Posts from May 2017
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Could Elon Musk, creator of Tesla and the Hyperloop, be the next Robert Moses?
There are all kinds of legitimate questions about whether Elon Musk’s ideas will work, but there’s another matter at hand too: would they perpetuate racial and class inequalities that exist as a result of previous urban planning, or would they help alleviate them? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Hogan makes a legal push for action on Purple Line
Governor Hogan is done waiting for a federal judge to make a decision on the Purple Line. What can U Street in the 1980s teach us about keeping independent businesses in business in an increasingly expensive DC? There may finally be movement on pedestrian and transit user improvements at Pennsylvania Ave and Potomac Ave SE. Keep reading…
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Metro’s latest reliability numbers are out. Not great, but could be worse.
Metro wants an 85% customer satisfaction rate for rail and bus, and it’s currently not hitting that. But there are some signs that railcars are becoming more reliable, which could help curb the system’s loss of riders. This comes from Metro’s released latest quarterly vital signs report, which is essentially a report card on how the agency is performing. Keep reading…
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Settlement money from Volkswagen could help electrify DC’s Circulator fleet
DC is about to get a big settlement from Volkswagen, and the money has to go toward electric vehicles. Meanwhile, there are plans to eventually make all of the Circulator buses electric. One great option for putting the windfall to use: spend it on electrifying the buses more quickly. Keep reading…
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Quiz: Which version of Jane Jacobs are you?
Are you urbanist Jane, preservationist Jane, journalist Jane, or economist Jane? Keep reading…
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Can a bookstore open east of the Anacostia River?
Wards 7 and 8 are rich with cultural institutions, from THEARC to Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum to the Gateway Pavilion at Saint Elizabeths East Campus. Yet there is not a single independent bookstore east of the Anacostia River. Can this change? Will it? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: DC’s homeless population decreased 11% but remains very high
DC's homeless population decreased 11%. DC's school scandal heats up as a second official is revealed to have gotten preferential treatment. A Metro train opened doors on both sides while on an elevated platform. Keep reading…
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Should decade-old trash talk affect Dan Reed’s candidacy for Montgomery Planning Board?
Dan Reed is one of four finalists for an open seat on the Montgomery County Planning Board. He's drawn some attacks from activists who've disagreed with him in the past; that's not much of a surprise. But sadly, those attacks have been about sarcastic things Dan wrote on his blog years ago. Keep reading…
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Would plans for Brookland Manor mean fewer affordable apartments? Yes, if you look closely.
The owners of Brookland Manor say their redevelopment plan would replace all of the existing affordable housing at the complex. Residents and advocates say that isn't true. Read the latest installment in our series on one of DC's most contentious housing cases. Keep reading…
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Fixes are coming to the 15th Street bikeway near the White House
I work near the White House, and I see near misses—and sometimes crashes—between bicyclists and pedestrians in the 15th Street bike lanes there way too often. I reported my concerns to the District Department of Transportation, and the agency is going to change the bike lanes’ design this summer. Keep reading…