Recent Posts
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Where should the Latino museum go?
Congress has declared the National Mall a “completed work of civic art” and declared that future museums and memorials should go on sites outside the Mall, but that hasn’t stopped them from making exception after exception. Now, the planned National Museum of the American Latino wants to be on the Mall, too, and looks likely to get it. After all, the National… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Moving earth
Politically in PG; And…; Did you feel it?; The line on Purple; An urban Wal-Mart?; Obama vs. sprawl; Oregon to bag the bags?. Keep reading…
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National Park Service defines “important vistas”
The National Park Service has released its new Master Plan for the National Mall. I have only briefly skimmed it so far, but one interesting page deals with the visual vistas NPS deems important. Check out this map: The map’s blue lines are “vistas [that] are identified as contributing features of the L’Enfant Plan of the City of Washington, D.C.,”… Keep reading…
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Can SmarTrip work for riders with the lowest incomes?
WMATA’s goal is to get as many riders as possible to use SmarTrip. The approved FY2011 operating budget increases the fare difference between SmarTrip and cash rides, giving an increased incentive to use SmarTrip. But does this hurt riders with lower incomes? Advocates for riders with low incomes believe that significant barriers to purchasing and using SmarTrip cards… Keep reading…
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Boy’s death in Georgetown spurs debate over traffic safety
The boy that was struck by a woman driving her car near the intersection of Wisconsin and 33rd St. died yesterday. This has led at least one news source to question whether that intersection is safe without traffic lights or stop signs. The question of who is more at fault for the tragedy has not been publicly answered. WJLA has eyewitness reports that the child ran into the street… Keep reading…
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Metro tweets welcome, could be even more useful
In recent years, Metro has made great strides into bettering communication with riders through new media. But there’s still room for improvement. One of Metro’s newest communication tools is its use of Twitter. Service disruptions are regularly tweeted, giving riders on desktop computers or mobile devices an easy way to stay up to date. Tweets are limited… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: One step forward, one step back
Good and bad news for Ward 7 development; Germantown ghost bike, investigation; Judge’s ignorance used against cyclists; Moses’ legacy alive at NY state DOT; More in New York; Our artiest, decoest building; Councilmembers Michael Brown?; Way too hot. Keep reading…
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Taxi rules are too confusing, even for Congressmen
Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) got into a dispute with a cab driver over a fare, refused to pay the driver, then left in a different cab. Is this a “ride-and-ditch” scandal, as the City Paper dubbed it? Or was Nadler doing what any of us would do? What happened: Nadler got in a cab at Union Station and went to the Channel Inn, on Water Street in Southwest. He asked the cabbie… Keep reading…
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Montgomery zoning solutions, part 2: Mixed-use zones
Yesterday, I discussed the potential zone restructuring in the Montgomery County zoning rewrite. The series continues today with an overview of our thoughts on the mixed-use and commercial areas of the county. These areas are an important part of the county. They are where residents shop and work. But in many cases their design reflects outmoded, unsustainable thinking, with… Keep reading…
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Design-build may look like lack of planning, but isn’t
Is DDOT under Gabe Klein dismissive of planning, throwing caution to the wind as it builds a bike lane here and a streetcar line there? Or does this objection reflect an outdated view of how project planning should be done? Gabe Klein comes from the business world and has said several times he wants to run DDOT like a business. To understand how he might do that, we should… Keep reading…