Photo by KwangSoo on Flickr.

Fix escalators, and federal benefit declining

Interim GM Richard Sarles says better maintenance is the answer for Metro’s escalators, and it’s too expensive to just replace most of them. Also, the federal transit benefit is about to return from $230 to $120 a month, no longer even with the parking benefit and possibly costing Metro $5-10 million in revenue from lower ridership. (Post)  

Metro joins the blogosphere

WMATA’s Office of Long Range Planning has created a blog to facilitate the discussion about Metro planning efforts, a great step toward opening the “black box” that many perceive at WMATA. (PlanItMetro)  

100 vs. 539 (and counting)

Martin Austermuhle, Tim Craig, and Lydia DePillis all take note of our little skirmish with the Committee of 100 yesterday. (Sign the petition!) Austermuhle writes, “One of the obvious ironies about the tiff between the Committee of 100 and Greater Greater Washington is that both groups seek the same goal — though they’re generations apart about how they define it.” (DCist, Post, City Paper)  

Falkland Chase passes Planning Board

Over the protests of preservationists who want absolutely nothing new built at Falkland Chase, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved new plans for the Silver Spring garden apartment complex that are more urban-friendly than the suburban hotel-style plans originally proposed, and also incorporate many advanced stormwater techniques and lots of greenery. (TBD)  

Increase RPP fees?

Mayor Fenty is considering doubling residential parking permit fees as part of a budget-closing measure. A number of people on Twitter suggest instead instituting the proposal to charge for 2nd and 3rd permits in a household.  

Merchants decry free parking

The city of Redondo Beach, CA has decided to make downtown parking free for the holidays, but local merchants worry that employees or other long-term parkers will take the spaces that shoppers need. (PT Blog, Michael P)  (Tip: Michael P)  

Indy privatizes parking meters

Indianapolis has signed a 50-year agreement with Xerox to run the city’s 3600 parking meters, generating around $640 million over the contract’s life.  Aaron Renn was skeptical of the deal in the fall, though the city added an ability to cancel after 10 years. Many other concerns remain. (Bloomberg, charlie)  (Tip: charlie)  

PEA Party? Planned enough already

Now that the Tea Party has reclaimed the national political agenda, it has set its sights on local governments.  First target: the zoning and planning boards filled with UN operatives trying to herd Americans into Orwellian “habitation zones.” (Mother Jones, charlie)  (Tip: charlie)  

And…

Is Chinese development really more sustainably oriented that Americas was? If so, despite all of Beijing’s legendarily bad traffic - where are the bicycles? (Salon) … New legislation in California will allow private vehicle owners to lease their vehicles into car sharing programs. (San Francisco Chronicle, charlie) … A Dutch company has developed a new method to quickly and neatly install brick/stone roadways. (MetaFilter, andrew)