Recent Posts
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WABA announces new Executive Director, Shane Farthing
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association has announced Shane Farthing as its new executive director, effective June 3. He takes over from interim director Dorcas Adkins and former head Eric Gilliland, who is now executive director of the National Association of City Transportation Officials. Since February, Farthing has served as director of the Office of Green Economy… Keep reading…
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Gray cuts streetcars (now restored)
At approximately 2 am last night, Councilmembers received the proposed budget from Chairman Vincent Gray and his staff. Among the 11th-hour (or should it be 14th-hour) changes was a near-complete elimination of the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line. Update: The streetcar funding was subsequently restored. Last night, Council supporters and DDOT officials went… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Budget day
Soda, maybe; meters, no; Commuter tax? Just for government work; How high will your fare be?; 11th-hour transit operating aid?; Parking cap for BRAC?; I-66 getting slightly wider; Shoup@NBM again; Why Smart Growth is smart. Keep reading…
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Frederick is “Fredneck” no more
A few weeks ago, my friends and I drove up to Frederick for the day. I’d never been there, but discovered much greater Washington could learn from. Forget “Fredneck.” No matter what color their necks may be, this place is far from backwards. You can imagine my surprise when, after we parked in the very center of downtown, I stepped out of the car to see a bustling,… Keep reading…
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A better strategy for Orange Line shuttle buses?
Metro will suspend service between East Falls Church and West Falls Church on Memorial Day weekend and the following two weekends for work on the Silver Line. Instead of shuttling passengers between these two stations, Metro could run sets of shuttles between East Falls Church and each of the three stations to the west. There are three stations west of East Falls Church on the Orange… Keep reading…
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“Dave Thomas Circle” opens June 4th
Starting Friday, June 4th, drivers on eastbound Florida Avenue will detour onto First Street around the intersection of New York Avenue, creating a partial traffic circle pattern. This “circle” will ultimately create a loop involving Florida Avenue, 1st Street, and O Street, with one-way traffic on all three and a two-way New York Avenue cutting through. Since… Keep reading…
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Metro isn’t the NYC subway, part 1: Rapid rail vs. subway
Metro’s fare structure came under some criticism in the Post recently. A Sunday editorial argues that bus fares need to rise, while Dr. Gridlock says they are too complicated. Both cite other systems including New York’s, where all rides in the five boroughs, on rail, bus or a combination, all cost $2.25. The doc suggests we would never adopt such a system because… Keep reading…
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Let’s replace Cash-for-Trash with Pay-as-you-Throw
Does it seem fair that some households produce up to a dozen trash bags per week while their neighbors, who pay the same taxes, produce few if any trash bags but plenty of recycling and sometimes compost? That’s what happens in all Washington-area municipalities, but more than 7,000 municipalities nationwide covering 25% of the population have rejected this “cash-for-trash”… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Rails and money
Speak for streetcars; Metro money matters; Indifferent employees; Why do people take transit?; If it’s AAA, it leads; Not enough government in Maryland?; Flip him the smiley face; And…. Keep reading…
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Three-Beltways boosters perpetuate myths about growth
When the “2030 Group” recently launched to push for “good sustainable growth,” some charged that it’s just a stalking horse for the freeway lobby and the roads they’ve been pushing unsuccessfully for decades. That charge stemmed largely from the involvement of cofounder John Tilghman “Til” Hazel, a longtime freeway… Keep reading…