Image from Curbed via Streetsblog.

It’s still complex

Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. would rather not get a traditional Wal-Mart on New York Avenue … Rental housing is turning into condos again … How about a conservation district for Barney Circle? It worked in Galveston, Texas. (City Paper)  

Manhattan’s own DC USA

Like DC, Manhattan has an urban big box store complex with a garage going mostly empty, a landlord surprised so many people take transit, and big ongoing government subsidies. (Streetsblog NYC, Stephen Miller)  (Tip: Stephen Miller)  

Automated garages

A maker of automated parking systems produced a video of their garage located under a public square in Budapest. (Erik W) … A new automated parking garage in Chicago’s Bucktown may be the first to get LEED Gold, touted as “emissions free,” though the car traffic it generates won’t be. (Government Technology, Bryan)  (Tip: Erik W)  

Bus “driver” arrested

Metro Transit Police arrested a man driving a bus after he crashed into a tree and kept driving. But the kicker, which they don’t reveal until the end, is that the man wasn’t a real bus driver; he had stolen the bus from the depot.  

BRT not so rapid

Cleveland’s new BRT line, the HealthLine, is not moving faster than the previous regular bus. City officials are tinkering with the lights to try to speed it up. (Cleveland.com, George B)  (Tip: George B)  

Which Gov’s better for schools?

A Baltimore Sun editorial praises Martin O’Malley’s pledge to construct more schools, and notes that Bob Ehrlich actually cut school capital projects to pay for the ICC.  

Making crossing worse for safety

8 pedestrians were hit by cars in 2 years at an intersection in Rockville, but MCDOT refuses to install a regular light since it would “impact” traffic. Instead, they’re putting in a button-activated HAWK signal. Unfortunately, pedestrians will have to push a button, wait, cross halfway, then push another button and wait a whole second cycle, which in the county is often 150 seconds. (Gazette)