Afternoon links: Trouble brewing
Food cart problems in Silver Spring
In the newest installment of mobile food vendors versus the world, a food cart’s attempt to locate on Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring runs into jurisdictional issues with its permit. (TBD, Geoff H.) (Tip: Geoff H.)
States in trouble with USDOT
The canceled Hudson River Tunnel means NJ Transit owes $271 million to the FTA before penalties and interest. Meanwhile, Secretary LaHood has warned incoming governors in Wisconsin and Ohio that their high speed rail money cannot be spent on roads and highways. (Salon, Steven Yates) (Tip: Steven Yates)
GOP House will revisit HSR and TIGER projects
Under Republican leadership, the House will reevaluate all of the Obama Administration’s discretionary grant programs, John Mica says. While high speed rail and TIGER II projects could risk recision, DC’s TIGER I project is likely far enough along to be safe. (Reuters)
San Francisco has negative balance
Seems the San Francisco smart card fare media can go negative, like DC’s SmartTrip, and there is no preventative measure besides fare inspection, which isn’t present in all aspects of the transit system. (Streetsblog SF, JMM) (Tip: JMM)
Sherman Avenue to get Complete treatment
DDOT will soon begin transforming Sherman Avenue NW, a wide drag strip through Columbia Heights, into a proper residential street, complete with bike lanes and a tree-studded median with an irrigation system. (Housing Complex, Eric Fidler) (Tip: Eric Fidler)
Pavement to parks in San Francisco
San Franciscans restored a park to the middle of an asphalt neighborhood square. What streets in our area deserve a similar rehab? (Streetsblog SF, Eric Fidler) (Tip: Eric Fidler)
Are bike lanes really safe?
Bike lanes are supposed to provide, safe, dedicated road space to cyclists, but do they really? In many cities, bike lane placement puts bike riders at risk of being “doored.” (Streetsblog)
Free market traffic lights
Imagine if a driver pulled up at a red light could choose to pay to change the light to green. What would that mean for traffic flow and social relations? (3quarksdaily, Sam F) (Tip: Sam F)
And…
Matthew Yglesias rightly argues that restricting taxi cab competition will end up hurting the public. (Yglesias, Eric Fidler) … What happens when a retail district’s rent begins to rise too high? … (Twitter) Older drivers are more a danger to themselves than to anyone else. (Frederick News-Post) (Tip: Eric Fidler)