Transportation
Greater Greater Washington writes about how people get around the Washington region, whether on Metro, buses, streetcars, driving, walking, biking, or any other method.
One of the region’s strengths is the wide range of options for travel. There are many walkable places in DC, Maryland, and Virginia where people could choose transit, walk or bike, or if they don’t have their own car, grab a shared vehicle or hail a ride. This reduces the need to own cars, saving people money and reducing traffic congestion.
As our region grows, it is imperative to continue to make these options safe, economical, and available to even more people. It is imperative to ensure safe sidewalks and bicycle infrastructure, expand transit options, and add housing near existing transit stations.
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Washington’s rails, part 2: CSX’s “National Gateway” for freight
In the last installment, I described the Washington and Baltimore rail networks and their limitations. CSX hopes to surmount some of those limitations with their “National Gateway” initiative, which would upgrade freight rail infrastructure to accommodate double-stack container cars. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Arlington to Canada to Japan
Metro down (this weekend); Recycling, bike racks up; Counting coming; Why “pedestrians”?; Photos okay at USDOT, assuming guards get the memo; Transit smart cards, improved; Not so bike friendly. Keep reading…
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Washington’s rails, part 1: The network
When the railroad first reached Washington in 1835, the Capital was a very different place. Over the next century and a half, urbanization, alternative transportation, and major shifts in commerce have dramatically changed the situation facing railroads. Yet the railroad infrastructure in the Washington-Baltimore area has seen little change since the turn of the century. The… Keep reading…
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Do Fairfax’s higher fare bus lines make a profit?
Fairfax County recently increased the fare on three express routes from $3 to $7. While the ridership on one line plummeted, the other two only saw fairly modest drops, while revenue nearly doubled. Is it possible that these bus lines now pay for themselves? Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Scolding all around
Bad Apple; Bad planning; Bad anti-planning; Bad candidate; Bad parker; Good blogs; Good slate. Keep reading…
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Dinner links: Real or fake?
We didn’t have our minds made up, we swear; Our mind was made up, but now it’s not; PG HHS?; Transit-oriented Wal-Mart?; Don’t be afraid of the Purple Line, UMD; News flash: Not a lot of room to park; And…. Keep reading…
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Fairfax raises express bus fares, ridership plummets on one line
To balance this year’s budget, Fairfax County raised the price of express bus routes 380, 595 and 597 from $3.00 each way to $7.00 each way. They didn’t change schedules or service frequency. And they didn’t make a similar change on three other lines, creating nearly ideal conditions for an economics experiment. The result: On two of these express bus routes, Fairfax… Keep reading…
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T, that’s what the ghost bike means to me
Stephen led this morning with a summary of Friday’s ghost bike outrage, where city employees callously cut off the ghost bike memorial to Alice Swanson at 20th and R, NW without notifying the family. In fact, they’d told WABA they were planning to do it, but promised to wait a few days for the family to be able to come get the bike, then reversed course and cut it off before the… Keep reading…
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Mean streets: Ghosted bike
The most striking traffic safety issue this morning isn’t a fatal crash or dangerous intersection, but the removal of a ghost bike memorial to Alice Swanson, who was killed just over a year ago after being run over by a garbage truck at 20th and R streets, NW. City Paper has the most complete account of what happened to the ghost bike; it seems DPW removed it after receiving complaints… Keep reading…
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Feet in the Street Saturday in Fort Dupont
Tomorrow, Saturday, is Feet in the Street, DC’s first foray into the Ciclovia/Summer Streets/Sunday Streets phenomenon, where cities around the world close down streets in densely populated areas to create linear festivals. People walk, bike, and rollerblade through their city in ways not possible normally. Stops along the way provide entertainment, education, refreshment,… Keep reading…