Posts tagged Repost
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Georgia Avenue isn’t a thoroughfare, it’s a destination
We treat Georgia Avenue NW like a commuter thoroughfare to shuttle cars in and out of downtown DC, but data shows most people traveling on Georgia are treating it as a destination. What if we designed it that way? Keep reading…
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It’s part streetcar, part bus, and it ran in Arlington and Fairfax in the 1930s
The Rosslyn-Ballston corridor is a famous example of early transit-oriented development because of the Orange Line, but the area was home to an innovative transit experiment long before Metro. From 1936 through 1939, a streetcar-bus hybrid provided service from the City of Fairfax to Rosslyn and into DC. Keep reading…
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Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center splits the system into three parts. Soon, it will be four.
Like the control tower at the airport, Metro has control centers that tell trains where to go. On Aug. 22, Metro made an addition that will spread out the workload and make the system safer and more reliable. Keep reading…
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How public housing was destined to fail
While the US public housing system may have started off with the intention of providing quality homes to low income and vulnerable populations, those efforts were quickly dashed by how the program was created and managed. Keep reading…
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Did Baltimore have the first electric el?
A while back I wrote about Baltimore’s Guilford Avenue el, which opened to electric streetcars in May 1893. It’s sometimes described as the country’s first electrified el and its first elevated trolley, but that isn’t strictly true. However, it was electrified before the better-known New York and Chicago elevated lines. Keep reading…
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Accessible transit signage can work for everyone. Here’s how.
Accessible transit signage for everyone is not an insurmountable task, and in many places, it’s done quite well. If transit agencies focus on improving six areas—adequacy, lighting and placement, text, colors, words and graphics, and modes—transit has a much better chance of being accessible to all. Keep reading…
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The regional transit proposals that predated Metro, from express buses to monorails
The Washington region today seems unimaginable without Metro, but the system we have today was hardly inevitable. Keep reading…
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Why is one of Richmond’s hottest neighborhoods missing so many sidewalks?
Scott’s Addition sells itself as a top destination overflowing with alcoholic amenities such as breweries, cideries, and distilleries. But there is one critical component of an urban neighborhood that the corridor lacks: sidewalks. Keep reading…
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Here’s how a DC newspaper covered traffic safety just before World War II
The defunct Washington Evening Star ran a series of punchy, illustrated columns called “Why Must They Die?” Keep reading…
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Could Maryland be ready to replace Baltimore’s oldest rail tunnel?
The idea of replacing the B&P (Baltimore and Potomac) Tunnel has been around for a while. But is now finally the time when we could see the project moving forward? Keep reading…