Recent Posts
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A talk with Maryland Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez
Ana Sol Gutierrez is the senior incumbent in the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 18. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss some of the issues important to her. Ana lives in Chevy Chase and is a chemist and a computer systems engineer. She was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002 and is currently running for reelection… Keep reading…
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Modify next train displays to improve communication
Metro’s next train (PIDS) signs are a great attribute of the system. But there’s still room for improvement. In this budget climate, it’s certainly easier for Metro to focus on incremental changes. One low cost change that could be implemented quickly and with no disruption to passengers would be a revision in the way information is displayed on the PIDS signs. The… Keep reading…
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Wall in White Flint endangers pedestrians
Outside the White Flint Metro station, a stone wall has been erected to force pedestrians to cross Marinelli Road at the intersection of Rockville Pike. While this barrier prevents pedestrians from crossing outside of the crosswalk, it also creates new dangers. Improving pedestrian conditions here is especially important because White Flint lacks a bus loop. Among Montgomery… Keep reading…
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The interesting story of the Dumbarton Bridge
It’s easy to ignore a thing of beauty when you pass it every single day. It’s even easier to ignore it when you cruise over on top of it in a bus or car. The “it” in question is the Dumbarton Bridge, and today I want to stop and take in the bridge’s beauty and tell its interesting story. Georgetown was formed in 1751, decades before the founding of the District… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Don’t take this sitting down
Comment on VDOT’s proposed bike policy; Seatless subways; Performance parking in the park; SmartBenefits in the bike lane; Empty seat on the board; A founding father of Metro passes away. Keep reading…
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Let’s cover blank walls with public murals
One of the most basic tenets of good urban design is that walkways should be lined with things to look at. Blank walls discourage walking because they make a walk seem boring and therefore longer, and because empty and lightly maintained spaces feel less safe. Detailed, colorful places are inherently more pedestrian friendly than dismal, blank spaces, and therefore urbanistically… Keep reading…
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Lost Washington: The Arlington Hotel
Quick, what was the swankiest hotel in Washington in the 1880s and 1890s? Was it the Willard? No, sorry; the Willard that we know hadn’t been built yet. The National or the Metropolitan? No, they had peaked earlier in the century as well. The best hotel, in many people’s view, was the Arlington, located on Vermont Avenue just a block from the White House. The site, between… Keep reading…
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Should urbanists be nervous about Vince Gray? Part 4: What the heck happened with the streetcars?
Chairman Vincent Gray is adamant: he supports streetcars. He’s always supported streetcars. He never stopped supporting streetcars. He has been to Portland twice to learn about how the streetcars work. If that’s true, then what happened on May 26 at 2:00 am? Gray has come about as close as a good boss ever does to pointing the finger at a subordinate. In particular,… Keep reading…
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Metro’s governance task force needs more sunshine
Back in May a group of business leaders formed a task force to look into how Metro is governed. Soon thereafter the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments appointed a group of former elected officials, staff and three current elected officials to join the cause. As a member of MWCOG’s Board of Directors, I voted against MWCOG’s involvement because I didn’t… Keep reading…
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Breakfast Links: Before and after
Bye-bye GEORGE; Free State out of free space for roads; If you build it…; …Get private industry to pay for it; Maybe if Oklahoma had a rail system…; …Coburn would still block safety. Keep reading…