Breakfast links: Cry me a river, build a bridge
Ch-ch-ch-ch changes
DDOT announced yesterday that parking meters will be operational on Saturdays, downtown enforcement will continue until 10:30 PM and most meters will increase the hourly rate to $2 beginning in mid-January. Calling free Saturday parking “one of the city’s sweetest freebies,” Washington City Paper’s Christine MacDonald now fears the possibility of getting to her favorite transit-accessible coffee shops for some Saturday loafing without a car. Boo hoo? (Post, Chris R, City Paper, David A) (Tip: Michael P)
Streets are for cars, dummies
Looks like DC has its very own Veronica Moss in Wendy Gordon, who believes that after a snowfall people who get around by bike and on foot - “two-wheeled travelers on a four-wheeled street” - should stay indoors until the white stuff has melted. That way, drivers won’t have to be careful enough to avoid hitting them. (The Georgetown Dish) (Tip: No Credit Pls.)
A safer city
DC’s murder rate has dropped 25 percent since last year, continuing a trend seen in most major American cities, including New York and Los Angeles. (MPD-5D Listserv, NY Times, LA Times)
Too old to drive?
Since independence equals automobility in the suburbs, the generation that built suburbia is finding its lifestyle choices have become a prison in old age. Some have put down the keys; others refuse to drive at night or in bad weather. Those who continue to drive are often in danger: AAA reports that, other than teenagers, senior drivers have the highest crash-related death rate per mile. (Post, Abraham M.) (Tip: Abraham M.)
Distracted driver kills cyclist, pays $313
And that’s after the driver asked for (but did not receive) a fine reduction. “I just didn’t see him” is apparently a good enough excuse for killing someone in Maryland because you had a foggy windshield and were looking for your cigarette lighter. TheWashCycle and Baltimore Spokes have the details.
One road begins, another ends
Yesterday DDOT kicked off construction on the $300 million 11th Street bridge, which will provide a new local connection between the Navy Yard and historic Anacostia, as well as new ramps between the Anacostia and Southeast-Southwest freeways. Also yesterday, Mayor Fenty cut the ribbon on the reopening of Champlain Street through the Marie Reed Community Learning Center in Adams Morgan, which includes a contra-flow bike lane. (JDLand, Housing Complex, David A)