerful?; Safeway expands, goes mixed-use; Fence blocks the way; No jail for Raquel Nelson; Fraud with disability parking; Education elements; House may scrap Ike design; And…. Keep reading…
-
Best of Virginia in the Flickr pool
Let’s kick things up a notch in the Greater and Lesser Washington Flickr pool! We love pretty pictures of the National Mall and neighborhoods like Dupont Circle and Capitol Hill as much as anyone, but we’d love to broaden our horizons a bit! Keep reading…
-
Theaters can’t find homes? Fix the zoning
Smaller theaters that don’t own buildings of their own are having trouble finding places to rent. Can DC’s zoning update help fix this? Nelson Pressley writes in the Post about numerous theater troupes which have outgrown their existing spaces, or are losing their spaces. With heavy demand for office and residential space in DC, there aren’t a lot of affordable… Keep reading…
-
Young kids try to assault me while biking
While I was riding Capital Bikeshare home through Capitol Hill last night, a 12-year-old girl and a group of other kids tried to assault me. I’m totally fine. The police caught the girl, and her mother promised to take action. Will this experience get the girl to shape up before she gets a criminal record that could impair her future? I was taking the Green Line home from… Keep reading…