Breakfast links: Housing progress or failure?
Halfway to affordable housing goal
Mayor Gray says DC is more than halfway to meeting its goal of building 10,000 new affordable housing units. Critics say the Mayor is acting too slowly and that new units are not being built west of Rock Creek Park. (Post)
Luxury over affordability
Downtown apartment buildings that offer affordable housing are spurning government subsidies in favor of luxury condos and apartments. Tenants are faced with doubled rent or eviction and have few affordable options nearby. (Post, City Paper)
Pot enforcement highest in SE
Since DC decriminalized marijuana, nearly half of all citations occurred in MPD District 7, which is east of the Anacostia River. The highest number of arrests took place in District 6, also east of the Anacostia. (City Paper)
No LOS in California
California has always valued car dependency when assessing transportation projects. Thanks to new legislation, California will now value other goals such as reducing emissions instead of Level of Service. (Streetsblog)
Bike lanes free up sidewalks
A study of bicycling in DC has found cyclists don’t ride on sidewalks when a dedicated bike lane is available. On the 15th Street cycletrack, bike traffic jumped 47% while bike traffic on the sidewalk fell 70%. (Post)
Who commutes by bike?
In general, lower-income households bike more to commute and higher-income households bike more for fun. However, some of the lowest levels of bike use are in the lower-middle income range. (Streetsblog)
Bored at BWI? Go bike!
A new bikeshare program at BWI airport allows passengers with a long layover to go for a bike ride along a 12.5 mile trail that circles the airport. (Airline Business)
How Singapore seniors cross the road
In Singapore, senior citizens can swipe a card to receive extra time to cross an intersection. Can such a program succeed, or do timed stoplights and possible system abuse make such a program unworkable? (Gizmodo)
Chocobo-oriented development?
In the Final Fantasy XIV online role-playing game, players need housing for themselves. But there’s limited space and now, possibly even zoning laws that limit supply, driving prices way up. Sound familiar? (Citylab)
And…
Drivers should not block the bike box at intersections. (WTOP) … Dulles airport has the second-highest domestic airfares in the United States. (WBJ) … See how often Capital Bikeshare users cross the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. (DCist)