Recent Posts
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Silver Spring library gets cheaper, better design
On Tuesday, Montgomery County unveiled a revised design for the Silver Spring Library, to be built at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Fenton Street in downtown Silver Spring. While the plans aren’t too different from the “final” drawings we saw last fall, officials say the new design will actually create a better building while saving the county money. Keep reading…
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Security bollards could also provide bike parking
Security measures are often antithetical to good urban design and vibrant city streets. But instead of hoping for them to go away, we can at least push for them to serve other uses as well, like doubling as bike racks. Foggy Bottom, where I live, has high security neighbors like the State Department, Federal Reserve, several high profile embassies, the IMF and the World Bank. … Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Safety and security first
DC water is safe (?); Lawyers Road diet successful so far; Close the Washington Monument; Arlington mural generates federal suit; Metro ridership lower than expected; Malls have way more parking than they need; Virginia not solving road funding problem; Changes coming to Jones Point; And…. Keep reading…
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Can job training work?
One of Mayor-elect Gray’s top priorities is improving job training to reduce unemployment that has reached crisis levels in Wards 7 and 8. Gray will hold a Jobs Summit on Dec 13 to gather ideas on training. Momentum appears to be building for greater investments in training. Councilmember Marion Barry’s proposal to cut off TANF benefits after 5 years… Keep reading…
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How can Obama really do more for DC?
Yesterday, President Obama and Mayor-Elect Gray met for lunch. According to Gray, Obama said he “wants to do more for the city.” How can he do more? Obviously there are a number of federal programs that give out funding, whether discretionary or formula, and Obama could push for DC in many areas of the federal budget. But the President is very concerned about the deficit,… Keep reading…
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Arlington plan will define streets for people
Arlington’s almost-complete Master Transportation Plan has the capability to reshape the county foremost by recognizing that streets need to serve people on all modes of transportation, not just cars. For the past several years, Arlington County has been working on a new comprehensive Master Transportation Plan. Arlington first adopted its goals and policies… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Tensions on and off the bike
Enforce bike parking rules; Conflict is the bike story; Tensions in Hill East; Questions surround Big K site in Anacostia; A glimpse at MLK Memorial; More NoMA park responses; Raise my taxes, please; Toronto surrenders (to cars); And…. Keep reading…
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Make North Capitol Street a true gateway
North Capitol Street, framed by the Capitol dome and used by hundreds of commuters and visitors, stands as an oft-overlooked example of a highway mentality misapplied to an urban setting. To rectify this longstanding gash in the city’s fabric, DDOT should look into reshaping of the less appealing highway-like portions of North Capitol Street around Rhode Island and New York… Keep reading…
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Got any big ideas for the DDOT budget?
DC faces huge budget gaps, and every agency is being asked to make cuts, most of which take a little from everything. For DDOT, do you have any ideas for bigger cuts that should be considered, or revenue increases to look into? The DC Council held a marathon hearing yesterday to listen to feedback on closing DC’s massive budget gap. Most of the witnesses just asked for specific… Keep reading…
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Bookstores create public places
What do downtown Silver Spring and Portland have in common? They both know the power of a good bookstore. It’s not just about literacy and education and having places for teenagers to hang out after school. It’s also about making urban space a little brighter and more interesting. Keep reading…