Recent Posts
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Silver Spring construction shuts sidewalks, violating policy
Ongoing residential construction on three projects in Silver Spring needlessly closed sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to either navigate confusing, circuitous detours or to walk in the roadway. For neighbors, it’s been an ongoing nightmare. Keep reading…
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GGW discusses: Displacement and NPR in Anacostia
An NPR Morning Edition story yesterday, entitled “DC, long ‘Chocolate City,’ becoming more vanilla,” discussed demographic shifts increasing the proportion of white residents of DC and profiled two people who recently moved out of Historic Anacostia. The two are Robert Adams, who is black, and David Garber, who is white. The story quickly touched… Keep reading…
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Ped/bike safety enforcement stories, part 4: Bad tickets
At the recent pedestrian and bicycle safety enforcement hearing, several people related stories about police misapplying laws and writing erroneous tickets after a crash. Coupled with DC’s “contributory negligence” law, that can leave a victim unable to get their medical bills paid. Each of the four witnesses below was riding a bicycle and was hit by a… Keep reading…
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Where’s Bob? McDonnell MIA on Metro funding
Congressional Republicans are trying to take away the federal contribution to fixing Metro’s safety problems. While he’s clamoring for a seat on the WMATA Board, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is staying silent slow to speak up equivocating on this crucial need, as is Republican Rep. Frank Wolf. Soon, the Senate Finance Committee will consider HB2000, which… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Welcome changes?
The changing face of Montgomery suburbs; Can L’Enfant Plaza become an “ecodistrict”?; Cabbies like the thought of late-night cuts; Attempt to restore Metro funding fails; Montgomery council lists transportation priorities; Wolf, Latham want Silver Line audit; Connaugton on Virginia transportation issues; CaBi coming to Rosslyn in March; And…. Keep reading…
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Gray transition report slams DDOT
Vince Gray’s transition has released its subject whitepapers, and the transportation one is extremely hard-hitting, accusing DDOT of financial mismanagement, violating the Home Rule Act, starting projects without funding sources, ill-advised technology projects, and having streetcars that violate ADA requirements (which DDOT apparently disputes). (Housing Complex)… Keep reading…
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Beware engineer-think on late night hours
Just as some traffic engineers can fall into traps like viewing roadways as moving cars rather than moving people, transit engineers can lapse into thinking about their system in terms of how it best serves the trains that roam the tracks than the people who ride those trains. When he became chair of the WMATA Board one year ago, Peter Benjamin said, “Metro’s job is… Keep reading…
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Allow unfolded umbrella strollers on Metrobus
You can bring about anything onto a MetroBus — multiple large luggage, folding shopping carts, oversized packages — as long as it’s not an unfolded stroller. Metrobus should either ban all items that can’t rest on your lap, or to allow the smallest of strollers to board: unfolded umbrella strollers. DC’s Circulator adopted a stroller… Keep reading…
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HOT lanes and the Arlington lawsuit, part 2: Slow down
The facile claims of many leaders and a number of news reports have fed misconceptions about the Virginia HOT lanes project. The biggest danger of all with this project is that it’s very likely to slow down, not speed up, existing carpoolers and buses. Myth 3: The HOT lanes will speed up travel in the 95/395 corridor. Right now, traffic generally moves swiftly in the HOV… Keep reading…
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Plan preserves Kensington’s assets while fixing its problems
For the past year, Kensington town councilmember Lydia Sullivan has been making fun of snobby suburbanites with Snoburbia, a T-shirt company and blog. But she’s not laughing at plans to allow redevelopment along a stretch of Connecticut Avenue that’s seen better days. Sullivan and some of her neighbors have written up a website, called KensingtonDevelopment.info,… Keep reading…