Photo by Sid Burgess.

Catoe gets silent nay from Albert

The Metro board voted to renew John Catoe’s contract, as expected. The surprise was one dissenting vote, from DC City Administrator Neil Albert, who made no comment about Catoe at all at the meeting before voting no. In later statements, he didn’t give much explanation. (Post)  

Parking rites

Michael Neibauer gets more details of Michael Brown’s proposed exemption for funeral attendees from parking tickets. It doesn’t let them park anywhere they want, but just to park for free at meters and use residential parking zones for more than the allowed two hours. Having some way to use residential zones is reasonable, though a better approach would be to let anyone buy a day pass, whether for a funeral or anything else, and to allow longer meter stays though still not free. Phil Mendelson, Mary Cheh, Kwame Brown, and Harry Thomas cosponsored. (Examiner)  

Chicago free market acolytes create price ceiling

Chicago might have privatized their parking meters, but at the University of Chicago Business School, the pulsing heart of pure market-based economics, parking is free. Plus, there’s free valet parking for corporate recruiters. (Time, Ben Ross)  (Tip: Ben Ross)  

Pull ya car on up

Every year, homeowners in Puyallup let people park on their lawns during the big fair. They raise up to $15,000 for the neighborhood. But the city recently told them they have to stop. (King 5, Michael P)  (Tip: Michael P)  

Where the sidewalks end

Sidewalks are often an afterthought in road engineering, especially in the more auto-centric areas. Sid Burgess assembled seven examples of bad sidewalk design, including one where a light pole sprouts right from the center of the sidewalk, and one where officials took up half the sidewalk with a jersey barrier and chain link fence in addition to the light poles.  

The great park bench debate

Officials removed the benches at the triangular park at 14th and Ogden in 2007 to discourage drug dealing. But it also made the triangle an even less welcoming place for neighborhood residents. Crime didn’t go down; it actually increased, though possibly because new development pushed crime over a few blocks. Local artist Sarah Tooley replaced them last year with brightly colored benches sporting sentences that came from a neighborhood survey. After neighborhood debate, officials decided to let them stay and go with the “eyes on the street” philosophy, plus increased policing. Unfortunately, plans for a fully renovated park call for stone stools placed far enough apart so nobody can pass drugs — or just talk to one another. (City Paper)  

Watch out for reply-all

That pesky listserv feature where replies go, by default, to the entire list has snagged one of the candidates in the “Unity Slate,” the more anti-change slate for Cleveland Park Citizens Association offices. Ruth Caplan, candidate for Corresponding Secretary, answered a question about speed bumps on the CPCA list, and Recording Secretary candidate Ann Hamilton quickly replied, “Dammit! I thought we agreed (well, were correctly instructed) not to respond!” The reply went to the whole list. Oops! (Ward3DC)