Breakfast links: Build that housing
Permit effects on housing
Permitting delays could be a big factor in how much new housing gets built in cities, and therefore how affordable that housing is. Long delays make building new housing more risky for developers. (Post)
H Street’s newest connection
In the 1980s, developers built the suburban-style H Street Connection strip mall as a response to crime in the neighborhood. Now the strip mall will give way to a mixed-use development with ground-floor retail and over 400 apartment units as the neighborhood again changes shape. (Post)
Mixed income with a community pool
Plans for a multigenerational mixed-income housing development in Silver Spring will include a community pool to help promote interaction between the general public and residents. (Bethesda Beat)
Development east of the Anacostia
There is a lot of development planned for east of the Anacostia River, with office space, ground floor retail, and a big mix of affordable and market rate housing. (UrbanTurf)
Maryland Ave NE road diet
The long-awaited plans for a road diet for Maryland Ave NE are inching forward. The project will likely begin construction in mid-2017. (TheWashCycle)
Fight over Metro firing
After the fatal January 2015 smoke incident, Metro fired an employee who had lied about performing maintenance on a nonfunctioning tunnel fan involved in the event. Metro’s biggest union fought and won a case to reinstate the employee, but Metro is fighting back. (WTOP)
Uber surges and SafeTrack
Uber is subsidizing how much it pays its drivers to keep up with demand during SafeTrack without high surge prices for customers. (WAMU)
Open gangways for NYC’s subway
MTA will purchase new railcars with open gangways for the New York City subway system. The railcars increase capacity by making it easy for riders to walk between cars on the train. (MTA, Richard B) (Tip: Richard B)