Public Policy
The many local governments in the Washington region take actions every day that affect our downtowns and neighborhoods and the quality of life in our cities and counties. Greater Greater Washington writes about the public policies that influence our region and how they promote (or prevent) a growing, inclusive region with walkable urban neighborhoods.
Many different types of public policy influence where and how people live, work, and play. Education, which is one of the biggest reasons people choose a place,can help ensure the success of the next generation. And the environment is vital to preserving a livable region for our descendants.
Public safety and social justice issues affect how people of different backgrounds interact in our public places and whether people feel welcome. Health, food, and jobs are all vital parts of making our region thrive. And our governments make many budgetary and fiscal decisions that shape all of this.
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White House has a “secret” CaBi station
There is one Capital Bikeshare station that doesn’t show up on the online map: the White House station. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Dispatches from Fairfax
Fairfax of the future; Fairfax County parent forms bike train to school; Fairfax parks win gold; Blacks still struggle with employment in DC; Learning from Fear/Sanity; Should we consult original architects on redesigns?; Motorists usually at fault in bike crashes; Eliminate mortgage interest deduction; Cleveland can’t enforce city regs against big banks. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Good news in MoCo
Hans Riemer for better transit, smart growth; New central MoCo middle school; First look at DC Wal-Marts; Arboretum to destroy azalea exhibit; Flood wall on Mall not enough; Third Church project gets JBG money; TSA policies could have deadly consequences; Bike hate in the Big Apple; And…. Keep reading…
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Afternoon links: Irrational conduct on roads
Ur doing it wrong, traffic engineers; Bikes should defer to irrational drivers; BART has farecard cheating problem; How walkable is your VA or MD city?; Why is urbanism liberal?; Revisiting the flawed Urban Mobility Report; Bus driver recovers ghost bike. Keep reading…
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Downtown needs a school more than a boutique hotel
Representatives from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the DC Department of Real Estate Services got an earful last Thursday night at a hearing on the proposed plan to declare the Franklin School building a surplus property. Declaring it surplus would clear the way to sell or lease the building, located at 13th and K Streets NW, to a private developer. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Good tech, bad tech
Paris loosens height limit; Solar panels face obstacles; VRE moving on Wi-Fi; GPS use may hinder memory; Reactions to C100 v. GGW; Arlington Trader Joe’s gets dedicated parking; Tysons Black Friday now and future; NYC rolls back bike lanes; And…. Keep reading…
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WMATA creates 15-minute bus map
After we suggested making a map of high-frequency bus routes or combinations of routes and I attempted making a 12-minute map, Metro planners created one. On the new PlanItMetro blog, Metro released a draft 15-minute bus map highlighting bus routes or combinations of routes that run every 15 minutes or more. This is an important step in getting people acquainted with using buses… Keep reading…
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Streetcars aren’t toys, buses aren’t about respect
On Wednesday, 22 residents and business owners testified before the DC Council about DDOT’s citywide streetcar plan and the H Street-Benning Road streetcar line. This is my testimony. Good afternoon, my name is Ken Archer. I live in Georgetown with my wife and 2-year-old son. I am here to express my strong support for the comprehensive plan prepared for the Streetcar Project. I… Keep reading…
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Weekend links: Laws police don’t enforce
Police assume cyclist at fault; Police don’t punish their own; Barracks solution possible but complex; “This is a New Jersey-bound 7 train”?; Let them build roads, says Post; AJC unabashedly deserts city of Atlanta; And…. Keep reading…
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Why doesn’t the Committee of 100 adore the zoning update?
The Committee of 100 has relentlessly attacked the Office of Planning’s multiyear effort to update the DC zoning code to match the current Comprehensive Plan and the needs of a 21st-century city. The strange part is that based on their stated goals, the Committee ought to actually be thrilled with the zoning rewrite. In their letter opposing Harriet Tregoning and Gabe… Keep reading…