Posts tagged Richmond
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Richmond used to be a transit leader. Is it ready to be one again?
Today, in Richmond, “transit” means the bus. One might think that the city which debuted the world’s first electric streetcar may have bucked the trend against transit after World War II and preserved its historic transportation system. Instead, Richmond burned them, and local transit hasn’t really rebounced since then. Keep reading…
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How housing density can help keep cities cooler
We all know Mid-Atlantic summers can be oppressively hot and humid. To me, sultry days in Richmond feel like I’m walking around inside someone else’s mouth! The bad news (for me and anyone else who experiences heat as a sweaty human) is that the number of days per year with a heat index—or a “feels-like” temperature—above 95°F is expected to at least double by mid century. Let’s talk about how land use factors into this equation. Keep reading…
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We’re looking for Baltimore & Richmond based correspondents!
Are you a journalist in the Baltimore or Richmond metro areas fascinated by how people get around and how governments make decisions which affect people’s access to jobs, schools, and more? Do you value transit, walking, bicycling, and other sustainable means of travel? Or do you know someone like this? Keep reading…
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Big news: We’re growing our paid writing (and keeping volunteer writing too)
Greater Greater Washington started out as an entirely volunteer project and has gradually evolved into an organization with, now, six full-time staff members. Most of our articles remain written by volunteer community members, but we’ve started adding some paid writing too, and now are excited to announce a chance to significantly expand that. Keep reading…
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Better transit, congestion pricing, and 18 other big ideas from a business group’s transportation blueprint
The super-Washington region, including DC, Baltimore, and Richmond, should improve the MARC and VRE rail systems including running service through DC. It should finish networks of trails and try congestion pricing in DC and adjacent parts of Arlington. It should improve bus service, promote employer incentives to not drive alone, increase equity, do more with technology, and better fund and govern transportation in the region. These are some of the recommendations from a wide-ranging new Blueprint for Regional Mobility, released Monday by the Greater Washington Partnership. Keep reading…
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Make buses better in Baltimore, Richmond, and Washington, says a regional business group
Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond should all make their bus service a priority with more lanes, faster boarding, better infromation, and much more. Those are recommendations from the Greater Washington Partnership, a super-regional business-led organization which just released a new issue brief on bus service. Keep reading…
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Take a photo tour of Richmond’s new Bus Rapid Transit
On June 24, 2018, the Pulse BRT opened along Richmond's Broad Street corridor. It's the second bus rapid transit line in Virginia, and the first in Richmond. I recently visited, and naturally nerded out, camera in tow. Keep reading…
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SmarTrip was revolutionary, but it’s 20 years old. What’s next?
It was less than 20 years ago — 1999 to be exact — when Metro released SmarTrip, the first contactless payment card in American public transportation. A few years later, Baltimore’s CharmCard was designed to integrate with SmarTrip. At the time our region was a national model for mobility payment technology, but it’s hard to imagine anyone making such a claim today. Keep reading…
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What if our region had a seamless platform for buses, bikeshare, ride-hail, and more?
If you’re like me, you use a SmarTrip card, a Capital Bikeshare dongle, and half a dozen apps on your smartphone to access ridehail, bikeshare, or carshare — and none of them communicate with each other. That leads to time wasted toggling back and forth, especially if a trip requires more than one service. What if you could manage all of these in one place? Keep reading…
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Amtrak would speed from DC to Richmond with three tracks, but in cramped Ashland only two will fit
Ashland, Virginia citizens are opposed to adding a third track or routing trains around their town to bolster Amtrak capacity from DC to Richmond. They say the proposals could “unalterably change” or “destroy” the character of their town. Keep reading…