Events: What makes for good or bad transit?

If you read this site, odds are that you, ahem, have opinions about transit. But do you have “An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit” with which to catalog all of your observations and ideas?

Well, you could after you “join the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Island Press for a talk with Houston-based community leader, urban planner, and transit enthusiast Christof Spieler, whose book Trains, Buses, People: An Opinionated Atlas of US Transit profiles 47 metropolitan rail and bus systems. Spieler takes an honest look at what makes good and bad transit, and is not afraid to look at what went wrong.”

Meet this author and gab with fellow transit enthusiasts at the Smith Public Trust (3514 12th St NE) on Tuesday, February 5 at 6:30 pm. Sign up to attend here; a cash bar will be available.

Other events from around the region:

Monday, January 28

Bike trails and transportation in Arlington: Arlington's Department of Environmental Services (DES) and Phoenix Bikes want to give you “a sneak preview of the proposed bicycle facility upgrades and additional policies included in the [Bicycle Element of the Master Transportation Plan] to encourage bicycling as a transportation option for all Arlingtonians.” Stop by Phoenix Bikes (909 S. Dinwiddie Street, Arlington, VA) from 6 to 7:30 pm to learn more!

Tuesday, January 29

Support a more beautiful Southwest DC: Join the Southwest Business Improvement District at Arena Stage (1101 6th St SW) from 8 to 11 am to “learn about the work being done throughout SW to make small spaces more beautiful, create a better community and curate experiences to bring people together.” Sign up here!

Branch out to the Arboretum: The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is working on an exciting project to connect the National Arboretum to the 28-mile-long Anacostia Riverfront Trail network. This new trail connection will be a fabulous public resource for the half million visitors the National Aboretum receives each year!

Make your support and ideas heard at the Ivy City Smokehouse (1356 Okie Street NE) from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, where “DDOT will present design concepts and gather comments from the community at this public meeting.” Find more information here!

Thursday, January 31

Branch out to the Arboretum, take two: DDOT is holding another public meeitng in Ward 7 to discuss its plan to connect the National Arboretum to the 28-mile-long Anacostia Riverfront Trail network. Make your support and ideas heard at the Dorothy I. Height Benning Neighborhood Library (3935 Benning Road NE) from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Find more information here!

Plan and build new accessory apartments: From 5 to 8 pm at the District Architecture Center (421 7th St NW), DC homeowners will have a wonderful opportunity to ask experts any questions they have about building new homes in their backyards or basements.

The event starts at 5 pm with “an open house for homeowners to drop in to talk to a professional about ideas, concepts, and plans” followed at 6 to 8 pm by “presentations and discussion covering the steps to build an [accessory dwelling unit]: zoning, design, building codes, permitting, financing, and construction management.” Sign up to attend here!

Learn about tenants' opportunities to purchase their homes: The DC Department of Housing and Community Development is hosting a public meeting from 2 to 4 pm at their Housing Resource Center (1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE) to educate attendees on the provisions of DC's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

The DC government wants you to know that “tenant groups pursuing the purchase of their apartment buildings with the intention to convert them to cooperatives or condominiums can get financial and technical assistance,” but “tenant groups must follow certain steps” and “similarly, before a residential property is sold, landlords and realtors must understand the steps they must abide by.” Learn more here.

Saturday, February 2

Walk into women's history: Join “A Tour of Her Own” at various times between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm at Freedom Plaza (1455 Pennsylvania Ave NW) to experience “a women's history walking tour.” There are seven options to choose from, including “a book talk featuring local authors who are passionate about the nation's capital.” Get your tickets here.

Check out more urbanist events at ggwash.org/calendar. Do you have an event you'd like to see featured in the weekly events post? Submit it here.

Update: The meetings about the Arboretum Trail project are being postponed indefinitely due to the shutdown until they can be re-scheduled by DDOT and the National Park Service.