Recent Posts
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Don’t start dancing yet, Georgetown: Barnes Dance not always the answer
DDOT is installing a Barnes Dance at 7th and H Streets, NW, an intersection with particularly high pedestrian volume. Georgetown Metropolitan suggested one at Wisconsin and M. Should DC spread these far and wide? Not so fast. A Barnes Dance, also known as a pedestrian scramble, can improve pedestrian safety. But, as with most changes, there are tradeoffs. With all the turns at… Keep reading…
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Barnes Dance debuts
At 10 am today, DDOT’s new Barnes Dance at 7th and H Streets NW in Chinatown went live. Unlike a traditional Barnes Dance, this configuration allows pedestrians to cross during the Barnes Dance (all-pedestrian) cycle and during each street’s green cycle. Keep reading…
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Montgomery’s zoning issues, part 2: Uses
Montgomery County is working to rewrite its aging and complicated zoning code. In the last installment, I discussed problems with our zones. This post looks at issues facing allowable uses. Zoning codes determine which land uses are or are not allowed to operate in each zone. Montgomery County’s code deals with allowable uses by organizing them into tables or lists. Each… Keep reading…
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MetroAccess cuts remain
While many transit advocates breathed a collective sigh of relief when they learned that WMATA Interim General Manager Sarles’ FY2011 proposed operating budget included far fewer service cuts than were originally outlined in former General Manager Catoe’s proposed budget, several significant service cuts remain, including cuts to MetroAccess. Here is what… Keep reading…
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What do Metro employees really make?
WMATA provided data about employee salaries, bonuses, overtime and benefits for fiscal year 2009. Is the $100,000 bus driver a myth, or reality? Does Metro depend on a lot of overtime? Are bonuses incredibly high, or used primarily as a symbolic recognition of a job well done? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Bikes, cars, hate and crime
Parking dispute turns into arrow shooting; Charges coming for Oxon Hill crash; Bike hate in the B’s; Private trolleys once again?; WMATA back in the hole; Ride On back on, parking fees off; Pro-transit on the purple route. Keep reading…
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Montgomery’s zoning issues, part 1: Complicated zoning
Recently, I discussed the effort underway in Montgomery County to rewrite an aging zoning code. Over three decades, the code has grown unwieldy and hard to use. Thirty-three years of additions and amendments has left the code with a mess of outdated provisions, orphaned words, and a baffling table of permitted uses. Many of the problems with the code stem from shortsightedness… Keep reading…
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Proposed Metro Matters much better, but with a loophole?
Maryland has announced they will pay their share of capital money under Metro Matters for FY 2010 and support funding a new FY11-16 agreement at the $5 billion level. The proposed new agreement also provides more assurance that jurisdictions will pay for projects, but there are still some questions about the details and whether a jurisdiction can back out too easily. WMATA… Keep reading…
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How could Metro improve wayfinding?
Yesterday, I discussed some of the ways other transit agencies deal with wayfinding. Based on the comments, many of you feel that signage is fine at present. Others think it can improve. Generally, the test of wayfinding is its ease for the absolute novice. While everyone is going to have to study a map or station list at some point, it needs to be easy to navigate a station once a person… Keep reading…
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Don’t permanently slow Metro for minor added safety
A driver slammed on his car’s brakes on the Capital Beltway yesterday after coming too close for comfort to another car in front. The maneuver successfully avoided a collision. In response, AAA called for all drivers to travel no faster than 40 mph indefinitely. Of course, this didn’t happen, because it’s silly. Drivers come a little too close for comfort… Keep reading…