Breakfast links: People creating neat charts and graphs
Baltimore 15-minute map
Josh Fruhlinger created a 12-minute map for Baltimore, but since Baltimore’s transit is generally less frequent than Washington’s, drew the line at 15 minutes instead. (Tip: Josh Fruhlinger)
Why people are driving less
In what he described as possibly the first time a regression ever appeared in Esquire, FiveThirtyEight‘s Nate Silver examines the decline in driving despite lower gas prices. The conclusion: most of it is probably a delayed reaction to last year’s price spike, but some Americans are reexamining their auto dependence. Plus, since many people say they’ll only buy American, the bankruptcy of U.S. automakers may “reduce some of the patriotic associations with the activity of driving.” (Esquire via T4America, Max D)
A hopelessly sprawly exurb and a somewhat walkable one
Ben Adler stays briefly in Leesburg, where commuter buses picking up from a huge parking lot are the only transit option, and the town government continues to zone for sprawl because anything else is politically difficult, and Kentlands, which is a little bit better. (The American Prospect)
Stop paving over your front yard
Some homeowners in Montgomery County are paving their front yards to provide off-street parking. The Council is considering banning the practice. (Post, AJ) (Tip: AJ)
Should DC hybrid drivers be able to use VA HOV lanes?
Virginia lets hybrid drivers use their HOV lanes, but only for Virginia residents who pay for a special sticker. Jim Graham is curious if excluding out of state drivers is even legal. (WTOP)
Mixed-use federal buildings?
DC’s Federal Triangle ought to be a lively downtown (and once was), but its streets now sit dead while baffled tourists can’t understand why there’s nowhere to buy a sandwich without going underground. The Downtown BID says, “It’s one of the most important streets in the world, yet it’s dead. The software of the street is missing.” Yesterday, NCPC held a roundtable on making federal sites more mixed-use and will release a report in the fall. Anything they can accomplish in this area would be fantastic.
National Harbor says reroute is for safety
Some people, exiting the Green Line at Southern Avenue after the National Harbor bus stops running, can’t get cabs which refuse to go to Southern Avenue. Gaylord Center spokespeople claim this is the reason for getting Metro to reroute the NH-1 to Branch Avenue. But many employees now face longer commutes. (Gazette)
Boxer might sell out good transportation again
Sources close to negotiations over the Federal transportation reathorization worry that, as she did with the stimulus, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will again strike a deal with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK): He’ll agree to spend a lot of money, she’ll agree to sell out the environment and spend it all on highways. (Streetsblog)