Posts tagged Public Safety
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Clean, safe, and accessible public restrooms make cities livable
Why should urbanists engage in “potty talk”? Because having ready access to clean, safe public restrooms is not only a vital part of personal and public health, but is also key to fostering livability in cities. Unfortunately, DC doesn't have enough places for people to go, and the restrooms that are available can be hard to find. Keep reading…
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Montgomery County police and local media call pedestrians who were killed “lazy”
Last week DC-based television station WJLA/ABC7 published an article titled, “7 pedestrians killed by vehicles in Mont. County since June 1, laziness a key factor.” The victim-blaming continues beyond the lazily-reported headline. Keep reading…
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Some Anne Arundel County residents want to shut down their light rail. Again.
Some residents in Anne Arundel County are pushing to close light rail stations that run in their communities to Baltimore. (No, this isn't an old post from 2011. Or from 1994.) Closure proponents claim they're concerned about crime from light rail riders, but there's no evidence of increased crime in the area, from the train or otherwise. Keep reading…
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Metro Reasons: New safety inspection reports show slow but steady Metro progress
New federal track reports aren’t glowing news for Metro, but they do show that the beleaguered transit agency has made progress in safety over the past couple years. Inspectors continue to find issues small and large, but Metro is slowly but surely repairing them, according to two new months of track inspection data released on Friday, July 27. Keep reading…
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Ask GGWash: Why are Metro’s 7000-series trains announcing that they’re 7000-series trains?
If you're a regular Metro rider and you've boarded a 7000-series new train recently, you may have noticed over the past few weeks that the automated train announcement has changed. Until recently, the automated announcement that played said, “This is a (color) line train to (terminus station).” Now the trains say, “This is a 7000-series train.” Keep reading…
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Cyclists and advocates rally for “streets that don’t kill people” in DC
A crowd of about 100 cyclists and advocates gathered in front the Wilson building downtown on Thursday, July 19 at noon to push DC to do more to improve safety for people walking and bicycling in the city. The rally comes after two cyclists were struck and killed by drivers in DC within two weeks of each other at the end of June and early July. Keep reading…
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DC councilmembers are exempt from some parking regulations. That doesn’t mean they should flout the rules.
DC’s parking immunity law for councilmembers is back in the news again, thanks to Ward 2 Councilmember and Metro Board Chair Jack Evans telling a concerned citizen on Saturday that “if I park illegally, that opens up a spot for you.” It’s not the first time that Evans has made headlines for flouting parking rules. Keep reading…
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Racing cars though our neighborhoods — a supreme endorsement?
Julie O'Brien describes Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, her “carpool dad” neighbor, as regularly “racing” his vehicle through DC and Maryland “just to catch the last 15 minutes” of his daughters' sporting and religious activities. The fact that she sees herself as conferring a badge of honor rather than issuing a warning of recklessness is worth pondering. Keep reading…
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What DC needs to do if it really wants zero road deaths
It would be inaccurate to say that DC hasn't done anything to get to Vision Zero. It put together an action plan. It hired a manager for the Vision Zero initiative. There have been grants and some street improvements. But what has been accomplished isn't up to the task of reducing deaths and injuries by 35% per year. Keep reading…
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We’re not going to make it to zero road deaths and serious accidents by 2024
The recent Vision Zero summit and the two cyclist deaths over the last two weeks provide a chance to check in on how Vision Zero is doing. In short, we aren't going to make it. This should be no surprise since it was never a realistic goal, but DC isn't making a good faith effort to achieve it either. Keep reading…