Lawyers Road “road diet.” Image from the Washington Post.

Road dieting is healthy

The Post’s Robert Thomson explains the planned changes to Reston’s Lawyers Road, with illustrations. The road will change from two car lanes in each direction to one car lane and one bike lane each way, plus a center turn lane. Catherine Hudgins calls it a “win-win.” Thomson preempts the likely driver response that the road seems more dangerous, saying, “Drivers get used to it.” (JTS)  (Tip: JTS)  

Hoboken Hobikelane

Hoboken, New Jersey has added bike lanes along some north-south streets and plans sharrows for east-west streets. However, some residents and bloggers fear the new lanes. They needn’t. (Planetizen)  

Police to ticket aggressive drivers

Deaths due to aggressive driving rose from 2005 to 2007 (the last year with statistics), with 183 deaths in Virginia and 75 in Maryland each year. Police will be cracking down on aggressive driving, and are also instructing people on how to report aggressive drivers. (Post, Stephen Miller)  (Tip: Stephen Miller)  

Offices in the west

After three years with no construction activity, the MetroWest TOD at Vienna Metro is back. The developer now wants to build fewer apartments and more office space. This makes sense as the area is already mostly residential, and the Orange Line has capacity for reverse commuters. However, neighbors worry that the change will bring more traffic. (Fairfax Times, Joshua D)  (Tip: Joshua D)  

Cruzing on the Hill

Electric “e-cruzer” carts ferry people between Barracks Row and the ballpark for free. They seat six comfortably, run on a batch of eight-volt batteries, and burn 2 cents of electricity per mile. Bars and restaurants are subsidizing the enterprise. (Post, Gavin Baker)  (Tip: Gavin Baker)  

Around the region

DDOT will add bike lanes to Harvard and Euclid Streets in Adams Morgan. (Adams Morgan listserv, Stephen Miller) … Many of the CVS SmarTrip machines don’t work or don’t accept credit cards (Examiner, Gavin Baker) … Commuter Connections will pay some people $2 a day to carpool, in a three-month pilot (Post, Gavin Baker).  (Tip: Stephen Miller)  

Across the nation

LA cyclists are very disappointed by the city’s new not-so-comprehensive bike plan (LAist) … A publicly funded transportation exhibit in Minnesota shows a clear anti-transit bias (MN2020) … Long Island may get its first New Urbanism development (NY Times). Via Planetizen.