Opinion Posts
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An advocate’s guide to working with businesses for safer streets
A letter from Ivy City businesses helped put pressure on DDOT to move up the timeline for a bike lane on West Virginia Avenue NE. Here’s how it happened. Keep reading…
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Cut out the White House: 15th Street needs a better bicycle connection
15th Street’s bike lane offers a safe north-south route through central DC. There’s just one problem: it’s getting cut off by the White House. Keep reading…
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Support for the DC Streetcar extension to the Benning Road Metro gains momentum from residents. But will it be enough?
Earlier this month, ANC 7E passed a resolution of support for the full streetcar extension to the Benning Road Metro, and requested that the Mayor and DC Council ensure that the extension receives full funding in the 2022 budget. As some residents and advocates push for the project, the future of a streetcar extending east of the Anacostia is still uncertain. Keep reading…
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Residents in the region want to walk and bike more, and drive less after COVID-19, a “Voices of the Region” survey suggests
Results of a recent “Voices of the Region” Survey show that many of the region’s residents want to walk and bike more, and drive less in general; telework more than they did pre-pandemic; and use transit if there are service and COVID-19 related safety improvements, among many other takeaways. Keep reading…
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Montgomery County is having a bunch of conversations right now about opening up some of its wealthiest neighborhoods to more affordable homes. The big question is: when?
Montgomery County has a housing shortage, particularly for lower-priced homes. In December, County Councilmember Will Jawando introduced a bill, ZTA 20-07, that would allow duplexes, townhomes, and small apartment buildings on “R-60” lots within one mile of Red Line stations. The Planning Department is already working on its own plans to create more “missing middle” homes, including one focused on downtown Silver Spring that could involve zoning changes and Thrive 2050, which looks at the entire county and will not involve any zoning changes. Both of these efforts will play out over the next several months, with many opportunities for public input. Keep reading…
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The Historic Preservation board reversed its decision and designated Colony Hill as a historic district
For six days, it looked like the District’s Historic Preservation Review Board may have finally voted against a historic district application for the first time in its known history. But after a reconvened meeting, four board members changed their votes and designated Colony Hill as the latest historic district in DC. Keep reading…
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Who drives cars, who gets hit by cars, and why
In DC, neighborhoods where car ownership is lowest see the highest rates of pedestrian crashes. Why? Keep reading…
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Residents say landlord disinvestment is making a bad situation worse at a Langley Park apartment complex
The Bedford and Victoria Station Apartment complex in Langley Park, Maryland is a microcosm of immigrant neighborhoods across the region. Like tenants in Chirilagua, Culmore, Manassas Park, and Montgomery Village, tenants at Bedford and Victoria Station apartments say they are confronting a trifecta of challenges: a global pandemic, severe unemployment, and landlord neglect. Keep reading…
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Why my family left 16th Street Heights
When I first moved to my lovely basement rowhouse apartment on the corner of 15th and Buchanan in the Sixteenth Street Heights in 2012, my then-roommate and I had few criteria on where to live. We were looking for an apartment with high enough ceilings so he could practice the upright bass, and I wanted to be near the S or the 50 bus lines. But when my wife and I decided we wanted to purchase a home, we quickly realized we could not afford to live in the neighborhood we have called home for so many years. Keep reading…
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The Fair Oaks Mall could be converted into a walkable mixed-use community, if Fairfax County can reimagine its streets
Fairfax County has an opportunity to transform one of its largest shopping malls and the area around it into a walkable community with access to regional transit. Success depends in large part on whether the county changes how it designs its streets. Keep reading…