Image by Fußgänger on Flickr.

Arlington moving toward performance parking: Arlington’s recently-approved Master Transportation Plan includes a policy of making meter prices “vary by hour and location to better match parking availability and demand.” county staff said a detailed proposal is in the works and may be approved by the County Board in December. (Infosnack HQ)

NYC gets another cycle track: There’s another separated bike lane going up in New York City, this one on Grand Street. Instead of separately timed signals for bikes and cars, there will be a “mixing zone” at the ends of blocks for cars and bikes to merge, copied from successful ones in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear about 15th Street. That’s why we need a visionary DDOT director. (Streetsblog)

Smart pricing for electricity: PEPCO is evaluating three possible pricing schemes to charge more for electricity at peak times. Perhaps the best part of these plans is “smart meters” which will show consumers how much they are using and how much it costs. In California, when the power company gave some customers an “Ambient Orb” that glowed a redder color when the consumer was using more electricity, consumers reduced their usage by 40% at peak times. (The Goodspeed Update)

Virginia begins HOT boondoggle: VDOT broke ground on widening the Beltway to create HOT lanes. USDOT Secretary Mary Peters has pushed this idea in her singleminded zeal not to have gas taxes. But all indications show that the HOT lanes won’t pay for themselves, meaning we’re pouring more public money into making more people drive. (Washington Post Get There)

MPD goes after bicyclists: The day after Robert Novak escaped with only a $50 fine for hitting a pedestrian, MPD has chosen to focus their traffic enforcement resources by going after bicyclists riding the wrong way on New Hampshire Avenue just north of U Street. While they were breaking the rules, they were riding on an extremely wide and lightly-used street, avoiding much busier and more dangerous nearby streets. (DCist)