Posts tagged Public Involvement
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When dreaming of Olympics or anything else, beware of “planning down”
A team of architects and business leaders met in secret for many months to devise a big proposal for the Olympics in DC. Some parts of it have merit (and some don’t), and ideas should always be welcome. But some things about the way they talk about the need to “transform” DC feel wrong. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Power to the people
No rainbow representation; Shaw pilot; Hot in here; Pointing fingers; Mulder delayed; Mind the gap; Jarvis is my co-pilot; 200 years in 2 minutes. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Parking to parks
Park pops-up in Tysons; Park off limits to residents; Mayor Gray’s legacy; HOT Lanes then and now; Poverty, desperation, and stroads; Can’t walk; Food, food everywhere; Next stop: confusion; Not just for kids; And…. Keep reading…
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Montgomery County’s BRT challenge: Getting it right
Montgomery County is starting to plan the specific details for the 81-mile Bus Rapid Transit project county leaders approved last year. Its success will depend heavily upon whether the current wide, fast roads stay that way and just get bus lanes added on, or whether they become pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly boulevards that welcome transit riders and respond to community needs. Keep reading…
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Anacostia residents feel “meeting fatigue”
In my half-decade as a reporter covering the Anacostia neighborhood I have attended nearly 400 meetings. On many occasions I’ve left one to run to another on the same evening. Some residents who’ve trundled through these meetings say there have been too many, with not enough results. Is there a better way, or is this necessary to get community input? “All these meetings… Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Rails and trails
Tysons growing up; Advocating for grade separation; A case for rails-with-trails; Bus status anxiety; Streamlining trade; Distracted driving; 1980s gentrification; And…. Keep reading…
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How do you get people excited about Bus Rapid Transit? Bring a bus to the county fair
Bus Rapid Transit has become an increasingly popular concept for communities in the DC area, but to see it in action, you’d have to travel to Cleveland or Los Angeles. This week, you can get a glimpse of our possible future at the Montgomery County fair in Gaithersburg. Keep reading…
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The DC zoning update has already had triple the public input as the enormous 1958 zoning code. Enough is enough.
Last week, Mayor Gray asked the DC Zoning Commission to wait until at least this fall before considering the proposed DC zoning update. This comes after nearly seven years of deliberation and resident input, and will now mean an entire year after a full draft was released for public review. Public involvement is a critical part of good planning, but on this project, city… Keep reading…
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DC’s 40-year out of date zoning code will get at least 6 months more stale
A team of professionals looking at DC’s zoning concluded that the 1958 code was hopelessly outdated, and found an urgent need for a new code. That report was in 1973. Four decades later, the code will continue getting older, as Mayor Vincent Gray asked the DC Zoning Commission to wait until September before deliberating on the proposed zoning update. After over five years… Keep reading…
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Events roundup: All together now
Add your voice to the public involvement process, learn about the history of a DC landmark, and meet fellow transit supporters in Montgomery County at events around the region. Whose voices do planners hear?: Social media and evolving technologies have allowed a more diverse set of voices to weigh in on the planning process than ever before, but informal comments online often… Keep reading…